The Greatest Steeplechaser
After Kauto Star ‘s epic victory yesterday, to give him a fifth King George VI Chase, there has been a lot of discussion about who was the greatest steeplechaser.
My late father saw Golden Miller win at Cheltenham in the 1930s a couple of times, just as he saw Arkle win on the television as I did in the 1960s. Unquestionably, to my father, Golden Miller was the greatest and having seen all of those so called greatest since Arkle, like Desert Orchid and Kauto Star, I won’t change my father’s view.
Golden Miller too had a very big handicap and rose above it all. His owner Dorothy Paget was a complete nutcase and insisted he run in the Grand National every year, which he hated. Although he did win the National in record time in 1934, when the fences were a lot bigger, in the midst of his five Cheltenham Gold Cup triumphs.
The Scottish Toothache Cure
Since my tooth was taken out, I have been in quite a bit of pain. Today it is a lot better, as a splinter of the tooth has just appeared in my mouth. It probably sneaked out through the gum, by the side of another tooth.
I can’t take Ibuprofen and paracetamol has helped, but the only thing that has really dulled the pain has been a small Scotch and water. My father was the same and preferred it to any pain killer. But then if the eminent Hugh Pennington recommends it, it must be right.
The Anonymous Widower 