PRESS CUTTINGS

Quixall Crossett joke has finally worn out Published: Racing Post 29/01/2002 (Comment) PAUL HAIGH No-one should be too upset that the Jockey Club has finally issued a warning to Ted Caine-effectively, though not specifically, about the running of Quixall Crossett. All good things do have to come to an end (so do all bad things, which is why the reminder that "This too will pass" is such a comfort to those in a state of affliction) and the time has surely come for this one. One of his regular jockeys, Gary Lyons, has retired. His stablemate and perennial challenger for the `least likely to win' title, Monaughty Man, has retired. His chief cheerleader and founder of the Quixall Crossett website, Caine's assistant Geoff Saunders, has resigned in protest at the fact that he's still racing. Now, or very, very soon, has to be the moment for the old horse to go. This column has always been a great fan of the most famous loser in the history of the sport, not least because the story of why he was running at all was a moving one: he was out there as a form of therapy for his humans who had suffered a terrible bereavement. For a while people cheered him on in the vain hope that he might actually win something one day. Then, as he approached his century of losses-a century that made him a celebrity all over the world as an ideal stand-in at the end of news bulletins for the lewdly shaped vegetable or the skateboarding duck-some actually began to fear the possibility that something terrible might happen in some of the small fields he was running in; that everything else would fall and that his unchallengeable status would be lost by default. The fears, as we now know, were all completely unfounded. When the century of non-achievement was finally achieved, everyone appreciated the joke. Or nearly everyone. Some thought the whole business outrageous and the ballyhoo surrounding it demeaning to the sport. But there was a widespread assumption that once the hundred had come up that would be the end of it. It hasn't been, and the joke has worn first thin and now out. While the old boy still attracts sympathetic applause wherever he goes, few can see the point of his continued appearances, and many have begun to feel an awful trepidation. Every time a trainer sends out a jumping horse he is in effect playing Russian roulette with its life. This is a truth that no-one much likes to confront, but the attrition rate is a simple matter of fact. The claim that Quixall Crossett is ever actually racing these days is, of course, debatable, but the fact that he is out on the course with jumps to negotiate before he tails off and pulls up now makes him a serious liability to the sport. The RSPCA has already expressed its concern. Can you imagine, given his celebrity, what the effect would be on the image of racing if somehow during one of his potters round, while others get on with the business of competing, he sustains a life-ending injury? The Jockey Club obviously can, and that's why it is getting anxious. It can't instruct connections on when to retire a horse. That would be an extraordinarily unwise precedent. But it has done the next best thing in telling Ted Caine that results have to improve or he may not get his licence renewed. Its suggestion that Quixall Crossett should run in handicaps, however, is probably an unwise one if only because it increases the possibility of the injury we dread. Dedicated Crossetteers-and there probably is still a rump out there-will no doubt object that the horse is well, that he continues to enjoy himself and that he does no-one any harm by his occasional outings. They'll also insist that no rules are being broken and that bringing pressure to bear on the Caines is a serious infringement of their liberty to train slow and loveable old horses if that-apart from pig farming-is what they really want to do. But they are missing the point that the 17-year-old remains an adornment to the sport, even in their eyes, only for as long as he stays in one piece. How should he bow out? Not in another race ideally. The best way would be for him to parade in front of the stands on some big raceday as a living reminder that losing is always a lot easier than winning. His fans could then applaud him into well-earned obscurity-although, come to think of it, perhaps like a sort of Red Rum in reverse, he could still find himself part-time employment closing betting shops, supermarkets, and rained-off fetes. Quixall trainer Caine is in danger of losing permit Jockey Club tells him to run champion loser in handicaps Published: Racing Post 28/01/2002 (News) Bruce Jackson TED CAINE, trainer of celebrated loser Quixall Crossett, has been warned by the Jockey Club that he could forfeit his permit, writes Bruce Jackson. Caine has not officially been barred from continuing to race Quixall Crossett, who is now 17, but has been warned that his stable's record needs to improve. Quixall Crossett has, in taking his losing run to 103, failed to finish in four of his last five races and the RSPCA contacted the Jockey Club last month over its concerns about the horse. Caine was upset yesterday at what he sees as heavy-handed tactics from the Jockey Club. "They're trying to dictate to me," said the pig-farming permit-holder from Middlesbrough, whose last winner was in 1996. "I'm being allowed to race on but they've told me to run him in a handicap, where he has a better chance. But he wouldn't like the big fields and the fast pace. He's worried about getting hurt and backs off. He's always been best in small fields. "The horse is sound and fit to race. It's not as if he's overraced-he's run just six times in the last two years." John Maxse, Jockey Club director of public relations, said: "Mr Caine has been notified that, unless the performance levels of his horses improve, the Licensing Committee may decide they don't want to renew his permit on application in September. There is a standard we expect everyone to keep and people have lost their licences in