Punch a Hole in the Wind: Recent Episodes
Oli Hein
Our last story in this series of Punch a Hole in the Wind keeps us in the 1970s, but takes us across the Atlantic to France, and a wonderful yet rather quirky racehorse who remains the highest-rated European filly since the War.
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The subject of today’s episode was almost always bracketed as part of a pair, such was the rivalry between the two that seeped into the sport. Yet Affirmed achieved so much more than merely being part of a double act.
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The subject of today’s story put up the most dominant display of any horse in a European classic in the 20th century, but he was more than a one-hit-wonder.
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Named after a ballet dancer, Nijinsky had both the elegance and good looks worthy of his name. He was also one of the most brilliant horses ever to be trained in Ireland.
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Infuriating the misspelling of his name may have been, but by the end of American Pharoah’s scintillating career in 2015 he had cemented his name in the history books for more sporting reasons.
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The mid-1930s was something of a golden age of British thoroughbred champions, and Windsor Lad was right amongst them - helped into the limelight by his wonderful owner.
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The 1960s saw many great middle-distance thoroughbreds, and high up amongst them was Vaguely Noble, who more than any racer at the time showed that horses shouldn’t be artificially 'assigned' nationalities.
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Reverting to the 1950s US racing scene today, we look at a superb, muscular colt whose 4-year-old season still acts as the sublime benchmark for older horses in the US to this day.
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We make another trip Down Under today and look at a versatile, record-breaking gelding of the late 1970s and early 1980s who became one of the inaugural members of the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
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We make a rare trip to Asia today, this time to the early part of this century when one lightning-fast thoroughbred finally made the international racing scene realize that Hong Kong horses could enter world racing folklore too.
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As the 1970s turned to the 1980s, Spectacular Bid more than lived up to his name, proving himself to be a timeless great despite the sometimes dubious behaviours of the colourful characters who looked after him.
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We drift back many decades today to the 1930s and France, where an outstanding thoroughbred was already being hailed as the ‘horse of the century’ until the most bizarre of incidents occurred, after which he was never quite the same.
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Swaps was another great horse who was just as famous for a race that he lost as all the ones that he won. Yet fortunately he will still always be rightly remembered as a legend of the American racetracks.
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We’re going back a century this time to a British filly who not only scorched the turf during her dazzling career, but also thereafter had a profound impact on the breed as a broodmare.
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We visit the Emerald Isle of Ireland this time and go back to the late 1970s, when one particular horse –with a jockey of rare self-confidence and a trainer of rare genius – ran towards greatness almost without anyone noticing.
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A huge, near-black mare with a phobia of the starting stalls, the great - and greatly popular - Zenyatta nevertheless nearly went through her illustrious career undefeated, her huge talent matched only by her huge following.
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We explored a few episodes ago the amazing career of Brigadier Gerard – one of the great milers of the 20th century. Today we’re going to look at his equally impressive peer, Mill Reef, who excelled over further but who also won a place in so many hearts in the process.
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We’re back to the war years this time and the USA. Today’s subject combined two things that seem to appear in tandem so often in the great racehorses: utter brilliance and slight madness. But like so many others, these traits combined to also make Count Fleet unforgettable.
