Denman was a true great

The retirement of Denman brings to an end a truly remarkable career. Denman was a freak, a fiercely courageous force of nature. He was mean, moody and magnificent. His front-running style won him legions of fans. He never gave any less than his all.

It’s ironic that a relatively minor tendon injury has brought his career to an end given Denman fought back from a career-threatening career heart problem to win a second Hennessy and finish second in three Gold Cups. It was an injury that would have finished most horses.

‘‘I was warned that the drugs used to treat him would have much the same effect as chemotherapy on humans, and we had to nurse him along for quite a few weeks. You had to wonder if he would ever be as good again,’’ his trainer Paul Nicholls later recalled.

Those doubts intensified when Denman’s first run after his lay-off at Kempton ended in a humiliating 23-length defeat to Madison Du Berlais. A month later and still looking a shadow of his former self Denman gave his all to chase home stablemate Kauto Star in the 2009 Gold Cup.  

Seven months later came an emotional final win as Denman, who was giving away lumps of weight to his rivals, held off What A Friend to win his second Hennessy. It was a staggering display of courage, jumping – his leap at the cross fence was astonishing - and defiance as Denman joined Arkle and Mandarin as the only horse to win the Hennessy twice. For sheer guts, character and resolve it was arguably his finest hour.

He may not have won another race after that but he invariably produced big displays on the big days as he did when he finished second to Imperial Commander in the 2010 Gold Cup and Long Run in the most recent renewal. He tried to win that unprecedented third Hennessy but found two too good in Diamond Harry and Burton Port in the 2010 renewal.

Post his heart problems his most enduring quality was his resolve but prior to his health problem he was as close to bomb-proof as a horse gets. The first time I laid eyes on him was in the 2007 Royal & SunAlliance Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, a race he won by 10 lengths.  Watching him demolishing all-comers that day I instantly feel in love with him and was convinced he would win a Gold Cup.  That conviction grew when he won his first Hennessy, hammering Dream Alliance by 11 lengths with a characteristically dominant front-running display off top weight.

After a subsequent win in the Lexus, Denman headed to Cheltenham for a showdown with stablemate Kauto Star. It was the most eagerly awaited Gold Cup since Arkle and Millhouse had slugged it out in the early sixties. What followed was astonishing. The expectation was Kauto Star would have too much class for Denman. ‘The Tank’ however hadn’t read the script and produced an incredible front-running display to leave Kauto trailing in his wake. At the line seven lengths separated them. It was hard to recall a more dominant, emphatic or impressive Gold Cup winning display. While the second Hennessy triumph was Denman’s most emotional triumph, the flawless performance he delivered on that March day in 2008 was the finest of his career.

As good as he was post his heart-problems he wasn’t quite the force of old. Yet he still finished second in three subsequent Gold Cup efforts. That prompts an intriguing question: How good could he have been had he avoided injury? It’s seems likely he would have had won at least another Gold Cup and possibly another Hennessy. He clearly wasn’t firing on all cylinders when he lost out to Kauto in 2009 and its worth noting Denman finished ahead of his illustrious stablemate in three of the four races in which they squared up. At Cheltenham, the only place where the stablemates went head-to-head, Denman had Kauto’s measure.

2010 perhaps was his biggest missed opportunity as after Kauto crashed out Denman was beaten into second by Imperial Commander. As impressive as Imperial Commander was that day he was below top-class and couldn’t have beaten the Denman of 2008.

Denman will be remembered as an outstanding horse from a golden era of racing. He won’t, however, be the remembered as ‘the outstanding horse’ of his era. The stats will show his rival and neighbour to be the more successful. Kauto won the Gold Cup twice to Denman’s once. He won the King George four times, the Betfair Chase four times and the Tingle Creek twice.

Having said that, the Denman v Kauto debate is not as simple as the old ‘show us your medals’ line. They had certain things in common. Both were generally fine jumpers, great stayers and fierce competitors but what made their rivalry so fascinating was their differences. Denman, for instance, couldn’t have won a King George or a Tingle Creek but Kauto couldn’t have won a Hennessy off top weight.

Denman and Kauto were as different in personality as Frazier and Ali. Kauto perhaps had more class and he was undoubtedly more versatile but Denman was relentless and occasionally contrary.  He liked to be in command and had to be ridden quietly. Sam Thomas and Ruby Walsh were ideally suited for the role but Denman took issue with AP McCoy’s more aggressive ridding style and infamously gave him a torrid time in the Punchestown Gold Cup last year. That day saw Denman at his contrary worst – he didn’t like running right handed - but yet his will to win meant he still finished fourth despite surrendering several lengths at each fence by continuously jumping wide.

Ultimately Denman will be remembered for many reasons. His jumping, his power, his moodiness, his resolve, his front-running style and most of all his courage and commitment was admired by everyone who watched him. He was a truly great horse and as Nicholls said today his retirement marks the end of a glorious era.

Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/geewVcESKC8/post.aspx

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