these circumstances." The Jockey Club, while applauding the achievement of racing 100 times, has noted that Quixall Crossett has been showing "receding interest in getting competitive on the racecourse". Maxse added: "To carry on running Quixall Crossett not only brings added pressure on Mr Caine with the public attention, but also potentially affects his chances at his permit renewal." Future for birthday boy Quixall remains uncertain Published: Racing Post 01/01/2002 (News) ROY BRIGGS RACING'S most famous loser, Quixall Crossett, officially celebrates his 17th birthday today-but whether his legion of fans will ever see the old horse in action again still hangs in the balance. Horses rarely stay in training at such an age, but De Pluvinel was 17 when winning the 1990 Royal Artillery Gold Cup for trainer Guy Prest -and ten years earlier Sonny Somers won two races at 18, equalling the world record for the oldest horse ever to win a race. Following growing pressure for Quixall Crossett to be retired, the Jockey Club last month expressed concerns, along with the RSPCA, over his welfare and demanded to know trainer Ted Caine's plans. The Club also wrote to the North Yorkshire-based handler about plans for his other horses who had been `performing badly'. Caine said yesterday: "Quixall is fine, but when he'll run again I'm not sure. It won't be for a while; with the wintry weather we've been taking things easy with all the horses. "If he does run again it will be in a small field. I won't know for sure until I get him fit." On the Jockey Club's request, Caine said: "I'll be sending in a report shortly. They're the boss but I have views to put forward. "I haven't lost faith in the horse yet. And the horse's welfare has always been the important thing-how can people think we don't care about him when we've kept him right all this time?" John Maxse, Jockey Club spokesman, said: "We've had further conversations with Mr Caine, and if he has any further plans he will let us know before he does anything. "Regarding the other horses, I understand he doesn't intend to have any runners in the immediate future." Quixall Crossett's latest start was at Ayr on November 18, when he refused and unseated his rider five out after being tailed off, carrying almost three stone more than his handicap rating. He has run a British record 103 times without success, and his celebrity status as the most unsuccessful racehorse in training is reflected in the 12,000 hits his website attracted during 2001. RECORD BREAKER QUIXALL PRIMED TO FAIL AGAIN. Robert Cooper, "Cooper's World"; from In the Know magazine no. 58, October 2001 Prediction time. Depending on when you buy this magazine there are approximately 80 shopping days until Christmas. That takes into account Sunday opening but not internet shopping. Cooper's World confidently forecasts that Channel Four's A-Z of Horse Racing (£14.99) will finds its way under more Christmas trees than any other racing book this season. It is due to be published in October [yep, now available - JG]. Between Abdullah, Khalid and Zippy Chippy are 200,000 words of pretty well everything to do with racing. The book has been compiled by Sean Magee who told me, "you can't be comprehensive, you have to draw the line somewhere". How he finds time beats me. Away from his computer keyboard, the sportsman Magee can frequently be spotted sporting the yellow jersey as he cycles the roads of Oxfordshire where he lives. But it was for his fascination with the record breaking Quixall Crossett, that I tracked down Sean Magee - or more accurately he found me - as ever, on his bike. It's not every day that the Honorary President of the Quixall Crossett Fan Club pops in for a shandy. Magee has followed every stride of Quixall Crossett's hopeless career. To date his record is: Races 100 Wins 0. Why the fascination with his failure to win? Magee explains: "It is the sheer statistical feat that he's lost more races than any other horse. Whether or not one takes a sneery view of this, the fact is that Quixall Crossett is a slow but exceptionally well looked after horse - he's 16 and his form shows no sign of tailing off." Quixall Crossett, who notched his hundredth defeat at Southwell on July 22nd, is due to reappear at Wetherby on October 17th. His trainer Ted Caine wouldn't contemplate running him unless he was fit, healthy and popping his cork. He was bred by the Caines and when their son, who was in his early twenties, was killed in a farming accident on their farm, Quixall Crossett was, Magee told me, "their way of channelling their grief". His presence at Southwell was certainly accountable for a near record attendance. Sean Magee must have a memory like an elephant. No equine fact escapes his data base - an ideal chap to compile an encyclopedia. Before pedalling into the sunset, he told me about Elsich who fell in two races at Cheltenham on the same day. And of Zippy Chippy, described in the book as 'the Quixall Crossett of the USA'. "He was acquired by his trainer," Magee chortles, "in exchange for a van". With the evenings drawing in and no lights on his bike, we didn't have time to discuss other serial losers like Amrullah and Peggy's Pet.   The 101st Run From the Racing Post, October 18th 2001 QUIXALL CROSSETT MAINTAINS BEATEN RECORD WITH EASE Quixall Crossett will race on, despite comfortably retaining his winnerless [sic] record by finishing a distant sixth on his 101st run at Wetherby yesterday, writes Colin Russell. Although a fence behind at one stage, the 16-year-old kept plodding on to finish a remote last in the race named after him, the Reliant Reva Electric Car Quixall Crossett Maiden Chase. "At least he jumped round because these fences take some jumping," said his trainer Ted Caine. "I was pleased with the way he kept going, a lot wouldn't, and I wasn't disappointed. I didn't expect him to win. It's doubtful if he'll win a race now, but I'll be pleased if he gets a couple of places. We'll give him another run and then see how he is".   