Remembering Waterloo Boy 25 years on from his Tingle Creek victory

Those were the days, my friend, halcyon ones indeed for jump racing's royalty: the Duke and the Prince in their pomp, David Nicholson and his stable jockey Richard Dunwoody. They were two of the sport's most recognisable figures: the formidable Nicholson, ruddy of face, emotional of temperament and sheepskin of coat, with a notorious bark always more severe than his bite (though he could really bark), and supreme stylist Dunwoody, one of the greatest we had ever seen in the saddle whose career record stood until surpassed by Tony McCoy.

So many memories, if not quite sepia-tinted just yet, then certainly tending towards the nostalgically roseate as it is now more than a decade since dual champion trainer Nicholson died. Seldom are the recollections more vivid than when considering the hugely popular Waterloo Boy, the compact gelding with a heart as big as himself who 25 years ago won the second of his two Tingle Creek Chases at Sandown with the best performance of a long and noble career.

Dunwoody, who partnered Waterloo Boy for 14 of his 16 career successes, remembers the old warrior with enormous affection. "He really was a cracking little horse, definitely one of my favourites," says the legendary rider.