- Devon Loch
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Devon Loch Sire Devonian Grandsire Hyperion Dam Coolaleen Damsire Loch Lomond Sex Gelding Foaled 1946 Country Great Britain Colour Bay Owner Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother Horse (Equus ferus caballus) Last updated on January 19, 2008 Devon Loch (1946–1963) was a famous racehorse that is probably best remembered for its involvement in the 1956 Grand National steeplechase, when owned by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.
Having won two races already that year and running up a good third-place at Cheltenham that season, Devon Loch was well-fancied for the Grand National, and his progress was helped when the favourite and a past winner fell early on.[1]
At the race climax, with only ten horses still running, Devon Loch was on the final stretch, in front of the Royal Box just 40 yards from the winning post and with a five-length lead, when it suddenly, and inexplicably, jumped into the air and landed on its stomach, allowing E.S.B. to overtake and win. Although jockey Dick Francis tried to cajole the horse, it was unable to continue. Afterwards, The Queen Mother famously said, "Oh, that's racing".[2][3]
It is still uncertain and debated to this day as to why Devon Loch jumped; some reports claimed he suffered a cramp in its hindquarters causing the collapse. Another report asserted that a shadow thrown by the Water Jump fence (which horses only traverse on the first circuit of the Aintree course) may have baffled Devon Loch into thinking another jump was required and - confused as to whether he should jump or not - he half-jumped and collapsed. It seems possible that such confusion caused him to fail to continue. Jockey Dick Francis later stated that a loud cheer from the crowd, for an expected Royal winner, distracting the horse is a more likely explanation.
Reports that the horse had suffered a heart attack were dismissed, as Devon Loch recovered far too quickly for this to have been the case.
Devon Loch was put down during or shortly after a cold winter in 1963.
Modern use
"To do a Devon Loch" is a modern metaphor now sometimes used in sports and otherwise to explain a sudden, last-minute failure of teams or a sportsperson to complete an expected victory, for example: "Manchester United won't do a Devon Loch and lose the title after beating Chelsea"[4] or "Lewis Hamilton surrendering the championship having led Kimi Räikkönen by 17 points with just two races remaining was a Devon Loch calamity".[5] Another example occurred ahead of the Irish presidential election, 2011; when Seán Gallagher's campaign came undone in the final television debate his fall from grace was compared to Devon Loch's fall at the winning post in the 1956 Grand National.[6]
References
- Devon Loch Horse Pedigree Thoroughbred Database
- Footnotes
- ^ http://www.grand-national-world.co.uk/gnw/the_race/tales/devonloch.html
- ^ The Guardian (March 24, 1956). "Devon Loch joins the great failures". http://sport.guardian.co.uk/grandnational2005/story/0,,1450575,00.html.
- ^ Armytage, Marcus (2004-04-06). "Francis was victim of a great sporting calamity". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2006/04/06/sharmy06.xml.
- ^ MirrorFootball (2011-05-08). "Fergie: United won't do a Devon Loch and lose it now". http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Alex-Ferguson-insists-Manchester-United-won-t-do-a-Devon-Loch-and-lose-the-title-after-beating-Chelsea-article733786.html.
- ^ PlanetF1.com (2007-10-22). "A Final Conclusion From The Season's Finale". http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,18954,3261_2817729,00.html.
- ^ "Surprises still possible in Irish presidential election". BBC News. 27 October 2011.
Categories:- 1946 racehorse births
- 1963 racehorse deaths
- Thoroughbred racehorses
- Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
- Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
- National Hunt racehorses
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