NEW PARTNER BIDS TO END QUIXALL'S RUN from the Racing Post, October 17th 2001 by Graham Green Quixall Crossett has a new partner as he bids to get off the mark at the 101st attempt in the race named in his honour at Wetherby this afternoon. Jump racing's most accomplished loser teams up with amateur jockey Bernie Wharfe, but although trainer Ted Caine described his charge as "ready", he is resigned to witnessing another defeat. The Relian Reva Electric Car Quixall Crossett Maiden Chase was framed after a Wetherby annual member asked for a race to be put on that the 16-year-old gelding had a chance of winning, but Caine has his doubts. "I promised them [Wetherby] I would run him, but I am on a hiding to nothing," said Caine yesterday. "I wanted a 0-90 novice handicap chase, but they had a novice handicap and have come up with a race where al runners carry the same weight. What chance has he got, rated 47, against the likes of Henrietts Knight's Maximize on 114, and Mary Reveley's two runners?" Caine is keen to encourage budding young riders, and was impressed with Wharfe when the 18-year-old, who is attached to Terry Caldwell's Warrington yard, rode Shank's Pony for him at Market Rasen in August. Wharfe rode a winner at Huntingdon in May on the Caldwell-trained Cap It If You Can, but has no illusions that Quixall Crossett will provide his second career success. "It is an exciting opportunity to be associated with a horse in the public eye," he said, "and if I can get him round it will mean more publicity and hopefully a few more spare rides". Caine added: "Quixall Crossett will get the lad round, and the main thing is that they both come home in one piece". ISTABRAQ AND QUIXALL CROSSETT by Jeremy Edge and taken from letitride.com Istabraq and Quixall Crossett (06 January 2001) by: Jeremy Edge Over the next few months two of the most popular horses in training in the British Isles, Istabraq and Quixall Crossett, will aim, in two totallydifferent ways, to enter the record books. In March nine year old hurdler Istabraq will aim to become the first horse ever to win four consecutive Champion Hurdles and in the next few weeks sixteen year old British steeplechaser Quixall Crossett will run the 99th and 100th races of his so far winless career. Istabraq, a Sadler's Wells half-brother to 1984 Epsom Derby winner Secreto, was sold out of John Gosden's Newmarket stable for around $60,000 to the legendary Irish owner/punter JP McManus who sent the four year old to be trained by the then up and coming conditioner Aidan O'Brien. He finished a close second in his hurdling debut at Punchestown and quickly established himself as the leading Irish contender for the Sun Alliance Novices Hurdle at the 1997 Cheltenham Festival. He won that race and ran the race of his life to take his first ever Champion Hurdle in March 1998. In hindsight his starting price of 3-1, that day, was one of the best value bets in racing history and since then he has started odds-on in every single race that he has contested and until very recently he only suffered two defeats at his weaker distance of two and a half miles. Istabraq arrived at Cheltenham 2000 on the verge of greatness. Victory would see him join an elite band of horses who have won three Champion Hurdles. But rumours were rife that all was not well with the great gelding and his odds started to drift amid speculation that he would be scratched from the race. Of course he lined up and again won easily although there were some present who believed that McManus had engineered the rumours to try and get better odds on his horse. Aidan O'Brien decided that Istabraq would have a very light campaign for the 2000-1 season and he returned to the track at Leopardstown, shortly after Christmas, after a gap of over 290 days. Sadly he fell, for the first time in his career, at the last flight but thankfully returned to Ballydoyle none the worse for his efforts. O'Brien who had hoped to take him to the Champion Hurdle direct has now conceded that Istabraq will probably run in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in January. His career record of 25 22-2-0 is unbelievable and if he wins his record fourth Champion Hurdle Irish eyes certainly will be smiling! You probably can't get more removed from Aidan O'Brien and Istabraq than the combination of trainer Ted Caine and his horse Quixall Crossett.  Caine last trained a winner five years and 244 runs ago. The statistics of Quixall Crosset's career, who was named in honour of former Manchester United and England soccer star Albert Quixall, make very sorry reading. Sent off at odds of over 33-1 on over 70% of his 98 career starts he has only managed two second places(one of those was in a two runner race!) and he has filled the third spot only five times. He was off the track for over a year, with a tendon injury, and returned in a Novice Chase at Wetherby on Boxing Day. Caine also ran Triona's Hope,  winless in nearly 40 career starts, and the duo managed to finish third and fourth out of four! Quixall Crossett although undoubtably a very slow horse has always appeared to be a very safe jumper of his fences, falling only five times in his career, but I do hope that Caine retires him after his 100th career defeat. A few years ago the Racing Post, when reviewing one of his races, said of Quixall Crossett "A Seriously slow horse in danger of becoming a folk hero". He now has reached folk hero status thanks to his lad Geoff Sanderson who set up a fan club and an excellent website for Quixall Crossett.  There has often been talk of a match between Quixall Crossett and Zippy Chippy but it seems a very remote possibilty as it would be virtually impossible to create a race that would be fair to both an American flat horse and a British three mile steeplechaser. The flat season doesn't resume until Doncaster on the 22nd of March but with a superstar like Istabraq and a folk hero like Quixall Crossett to follow very few people are missing the summer game at all. Nothing succeeds like failure

