Bold-jumping front-runner who lit up the jumps scene

1 Racing enthusiasts of a certain age go misty-eyed over memories of the utterly spectacular Tingle Creek. Exuberance personified, the two-mile star lit up the 1970s jumps scene with a series of fearless front-running displays characterised by the incredible boldness in his jumping. The flamboyant chestnut with the white face and noseband won 23 of his 52 races in Britain, all but two of them chases. He never fell in seven seasons.

2 A lightly made type who loved fast ground, Tingle Creek did not look like a steeplechaser and nor was he bred to be one. His sire was the US sprinter-miler Goose Creek, a half-brother to the dam of Mill Reef. He won five jump races in his native America before being sent to Britain.

3 He habitually gave away huge amounts of weight in small-field handicap chases, often shouldering 12st 7lb and still leading rivals a merry dance when the ground was on the faster side (though he also won on soft). Never more so than in 1973-74, when he won five handicaps at Chepstow, Doncaster, Punchestown and Sandown (twice). No opponent headed him in those races, and few got anywhere near him. At Punchestown he gave 16lb to subsequent dual Champion Chase winner Skymas.