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We come to a time a little closer to the present today, and to a horse who helped us see in the millennium with style and brilliance. It didn’t hurt that he had the perfect name to reflect the zeitgeist. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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We revert this time to the early 1950s and a brilliant horse whose arrival proved to be perfect timing in ensuring that a highly regarded race became one of the absolute highlights of the international racing calendar. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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In the last decade of the 20th Century, a certain horse called Dayjur tricked his handlers into thinking that he was a classic prospect. when he in fact turned out to be a sprinter for the ages. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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Today’s subject, another from those halcyon days of 1970s US racing, was one of those horses who will always be remembered as something quite out of the ordinary, not least for one performance in particular that had to be seen to be believed. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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Nearco wasn't just the most perfectly put-together thoroughbred in history; he was also one of the best, thanks to the genius of his breeder/trainer Federico Tesio. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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This time we're going to look at a very recent champion, a mare from Australia who found a way to win again and again and again – 33 times in a row, in fact, a record that may last for a very very long time. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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Kelso was an evergreen US gelding who transcended the sport in the late 1950s and early 1960s like few others, and whose legacy still conjures up a whole raft of loving emotions. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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Shergar's tragic fate should never overshadow the fact that, in that electric spring and summer of 1981, he proved himself to be one of the most sublime horses ever to race in England. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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In this episode, we’re going back to the cusp of the Millennium, when a not-entirely-straightforward French-trained colt made up for his idiosyncrasies with a raft of fabulous performances. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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One of the all-time greats of the US racing scene, Citation's reputation could have been even more lofty if not for the obsessional greed of connections. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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Little could anyone guess when Sea the Stars came 4th in his first race - a maiden at The Curragh - that he would never be beaten again and unquestionably be Ireland's horse of a generation. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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During those incredible days of 1970s US racing, Seattle Slew was as good as any. Yet his career was even more of a soap opera than most, as he was often seen as a commodity first and a racehorse second. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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We’re going back to the war years this time, and to the austere days of horse racing in England during that dark period. But one filly – who was basically as mad as a box of frogs – lit up the scene by also being brilliant, and having a royal owner to boot. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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Today's hero was a little horse from Australia who became the best in the world in the 1950s, then spent two years at death's door before, incredibly, coming back to do it all again. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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This time, we’re going to the US, and more specifically we’re going to deep dive on a champion horse of the 1990s who proved perhaps more than any other that the surface you run on really can make a massive difference to how well you can run. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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Today we’re going to the turf of Great Britain and the early 1970s. Whilst racing has increasingly been the preserve of the not just the rich, but the very very rich, just occasionally an out-and-out champion appears whose completely bucks that trend. And one such horse was Brigadier Gerard. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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We’re back in Europe this time and the 1980s, which was something of a golden age of European milers. But at the front of that queue was an all-conquering French filly who didn’t just conquer Europe but also put her American challengers to the sword. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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Today’s journey to the past is a poignant one, and revolves around a US filly who was a legend in her home nation yet who is barely spoken about beyond, perhaps because of her heart-breaking end. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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We're going back to 1940s today and we’re going Down Under to find out more about one of the original Hall of Fame greats from the Australian turf – a horse who also possessed the biggest ever accurately measured stride in thoroughbred history. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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This time we’ll be looking at a racehorse whose wonderful exploits ensured that his passionate nation – Japan - could finally sit with confidence at the international racing top table. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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Our time machine takes us this time to the mid-1980s and to the UK, where one particular horse – whilst not the prettiest – stunned the crowds again and again with repeated bouts of breath-taking acceleration against the best that Europe had to offer. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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We’re going back to the USA this time, to those balmy days of the 1960s, and a horse about whom it was often said that he could ‘Punch a Hole in the Wind, thus giving the name to this podcast and my book. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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This time we’re looking at the exploits of a French and European champion from the early 1920s who then, it could be argued, became the first world champion. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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His life was tragically short, his death mysterious. But the legend that was Phar Lap still transformed the Australian and then US racing scene in the early 1930s. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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This time we’re going to visit the beautiful boot-shaped land of Italy and hear about a horse who transcended the sport of horse racing in that country to such an extent that his name is still synonymous with sporting perfection. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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One of the more recent horses that we'll be looking at, Frankel's amazing exploits on the racecourses of Great Britain are still fresh in the minds of many who saw him. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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You don't have to be a nice horse to be a great horse - as Native Dancer so emphatically proved in the US in the 1950s. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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In this episode we’re going to France in the 1930s and a mysterious horse who passed so quickly into and out of the racing scene that he is unknown or forgotten by the majority of racing aficionados. Yet there are some who swear he could have been the best ever. Get to know lots more about great racehorses of the past - go to https://plus.acast.com/s/punch-a-hole-in-the-wind.
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He was no oil painting to look at, but Dancing Brave's scintillating acceleration in some of Europe's top races in 1986 cemented his legacy.
Known as 'Nelly' and 'The Wonder From Down Under', the unbeaten Australian superstar mare Black Caviar became a champion in more than one continent.
A look at Sea-Bird, the legendary French colt who lit up the European racing scene in the mid-1960s.