from THE TIMES, 23rd July 2001

BY ALAN LEE

Quixall Crossett delights his public with another defeat

COME the weekend, the horse talk will be of Galileo and Fantastic Light. Yesterday, it was all about a fantastic loser. Whether drawn by curiosity, poignancy or the perverse passion for habitual failure, thousands descended on the customarily deserted acres of Southwell to witness Quixall Crossett’s attempt on a 100th consecutive defeat. He never looked likely to let them down. There will be few less distinguished races run than the Ropewalk Chambers Maiden Steeplechase (second division) but it was still far too competitive for the most famously hopeless horse in history. Setting off with four of the 12 runners behind him, he had dropped to the rear by the first turn, was detached by 15 lengths with two circuits still to run and might conceivably have been lapped but for being pulled up at halfway. He trotted past the post to a rousing ovation and had been unsaddled long before the race was over. Quixall Crossett, a sprightly 16 years old, jogged away, looking contrarily pleased with himself. He had, after all, won the best turned out prize. Ted Caine, his breeder, owner and trainer, hopped from foot to foot, hands entwined behind his blazered back, and faced his unaccustomed interrogation from the media. He looked as if he would rather be back on his pig farm on the Cleveland Hills. “I’m a bit disappointed he didn’t complete. I think he lost interest without any company, he does like to be in amongst them,” he said. “He’ll come out again and I won’t say he’ll impress but he will do a bit better than that. He’ll have to, in the next run or two, or we will retire him.” A clutch of cameramen followed Caine and his wife, Joy, back to the stables for a reunion with their heroic failure. On the face of it, this was mawkish indulgence of the British obsession with failure. For those who knew, though, there was good cause to empathise with the Caines and to applaud their flustered dignity. It is true that Quixall Crossett — named by Caine after Albert Quixall, a footballer he happened to admire — is the very celebration of mediocrity, in achievement if not in constitution. To his owners, though, he has been a life-enhancing consolation for the loss of their son. Quixall was still a young horse when Malcolm Caine was killed in a horrific accident with farm machinery. “You think you’ll never recover from some things,” Ted recalled, “but when you have horses there are so many things to do that you just have to get on with it. “Horses look to you, and you can’t let them down. Quixall and the others kept us going, gave us a reason to get up and, in time, go out and face people again.” One of the people he faced was Geoff Sanderson, who had recently lost his own son. The bond formed that day has endured, and Sanderson led up Quixall Crossett yesterday with all the pride that the Ballydoyle employees in charge of Galileo will feel at Ascot on Saturday. It is Sanderson who has been responsible for some of the more bizarre offshoots of Quixall Crossett’s fame, like the slick website that has now taken 7,000 hits in nine months. Yesterday, there were 101 messages posted on the site, including an exhortation to make a film of the story. Quixall Crossett, having eclipsed the previous British record when he passed Amrullah’s run of 74 defeats, is now thought to hold the worst losing run in the northern hemisphere. His first run was in a bumper at Catterick in February 1990. He finished tailed off. Since then, he has managed two second places — failing by only two lengths in a chase at Wetherby three years ago — and six thirds, while yesterday’s race was the 32nd he has failed to complete. Only once in his career has he been sent off at single-figure odds. This was in a maiden chase at Sedgefield in which he was faced by just two rivals. Quixall Crossett, a 4-1 chance, trailed in third. Yesterday, he attracted two double-figure bets at 80-1 but the rest of the ring reported an aggregate of £50 for him. Nick Kent, the amateur on board, is the 27th jockey to have tried and failed. He was volunteered for the ride by a girlfriend, who phoned Caine to offer his services while he was in the shower. Perhaps significantly, she is not his girlfriend any more. Kent also partnered Triona’s Hope, the other runner from the Caine’s yard in bleak, Wuthering Heights setting. He, too, was pulled up and has now accumulated 46 defeats for a trainer who last celebrated a winner six years ago. Why he does it, only he can say. Racing professionals resent it all, deploring the attention on those who fail. Peter Niven, a greybeard of the jockeys’ room, looked around and shook his head. “There’s something wrong with this country, glorifying defeat.” he said. Southwell, meanwhile, was acclaiming its biggest crowd in at least ten years and Caine was arguing that it was unfair to judge his horse as the worst there has been. “It depends how you look at it,” he said. “Not every horse reaches the racecourse and not every horse gets placed. Anyway, we have had a lot of fun with him.” Which, in the final analysis, is supposed to be what sport is all about.

The horse that's a safe bet - to lose

Jeevan Vasagar
Monday July 23, 2001
The Guardian

In a country in love with gallant sporting losers, it was always a racing certainty that Quixall Crossett would become a folk hero.

The 16-year-old chestnut gelding confirmed his reputation yesterday as Britain's unluckiest horse by losing his 100th race in a row.

Nicknamed Champion the Blunder Horse, Quixall romped to defeat in the 3.45 at Southwell, near Nottingham, by failing even to complete the course.

Despite being the only horse in Britain ever to race 100 times and never win, Quixall is a favourite for legions of fans and even has his own website (www.quixall-crossett.co.uk).

Yesterday the 66-1 outsider earned a cheer from the crowd, while he and his jockey, Nick Kent, were mobbed by reporters.

Named after former Manchester United player Albert Quixall and trainer Ted Caine's smallholding, High Crossett Farm at Chop Gate, North Yorkshire, he has been racing since he was five. Assistant trainer Geoff Sanderson said the horse's escapades had been a source of comfort to Mr and Mrs Caine after their lives were blighted by tragedy.

"Their only son was killed in a combine harvester accident and at that point Quixall was the hardiest, most robust horse in the yard, and it was taking him to the races that got them back into circulation again, talking to people."

Things had started well yesterday with Quixall winning the best turned out horse in the parade ring.

But by halfway it looked as if Quixall was in more danger of being lapped than reaching the frame and with several fences still to jump, jockey Kent pulled him up.

Mr Caine said: "He looked well but we were a bit disappointed he didn't manage to finish today. The important thing is he came back safely."

Some fans bet on Quixall in every race, but before he ran at Southwell, Mr Caine had a warning for them: "Quixall's worth a flutter - but don't put your house on him."

QUIXALL CROSSETT HAS TON IT

By TREVOR CLEMENTS (THE SUN, 23-07-01)

SPORT's unlikeliest hero Quixall Crossett registered his 100th flop yesterday ... to the delight of his army of fans.

The 16-year-old chaser pulled up after a circuit of the Ropewalk Chambers Maiden Chase at Southwell but returned to the warmest applause of the day.

Racing's answer to skier Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards attracted a huge crowd to the Nottinghamshire track.

He could hardly move for cameras in the parade ring.

But after giving up last place to no-one over the first mile and a quarter he was pulled up. The race went to the 5-2 second-favourite Secret Can't Say.

Disappointed jockey Nick Kent said: "He looked fabulous in the paddock but if anything he was too relaxed. He didn't jump with his usual fluency and ran as though something was amiss."

But pig-farmer trainer Ted Caine gave supporters hope of another comeback.

He added: "He has jogged away well from the race and looks OK.

"We'll get him home and have a look at him before deciding what to do next."

Devoted assistant trainer Geoff Sanderson insisted: "He has given a lot of people a lot of joy. He never gets in anyone's way and he enjoys himself. I just blame Ted for putting him in 100 wrong races!"

To label Quixall the worst horse in training not only misses the point, it is totally incorrect.

He has parted company with his jockey in just 11 of his 100 runs and has amassed £8,500 in place prize-money.

Any British sporting hero who gets to 100 can only be applauded.

