Silviniaco Conti: 'His jumping never let him down - he was absolutely class'

Fans' Favourites is a weekly feature in the Racing Post Weekender in which we talk to those closest to racing's most popular horses and find out why they tug on our heartstrings. This week's subject: Silviniaco Conti

Seven Grade 1s, two King George VI Chases, two Betfair Chases and two Betfred Bowls. Paul Nicholls’ description of Silviniaco Conti was spot on. Pure class.

An impressive winner of two starts over hurdles for Guillaume Macaire in France in the spring of 2010, Silviniaco Conti joined Nicholls’ all-conquering yard for owners Chris Giles and Jared Sullivan and soon confirmed his reputation as a top jumps prospect.

The son of Dom Alco was a most dominant winner of a 2m½f Bangor novice hurdle under Ryan Mahon on his stable debut in October that year and two weeks later lined up for the Chepstow Grade 2 event with Noel Fehily in the saddle.

Among his opposition were subsequent Arkle and Ascot Chase scorer Captain Chris and three-time bumper winner Frascati Park, but Silviniaco Conti left them in his wake with an impressive ten-length success.

Fehily says: “It was a great performance at Chepstow and he was very impressive around Bangor the time before. We didn’t really know a lot about him at that stage but he proved he was a top prospect that day to beat Captain Chris in a decent race. He won quite convincingly.”

Seeing a stride: Silviniaco Conti puts in another foot-perfect leap on his way to winning a second Aintree BowlCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

A second Grade 2 victory followed in the Ascot Hurdle before a third in the International Hurdle at Cheltenham and a below-par fourth in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton, but it was over fences where Silviniaco Conti’s future lay.

It was back at Wincanton where he won for the first time in his novice chase campaign in the Grade 2 Rising Stars contest in November 2011, teeing up a tilt at the Feltham Novices’ Chase in which he finished second to Grands Crus. It was a raceday that provided two crowning moments for the chaser in the following years.

Silviniaco Conti was successful in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree’s Grand National meeting that season, drawing clear to beat Champion Court, and that proved the first of four high-profile wins in a row.

The next season started with a striking display in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby followed by a top-level breakthrough in the Betfair Chase at Haydock. Having been held up on his last two starts, Ruby Walsh changed tactics and dictated the pace in the Grade 1 and his partner jumped slickly and found for pressure late on to defeat 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Long Run by two and a half lengths.

A Denman Chase rout at Newbury led to a first crack at the Cheltenham Festival showpiece, but luck was not on Silviniaco Conti’s side. He was travelling nicely the whole way round but fell at the third-last in a race won by Bobs Worth.

Walsh rode Silviniaco Conti for the final time when third in the Betfred Bowl at the end of the 2012-13 season, after which the star jockey returned to Ireland, and Fehily renewed the partnership when third in the Betfair Chase the following campaign. He rode Silviniaco Conti on every subsequent start, including when landing his first King George VI Chase at Kempton the following month.

Fehily says: “He put up a good performance in the Betfair Chase behind Cue Card and he improved a fair bit from Haydock to Kempton. He stayed on well in a very strongly run race to reverse the form and it was a great day.”

Job well done: Noel Fehily receives a high-five from Al Ferof’s rider Daryl Jacob after Silviniaco Conti's victory in the 2013 King George VI ChaseCredit: Edward Whitaker

A second run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup saw Silviniaco Conti finish fourth, only being run out of contention near the line as Lord Windermere powered to victory, then the next month brought a second Grand National meeting success and third Grade 1 in the Betfred Bowl, beating Dynaste by a length and a half. He ended the season as the top-rated Anglo-Irish chaser.

Silviniaco Conti peaked the following campaign, doubling his top-level tally to six with second wins in the Betfair Chase – beating Menorah, the King George – in which he slammed a star-studded field including Dynaste, Al Ferof, Champagne Fever and Cue Card, and the Betfred Bowl.

He was a beaten favourite when seventh in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but that could not dampen anyone’s spirits.

Fehily says: “It was a great campaign and he never let us down really. He was awesome in those top races that season. I won six Grade 1s on him in total and he was just a fantastic horse. You don’t realise until they’re gone just how hard it is to find another as good as him.

“He was easy to ride and an absolute gent. He was very well balanced and jumped for fun. From a jockey’s point of view, he was a dream horse to ride. You could make the running, drop in last, do whatever you wanted on him. His jumping never let him down – he was an absolutely class jumper.”

Silviniaco Conti failed in his bid for a third Betfair Chase the following season, finishing a seven-length second to Cue Card, and pulled up in Kempton’s Christmas showpiece when seeking a King George hat-trick.

That left many in the racing world doubting whether the classy chaser would be up to winning at the highest level again, which made his dominant victory in the Ascot Chase in first-time blinkers all the more special on his next start.

Silviniaco Conti did not win again after Ascot, pulling up in the Grand National on his final start of the season, with a second in the JNwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal and close third behind Thistlecrack in the King George VI Chase the highlights in his final season.

Proud trainer: Paul Nicholls and Silviniaco Conti pose in the sunshine at his Ditcheat baseCredit: Edward Whitaker

He was retired at the end of the campaign, with his final run when sixth in the Betway Bowl at Aintree, and sadly died at the age of 12 in a team chasing accident in 2018 the following year, after which Nicholls paid a touching tribute to his seven-time top-level winner.

Nicholls said: “Silviniaco Conti was a great horse for us and he gave his owners Jared Sullivan and Chris Giles an amazing amount of fun, winning seven Grade 1s, including successive King Georges, and over £1.15 million in prize-money.

“He came along at the right time for us, following the retirements of Kauto Star, Denman, Master Minded and Big Buck’s. He had a few problems and wasn’t always the easiest to train, but when he was right he was pure class.”

Fehily rates Silviniaco Conti as one of the best horses in his illustrious career.

The ex-jockey says: “He was right up there and one of the best staying chasers I rode. He always ran his race and contested all the top races. He kept turning up and kept performing.

“He was a horse of a lifetime for me to ride because you knew every year he was going to win you a couple of good races.”

Read more from our Fans' Favourites series:

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Quiet Reflection: 'It poured down but we didn't care as she destroyed them'

Alpha Delphini: 'I asked them to stick me 50 quid each-way on that morning

Canford Cliffs: 'He was one of the best racehorses in the last 50 years'

Taghrooda: 'She turned towards the stands and everyone was going absolutely mad'

Kingman: 'There are some in the camp who think he'd have beaten Frankel'

Tropics: 'I saw something that day I hadn't seen much – he worked like a train'

Sole Power: 'He wasn't your normal horse – he was more box office than that'

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