'He still thinks he's a six-year-old' - Clarence House ace Dodging Bullets enjoying life with former groom

It is a decade since Dodging Bullets won Ascot’s Clarence House Chase when he overcame the mighty Sprinter Sacre by three lengths in a memorable tussle from the home turn.

The victory over Nicky Henderson’s star, who was sent off the 4-6 favourite, was a prelude to his biggest triumph in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival two months later for trainer Paul Nicholls.

Bred by Frankie Dettori, the son of Dubawi was retired at the age of nine two years later, but not before he had won ten of his 36 starts and more than £545,000 in prize-money for owners Martin Broughton & Friends.

He now lives just ten minutes from Nicholls' Ditcheat base after being given to his groom Lucy Sharp, who runs a pre-training and rehabilitation centre in Somerset.

Dodging Bullets attended a Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) dressage and showjumping event at Blenheim Palace in 2018 and has kept his hand in since. He has also featured in the annual RoR parade at the festival.

Dodging Bullets (left) gets the better of Sprinter Sacre to land the 2015 Clarence House ChaseCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Sharp said: “Most days ‘Dodge’, as we all call him, is turned out in a paddock with his old stablemate Pacha Du Polder and the pair have a great time. 

"We’ve had a go at dressage and showjumping with him since he came here, but not in a competitive way and we’ve kept it fun. We’ve done plenty of flat work with him and have done things with friends. He’s 17 now but he looks like a six-year-old and in his head he thinks he is and doesn’t really realise he’s a veteran.”

On the Clarence House win Sharp recalled: “The day was a bit of a blur. He turned up and ran an absolute blinder and all I remember afterwards was Frankie was there and there were tears – and lots of them.”

As to the future, Sharp added: “He’s not doing a huge amount at the moment as I’ve just had a baby but we've just been asked to take him to the Cheltenham Festival, so he'll be getting his shoes back on shortly!”

Read more from the Where Are They Now series . . .

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'He's doing dressage, eventing and showjumping now and he's doing great - he was a fantastic horse for us' 

'He babysits the yearlings and is made for it' - Cheltenham king Coole Cody still bossing the field in retirement 

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