As our cricketers might appreciate, one day.

Luckless Ted's beautiful loser Century of defeats looms for cult figure of national hunt Will Buckley Sunday July 22, 2001 The Observer 003U0PPFPP00L00L00L00F - Quixall Crossett's record just for 1996 reads like gobbledegook. Other years included, it has an unfeasible number of 0s, Us and Ps split by the occasional slash to mark the end of a season and the even more occasional 2 or 3 to denote a finish in the money. This afternoon at Southwell in Nottinghamshire, the gobbledegook will become one figure longer as Quixall Crossett runs his hundredth race in the Ropewalk Chambers Maiden Chase. Sixteen years old and still a maiden - if Ann Widdecombe were a horse she'd be Quixall Crossett. As the Tory party seem determined to discover, the art of losing can move from an embarrassment to a habit to a comfort. And certainly trainer Ted Caine - 249 consecutive losers, last winner March 1995 at Ayr - is phlegmatic and proud of his horse rather than defensive or humiliated. 'If everyone who doesn't win starts crying it's going to be a poor day,' he says. 'I think he'll run quite well. There'll be one or two speed merchants in the race but he's very well and I couldn't get him any better. You never know in life.' You don't, although experience quickly teaches you that 200-1 shots - Quixall Crossett's probable starting price - tend to conform to a predictable pattern. But there's always a Norton's Coin (100-1 winner of the 1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup) and, the record doesn't lie: Quixall has twice finished second. 'At Wetherby three years ago he was only beaten by two-and-a-half lengths,' says Caine. 'And he was catching the one that won that day. He ran well. And he was beaten by six lengths at Kelso and I think there were quite a few runners in the race.' Unarguably, Caine could be said to be enduring something of a losing streak - what's five or six years? - and he has trained winners in the past, including Cavalier Crossett, who won eight times. 'My horses are well,' he says. 'But there's a lot of competition out there. We've had a few seconds and a few thirds and all we need is that extra little bit of luck to get a winner. We're not pushy people.' Quixall Crossett - who may retire after today's race - represents much more than a string of letters. Just after Caine had given up the family farm, his son Malcolm, who had taken over, was killed in a combine-harvester accident. In some regard Quixall Crossett helped him and his wife, Joy, in their grief. Running Quixall Crossett got them out of the house and in the 1996-97 season he ran 31 times in 10 months. Nor were they the only grieving parents. At about the same time, Geoff Sanderson's two-year-old son Adam, who suffered from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, died suddenly. 'After my bereavement I started going to the races just to see the horses. Not to talk to people,' says Sanderson. 'But I found Ted standing next to me in a stand at Sedgefield. I knew he was a local permit trainer and I said, "How's Quixall?" and that was it. We hit it off immediately. The parallel in family histories is incredible.' Geoff became assistant trainer to Ted and Quixall Crossett's biggest fan, leading him out on the day he broke Amrullah's losing streak. 'If it hadn't been for Quixall I wouldn't be talking to you now, I'd be sitting in a chair staring at the carpet,' he says. 'That's why he's such a special horse and can never be a loser. Any animal which can give a life back to three people is not a loser.' Quite. And Geoff is convinced that the horse helped him overcome the clinical depression that followed upon his son's death. Far from being depressed, he is almost bullish about Quixall's chances this afternoon. 'He's keen and well. He jumps well. And Southwell's an uncomplicated track. He's been put in the race to win it if at all possible. It's too dangerous a sport to take the mick.' Geoff, something of a connoisseur of losing streaks, is quick to point out that Rubens Barichello raced in 123 grands prix before he won one, but that certainly didn't make him the worst driver in the world. 'I'd prefer him to be driving me home from the pub on a Saturday night than some others I could mention.' An eventuality that is as likely as a Quixall Crossett victory this afternoon but Geoff's colourful language certainly gives some fizz to the website he has created in honour of his horse (quixall-crossett.co.uk) For example: anecdote of the month. Gill Sanderson: 'Geoff, I think you love Ted's horses more than you love me.' Geoff: 'Darling, I love Martin Pipe's horses more than I love you!!' Result - amicable divorce. See Latest News. 'We're still friends, my soon-to-be-ex-wife and I,' Geoff says. 'But we grieved in different ways after we lost Adam and we get on a lot better now that we're not under the same roof.' He met his new girlfriend through the Quixall Crossett fan club. 'I'm in contact with 250 fans personally and one of the reasons for choosing Southwell is that it's fairly central, so his fans can come from Newcastle in the north and London in the south.' So there you have it. Quixall Crossett - not just a losing horse but a successful dating agency. To slightly amend words once used by fellow loser Michael Portillo: Who Cares Who Wins.

