The People's Champion: an injury prone Rolls-Royce and a poor-jumping, hold-up horse

The Racing Post is trying to find the people’s champion – our readers’ favourite racehorse of all time. To make sure your favourite makes the shortlist of 80 horses, you can nominate using any of the methods below. In the meantime, here are two of our writers with their picks.

David Carr 

Burrough Hill Lad

Here was a horse with the looks, charisma and talent to cause Simon Rowlands and I to drive all the way from Halifax to Wincanton to see his first run for two years in 1988.

Burrough Hill Lad was a gorgeous chaser with the ability to match, as he first demonstrated with relentless displays of galloping in the Welsh Grand National and Gold Cup in 1983-84.

He was hot favourite for Cheltenham until ruled out through injury in each of the next two years. When he was able to race, he showed why Jenny Pitman called him “a Rolls-Royce against stock cars".

Not only did he land a Charlie Hall Chase and a King George, but he also defied top weight of 12st with awesome handicap displays in the Hennessy and Gainsborough. If only his legs had been as robust as his form.

Keith Melrose

Exotic Dancer

The horse who taught me most about betting.

Exotic Dancer's Paddy Power Gold Cup win in 2006 was the moment I dropped the novice tendency to be drawn to 1s beside a horse's name.

I gave back all the winnings over the next two years by consistently betting that this poor-jumping, hold-up horse would beat Kauto Star. Back then I also had an annual direct debit set up on Andy Roddick to win Wimbledon during the peak Federer years, so this lesson about trying to get the unbeatable beaten clearly needed reiterating.

Exotic Dancer reiterated it, all right. After he blew the 2008 Betfair Chase right in front of me at Haydock, I diagnosed that he just didn't have the heart to win a Grade 1. Five weeks later he ran in the Lexus, the Kauto-less Lexus, and sauntered home by 20 lengths.

How to nominate

By post Send the name of your horse and make your case to The People's Champion, Racing Post Editorial, Floor 7, Vivo Building, South Bank Central, 30 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9LS. Letters must reach us by no later than Tuesday, August 1.

By email Get in touch at peopleschampion@racingpost.com.

Online Click here and follow the instructions.

Read more from the People's Champion series . . .

The People's Champion: a horse who didn't like to hang about and another with a unique record  

The People's Champion? Why I think this horse should be named the winner  

The People's Champion: our series begins with a true legend of the turf and a popular grey 

The Big Kick-Off 2023-24: get your 80-page edition in the Racing Post on Monday, July 31 – or you can pre-order your copy here.