When will we be seeing.....

[my miss storm cat]

Well this had become his thread so figured it was the appropriate place.

I'm so happy.

From Racing Post...

If ever a horse deserved it...


Popular veteran Monkerhostin retired
By Lee Mottershead
10:19AM 17 JUL 2010

THE working life of one of jumping's most talented, popular and enduring characters came to an end on Friday when Monkerhostin, a hero of major races over both fences andhurdles, was retired by owner Martin St Quinton, who admitted to being "terrified" of anything untoward happening to his evergreen star.

Five months on from the 13-year-old's heart-warming success in a valuable Sandown chase, St Quinton and trainer Philip Hobbs decided to send Monkerhostin into retirement with a healthy body and head held high.

In a career that spanned ten years,the French-bred won 12 of his 61 races and earned £602,030, his victories including the Coral Cup, Bet365 Gold Cup, Bonusprint.com Gold Cup and Haldon Gold Cup, in which he beat Kauto Star into second, receiving only 4lb.

However, the admirably consistent stalwart was often as noteworthy in defeat as in victory, most famously when touched off by Kicking King in the 2005 King George VI Chase and when the subject of a bizarre but enormous gamble in the minutes leading up to the 2007 John Smith's Grand National, for which he was backed into 8-1 co-favouritism from 25-1 only to refuse at the seventh fence.

"I'm happy he got to the end of his career free of injury," said St Quinton. "I'm not sure if you asked the horse he would say he wants to retire, but it's very hard for him now off his 155 rating and we are terrified that he might come a cropper and leave us regretting that we hadn't retired him."

Hobbs, who took over training duties from Oliver Sherwood in 2003, said: "He was the most amazing horse for us and one of those horses everyone would love to own. It will be sad not to see him exercising here in the mornings."

Asked to sum up Monkerhostin's greatest qualities, St Quinton added: "He never gave up. Sometimes watching him down the back straight you thought he had no chance, but he never saw it like that. He wasn't always good enough but he always gave it everything he could."


http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse...ed/743105/top/