Crossett a winner in love from 11th February 2001 With typical irreverence for the English language, adjectivally-challenged American sportswriters have recently coined a neologism to describe a British racehorse who has competed a European record 99 times without winning. Quixall Crossett is the planet’s "losingmost" horse. Precisely because he is a loser who never stops trying, the 16-year-old gelding - named Quixall after Albert, the Manchester United and England footballer of the 1960s - is one of Britain’s favourite racehorses of the moment. He still has some way to go, however, to claim the all-time losingmost world record - that belongs to Ouroene, a mare who competed 124 times in Australia from 1976 to ’83 without winning. Though he rarely finishes other than last, the Sultan of Slow is out in front in British terms as no other horse running on our courses - or anywhere in the world - has totted up such a losing streak. Some time before Easter, trainer Ted Caine will bring Quixall Crossett down from his High Crossett pig farm, situated near the North Yorkshire moors hamlet of Chop Gate - pork chop, presumably - to some lucky racecourse. For the 100th time, Quixall Crossett will race and, barring disaster to the other competitors, he will lose. It is safe to say that a huge crowd will be present to witness the triumphless ton, because Crossett - as he is known to his friends - is a living legend with his own fan club and website. Television documentaries and myriad newspaper reports have built up Crossett’s worldwide fame to the extent that 58-year-old Caine, and Crossett's devoted lad, assistant trainer Geoff Sanderson, 47, have been forced to ban the media from the farm: "I can’t get me work done," was Caine’s plaintive cry last week. The circus which will surround Crossett's 100th appearance would not have my backing were it simply another celebration of the British penchant for loving a good loser. Though he complies with the rules of racing by running on his merits - he does not possess a lot, and usually goes off at 100/1 or more - some observers have also questioned the wisdom of running a horse at the age of 16, and certainly that would not be countenanced on the Flat with its greater demands for the quality that Crossett lacks to a great extent...speed. But as a steeplechaser of sound wind and leg, who has passed more medical inspections than the British athletics team, Crossett can possibly race on for another year or so, though there is no doubt that the end is in sight. When he does retire, Caine and Sanderson will retain their deep affection for a cranky individual who was once described as an ugly duckling. He’s still no beauty, but Quixall Crossett did become a swan of sorts. For behind all the ludicrous hoopla which surrounds the character, there lies the extraordinary human story of a bond between two families and a horse which was born out of tragedy, and which has grown to an unheralded victory over adversity. Caine and his wife, Joy, had nurtured the home-bred Quixall Crossett until he started racing in 1990. Caine has held a training permit for 20 years, and has sent out plenty of winners - Cavalier Crossett alone gave him eight victories - yet he could see that Quixall Crossett was clearly lacking forward gears. The horse seemed set to give them at least a few years’ sport at the various northern courses, though, before being turned out to grass. Meanwhile, Sanderson was living some miles north of Chop Gate, over the moors towards Middlesbrough. He had some connections with racing, but did not know the Caine family. In a short space of time in the mid-1990s, the Caines and the Sandersons were inextricably linked by tragedy. The Caines’ 26-year-old son, Malcolm, was killed in an accident at their farm, while Sanderson’s two-year-old son, Adam, who suffered from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, also died suddenly. The Caines responded by throwing themselves into their training work. Going racing with their horses got them out and about to courses such as Kelso, where they are always welcome. In that 1996-97 season, their talisman was Quixall Crossett, by now the hardiest horse in the yard, who ran an incredible 31 times in ten months. The fact that he didn’t ever look like winning was immaterial, though he did finish just three lengths third in a novices’ chase at Uttoxeter. Like Robert the Bruce’s spider, Crossett just kept on trying, never giving up, and alongside him the Caines drew strength. Meanwhile, Sanderson had descended into a deep clinical depression, and eventually was in receipt of invalidity benefit. Occasional visits to the racecourse were one solace in his dark time, and Sanderson takes up the story: "I had a slight background in racing as a teenager, and was attending Sedgefield races in order to be with the horses, rather than to talk to anyone. Ted and Joy came and stood next to me. I had never spoken to them before so, hesitantly, I asked after their horses. The parallel between our histories soon became apparent." Geoff found his way to Chop Gate, where he was given charge of Quixall Crossett: "At first, while I was still ill, he was an absolute Christian - no matter what I did, nor what mistakes I made with him. As my recovery progressed, the more cheeky he became, and the more he tried it on. Until now, well...I can’t describe what he means to me. Everything he did for Ted and Joy, he has now repeated for me. He is, by far, the most effective therapist to whom I have been referred." There were no wins to celebrate, but the losing races piled up until Crossett overtook Amrullah’s record of 74 successive losses in 1998. He did, however, earn a useful reputation as a safe conveyance. He has fallen just four times on the racetrack, and was never seriously injured until September 19, 1999, when he pulled up lame at Kelso in a race we won’t forget - the Scotland on Sunday Novices’ Chase. Now it was the turn of Ted and Joy Caine and Geoff Sanderson to repay the veteran for his inspiration to them. Patiently, with the help of family, friends, lads, lasses and vets, they got Quixall Crossett back to good health, and on Boxing Day he raced again for the 98th time, coming fourth - of four - in a novices’ chase at Wetherby. He bagged £311 for that placing, taking his total career earnings to £8,502, or £85.88 per race. Race 99 was at Kelso this month - Crossett was pulled up in nasty, loose ground, but received an ovation anyway - and now it’s on to the 100th outing. Caine and Sanderson are good horsemen, and would not risk Quixall Crossett if he was not right. "He is as sound as a bell just now," Caine confirmed. "He didn’t like the ground at Kelso, but really enjoyed himself at Wetherby, and as long as he enjoys it and is sound, he’ll carry on racing." Sanderson observed: "Scotland on Sunday? Grrrr, it was your race in which he got hurt - all is forgiven, however, because he’s in great shape, and could race tomorrow. He’s clean winded, has legs like iron, and doesn’t look his age. He’s gotten cute in his old age, and knows how to look after himself, as you would expect. "We are trying to put a bit of fun into racing with him, but it is done in the genuine spirit of the sport, and the safety of the horse, jockey and the horses and people around him are paramount to us - if there was any doubt on that score, we would not run him. "Given what he means to us, we could be forgiven if we let him carry on forever, but that can’t happen. I wouldn’t like to say how long he’ll continue. Let’s just say he’ll race until his last race." Now that the remarkable story of Quixall Crossett is becoming known, expect even more people to attend that 100th occasion. We will be turning out not to mock the losingmost, but to salute an equine hero. For Quixall Crossett is as much a winner as Arkle, Red Rum, and Aldaniti. If in a rather different fashion. Read about Quixall Crossett on the internet at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/geoffrey.sanderson/quixallcrossett.htm. Martin Hannan Sunday, 11th February 2001 Scotland on Sunday

HUNDRED RACE HORSE IS SURE-FIRE LOSER

(Sky News, 6th February 2001)

Punters thinking about putting a bet on racehorse Quixall Crossett might just be flogging a dead horse.

