Photos, short heads, epic battles: seven of the best finishes in racing history

With Enable and Crystal Ocean delighting racing fans the world over with a thrilling finish to Saturday's Qipco King George, we take a look at seven special finishes.

Alpha Delphini v Mabs Cross
Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes, 2018
The Nunthorpe has always thrown up many exciting finishes, but last year’s renewal stands above the rest. The finish was so tight it took the judges five minutes and 17 seconds to split the two involved. Alpha Delphini was a 40-1 outsider at the off, but you wouldn’t have thought it when he and Mabs Cross went head-to-head and pulled clear of sprinting superstars Battaash and Blue Point.

It looked as if the Michael Dods-trained Mabs Cross had just managed to get home, with plenty of money piling in on the exchanges with her saddle cloth in front. But as time passed the outcome looked less and less certain, and a dead heat was expected to be called. Somehow the judges managed to separate them, with the verdict going in favour of Alpha Delphini by the tiniest of margins – officially it was a nose.

Noble Mission v Al Kazeem
Qipco Champion Stakes, 2014
There are few better sights in racing that two horses battling it out on the way to the line with nothing to separate them. We were treated to exactly that on Champions Day in 2014 when Noble Mission and Al Kazeem eyeballed one another on the Ascot run-in, refusing to let each other out of their sight.

They spent the entirety of the race occupying the first two places and when the chips were down, it was Noble Mission that eventually conquered the persistent Al Kazeem in what was a thriller. Noble Mission was retired soon after, with Al Kazeem claiming his fourth Group 1, the Tattersalls Gold Cup, the following season.

Ouija Board v Alexander Goldrun
Vodafone Nassau Stakes, 2006
Ouija Board had five Group 1s to her name going into the 2006 Nassau Stakes, achieved in four different countries, with the challenger Alexander Goldrun also boasting the same impressive feat. In the end, all that could separate them was a short head as the two wrestled for the lead for three gruelling furlongs.

It was impossible to tell who had the advantage at any given time such was the proximity between the two but it created an unforgettable spectacle. Ouija Board prevailed under Frankie Dettori in a contest that the charismatic Italian described as his most memorable race of the Glorious Goodwood festival.

Tiznow v Sakhee
Breeders’ Cup Classic, 2001
Across the Atlantic, the world witnessed a true Breeders’ Cup Classic when Tiznow locked horns with Sakhee on the run-in in what was a true duel of the ages. Tiznow had won the race the previous year when beating Aidan O’Brien’s Giant's Causeway. His challenger this year came in the shape of the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Sakhee, ridden by Dettori.

The pair turned for home and started trading blows immediately. Sakhee had his nose in front and looked like the one that would prevail, maintaining his short head advantage with Tiznow not helped by the fading Albert The Great. But Tiznow and jockey Chris McCarron somehow found that little bit extra, from somewhere, to get his nose across the line first in a finish that still leaves you asking how?

His proudest moment: Steve Cauthen (near side) wins the 1985 1,000 Guineas on Oh So Sharp

One So Wonderful v Faithful Son v Chester House
Juddmonte International Stakes, 1998
Those at York on August 18, 1998 were treated to one of the finishes of the century when One So Wonderful, Faithful Son and Chester House hit the line at once with only the nod of heads deciding the result.

The trio joined each other at the two furlong pole, with Sir Henry Cecil’s Chester House holding a narrow advantage. Frankie Dettori and 9-4 favourite Faithful Son headed him approaching the half-furlong marker before they were joined by One So Wonderful, who courageously battled her way up the rail to come out on top.

The official winning distance was a short head and another short head back to Chester House in third. It remains one of the greatest finishes.

Benny The Dip v Silver Patriarch
Vodafone Derby, 1997
John Gosden won his first Derby in 1997 by a matter of centimetres in what was one of the great racing finishes. Benny The Dip came into the race as an 11-1 shot and although typically suited by front-running, eyebrows were raised when Willie Ryan sent him for home as they left Tattenham Corner. He forged five lengths clear and suddenly Ryan’s move looked like a stroke of genius.

But just as he entered the final furlong Silver Patriarch began to pick up and respond to pressure from Pat Eddery. The line could not come sooner for Benny The Dip as Silver Patriarch closed at an alarming rate of knots, the pair well clear of the rest of the field.

The judge was needed to separate the two and the Benny The Dip bagged the verdict in an exceptionally tight finish to the Classic.

Oh So Sharp v Bella Colara v Al Bahathri
1,000 Guineas, 1985
Oh So Sharp is considered one of the greatest fillies and her last gasp 1,000 Guineas win proved why. Setting off as 2-1 favourite, she appeared to have little to no chance three furlongs from home, but jockey Steve Cauthen galvanised the filly and she shot into sixth gear to scrape home in a three-way photo finish with Bella Colara and Al Bahathri.

It was so tight that no one thought she had done it, the camera instead focusing on Bella Colara and Lester Piggott. Cauthen himself didn’t celebrate, such was the manner in how she won. From there she went on to win the Oaks and St Leger, becoming the first to win the Fillies’ Triple Crown since 1955.

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