Agile and athletic – why Pegwell Bay was my hero
ITV commentator Richard Hoiles on a popular chaser of the late 1980s/early 1990s
I latched on to Pegwell Bay early in his career. I used to like watching races out in the country and I went to Cheltenham one day and saw this bobbing horse with a slightly low head carriage going by in a muddy, big-field handicap hurdle. He was fantastically well balanced and seemed to have a really good attitude, quite athletic, and I followed him after that.
He went on to become the first horse to win those two big handicap chases at Cheltenham in the autumn – at the time they were the Mackeson and the AF Budge. He wasn't actually all that little, he just looked like it because he was so fast away from his fences, such an agile horse. Kalashnikov reminds me of him; I'll be interested to see him as a chaser.
Pegwell Bay
Trainer: Tim Forster
Owner: Major AK Barlow
Biggest wins: Hugely popular performer won several major handicap chases, including Mackeson/AF Budge double at Cheltenham in 1988
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