The unfortunate Quixall (pictured) should be celebrating the fact that he is about to run his 100th race - except that he has lost the last 99 of them.

And his odds of 200-1 reflect the fact that those in the know have finally given up on the slowest nag in the business.

Fan club

But trainer Ted Caine still has some faith in the horse he has cared for since he was a foal. "He has come second a couple of times in his life," said Ted. "But we're not really banking on him winning anything in the future although stranger things have happened. Just as long as he comes back sound and keeps on enjoying himself, we'll carry on racing him."

Three seasons ago, 16-year-old Quixall smashed the world record of 74 straight defeats, previously held by the racehorse Amrullah.

And now, with 99 straight losses behind him, Quixall Crossett has become the stuff of racing legends.

But while he may not be a success on the racecourse, he's a winner on the web, as Quixall boasts his own website.

Doesn't like big fields

His fan base "rivals that of boybands" according to his website, which boasts a poetry section written by admirers, press cuttings and an 'Ask Quixall' page, where the racehorse reveals such facts as his favourite treat (Polos) and the correct pronunciation of his name.

Trainer Ted said there were a few reasons why Quixall could be onto such a losing streak. "He doesn't like racing in the snow and he doesn't like big fields. He's also not very keen on being hemmed in or knocked about. He likes to be able to do his own thing," he said.

Ted admitted that Quixall's ability to lose races stopped surprising him long ago. "He raced at Wetherby on Boxing Day and came fourth. Mind you, there were only four horses in the race!"

Crossett still not a Pet

Observer, 4th February 2001

That perennial loser, Quixall Crossett, the no-hoper with such a cult following he has his own website, notched up his 99th straight defeat at Kelso on Thursday and North Yorkshire Moors pig farmer-cum-trainer Ted Caine is now on the lookout for a race on TV to chalk up his horse's century.

Quixall Crossett, a 16-year-old gelding and 'windsucker and a crib-biter' to boot according to Caine, came to prominence three years ago when he overtook Amrullah's record of 74 straight defeats and was hailed as the losing-most horse ever.

But despite press coverage to that effect, he never was deserving of the title of the racehorse with the worst track record of all time. That honour is reputed to be held by Peggy's Pet, who on his final appearance as a mere nine-year-old in a Fakenham chase in 1970 was notching an 111th successive defeat after pulling up at the ninth fence. Quixall Crossett has many more miles to complete before he overtakes the Peter Poston-trained runner.

A racing cert? You bet ­ he’ll lose

by Chris Benfield

from the Yorkshire Post, 3rd Feb 2001

As we all know, there is no such thing as a safe bet. But Quixall Crossett comes close.

On Thursday morning at Kelso, he had a record of 98 races in 11 years without a win. By Thursday evening, it was 99.

It is a world record but not the sort professional racehorses are encouraged to set.

Quixall, however, is a horse people warm to. He has spent his 16-year life hinting at buried potential and trying just hard enough to earn forgiveness and a bucket of oats.

He has become a star for his determination not to be one. People write to him via the Internet. They bet a pound or two on his nose, in the contented knowledge that there is no need to get excited about the bookies’ promises to pay it back many times if a miracle happens. It won’t.

His owners are Ted and Joy Caine, who raise pigs for a living and horses for fun at High Crossett farm in Bilsdale, near Chop Gate, on the North York Moors, and their married daughter, Karen Woodgate. Mr Caine used to be a serious footballer and Quixall was named after former Manchester United star Albert Quixall. One of their stable hands, Geoff Sanderson, now runs a website which reflects Quixall’s cult status. It recalls: “Even as a five-year-old, if Quixall was given a good gallop, he would not eat an oat for two or three days afterwards. He has always been a wind-sucker and crib-biter and has many of the vices one usually avoids in a horse. But he developed into the soundest, hardiest, horse in the yard.”

Not, you will note, the fastest.

After his first 13 races, Quixall came in second in a point-to-point. He did it again once more and notched up a few third places, to put a total of £8,502 in his winnings account.  But nowadays he comes third if there are only three runners. And a racehorse costs £10,000 a year to run.

In training, however, every now and then, he still puts in a run which suggests he might one day repay continued love and loyalty.  But as becomes clear from Mr Sanderson’s affectionate exasperation on the subject, Quixall is a tease.   He was badly down from a bereavement when he first met the horse and says: “At first, he was an absolute Christian. But as my recovery progressed, the more he tried it on.”

Mr Caine, who bought Quixall as a foal for £50, said last night: “People keep saying it’s time to put him out to grass but he’d only enjoy it for about three weeks. He likes the excitement of racing.”

The horse is almost certain to run his hundredth race although it has not yet been fixed.

Punters might like to note that he doesn’t like right-handed circuits, big fields, or soft ground.

John McCririck on Quixall Crossett

Crossett the World's Best Loser

"There's a web site now honouring Quixall Crossett, who is set to retire after 100 races without a single win.

"But the great expert on this horse is Sean Magee. He edits the Channel 4 racing books.

"He's the Quixall Crossett expert and knows all the stats and is by far his favorite racehorse.

"But this is great isnt't it? It's totally off the planet but it's great for everyone.

"They are keeping the horse running and as long as the horse is enjoying it, that's fine.

"What I was sad to see was old Suny Bay at Warwick on Saturday. He was three stones below his top handicap weight and was still a 40-1 or 50-1 shot.

"The connections have now realised it wasn't right and have retired the old horse.

"But Quixall Crossett goes very much slower but may not been exerting himself and we could all sympathise with the perennial loser, I'm a perennial loser myself.

"I love following the old horse and let's hope he gets the 100 up now".

By Michael Robson, PA Sport

Quixall Crossett, the horse famous for being bad, will have a short break before trying to rack up 100 races without a win.  The 16-year-old, so well known that he has his own website, never threatened to spoil his record of failure when competing in his 99th race at Kelso today.

Trailing the field for most of the way, he was well behind when his rider decided enough was enough and pulled him up.  But his trainer Ted Caine, a pig farmer based at Chopgate in the North Yorkshire Moors, promised that the horse is not finished just yet.

"His jockey said he wasn't liking the soft ground today. But don't worry he'll be back," he said.  "I can't say where he'll run but we'll try to find some better ground for him.

"Some people might criticise me for running a horse like this but I do it for the enjoyment and not the publicity.  I always have this worry that he might cause harm to another horse but so far he's been no trouble to anyone else.  He's a windsucker and a crib-biter and has had plenty of other problems but he's given us so much pleasure over the years."

Caine has also gained financially from Quixall Crossett as he tries to run the horse where he is eligible for appearance money.

Today's outing netted the trainer £500 - in addition he collected £500 for the appearance of stablemate Triona's Hope in the same race.  Quixall Crossett has also earned £8,502 in prize money, having twice finished runner-up in his earlier days.

Caine is looking forward to something better when a close relation of Quixall Crossett makes his debut at Wetherby on Saturday. Kin To Quixall tries his luck in a bumper race at the West Yorkshire track.

"I'm not expecting big things on Saturday but I am hoping this one turns out to be a little better than Quixall," he said.

Quixall approaching century

Racing Post

1st February 2001
   
QUIXALL CROSSETT, horseracing’s perpetual loser, nears another significant milestone today when he runs at Kelso.   The nine-runner Isle of Skye Novices’ Chase marks the 99th appearance of the 16-year-old maiden, who has run only once this season, when he finished a distant last of four at Wetherby on Boxing Day.

Trainer Ted Caine believes his veteran, now officially rated 47, still retains his zest for racing, even if he has no chance of success.

“It’s quite a good-class race at Kelso and the ground shouldn’t be too bad for him,” said Caine yesterday. “He finished second there once and the uphill finish will suit him. If he can get any place money that will be good going.”

Caine wants to get Quixall Crossett through this race in one piece before considering where to go for the century. “Maybe I could find a race on television,” he added.

Jonny Beardsall on the Quixall dynasty

from The Telegraph, 20-01-01

BRITAIN's worst racehorse, Quixall Crossett, is set to become the first thoroughbred to lose 100 consecutive races. I admit that I have a connection here. I had the dubious distinction of riding the 16-year-old bright bay gelding in his early races, when he began his losing streak at Catterick in 1990. After 98 runs without a win, I don't think he deserves his reputation - he may be as slow as a hearse, but he is a very safe ride.

I had not seen Quixall's trainer, Ted Caine, and his wife, Joy, in years. Their home, High Crossett Farm, clings stubbornly to the hillside above the hamlets of Chopgate and Fangdale Beck in Bilsdale on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors. When the sky darkens on a winter's afternoon, these harsh place names stir images of darker ages, but there, appearing from inside a stable was Ted, the same as ever, in waterproofs and wellies and no hat.

For two seasons, I rode all seven of their home-bred string, each revelling in names bearing the Crossett suffix. Well, I did when I wasn't sidelined with assorted dislocated shoulders, broken collar bones or concussion.

All the ones I knew, except for Quixall Crossett, have retired or are in heaven. Often, the horses gave me the hairiest of rides, but I had the best of fun.

Quixall, now 16, owes his name to Albert Quixall, the speedy Manchester United and England forward of the mid-1960s. In his youth, Ted was a regular fullback for Great Broughton (Brian Clough's old team) in the local league and had always been an admirer of Quixall's skills.

So is the legend to be retired? "Well, I've never said that," murmurs Ted, cautiously. "He does so enjoy his racing and, who knows, we may give him the odd run now and again. We've had so much pleasure from him and from all our horses . . . and we're not done yet."

Sure, the Caines's angular, old-fashioned chasers have not won too many races - not with me on them, anyway - but I can remember finishing second and third in the Caine colours (white with blue spots and purple sleeves and cap) on several occasions. That said, Ted remains a dab hand at entering valuable races that, on the day, are only contested by five, four or even three runners, rather than 22. I so loved riding in those.

The zenith for me was winning at Carlisle one Easter Monday on Cavalier Crossett, their best horse, which had finished third there in a novice chase on the Saturday. It was a handicap chase, with six runners and a hot favourite that looked sure to win. I'd fallen on Carousel Crossett in the previous race, but felt none the worse as Cavalier turned into the home straight in front, with three steep uphill fences still to jump in heavy going. He stayed on to win by three lengths - my finest moment on earth - giving Ted and Joy their first career winner. A week later at Hexham, he put me in hospital.

In those days, Ted had no staff, so I also saddled up before races - which, if he had runners in consecutive races, was quite a feat - running from weighing room to saddling enclosure and paddock. Nowadays, he has help. Geoff Sanderson rides out the next generation at home, leads up at the races and also runs the Quixall Crossett Fan Club. "Do watch out for Kin To Quixall, who has his first run shortly," he beams. "He's out of Carousel. Remember her? She's 20 now and is Quixall's half-sister." So the dynasty continues.

The SUN, Dec 30th 2000

Click image for full text

HOMAGE TO THE LOSER OF ALL LOSERS

Just like Istabraq, Quixall Crossett is a legend. He hasn't won a Champion Hurdle, he hasn't even won a selling race, but at 16 years old and after 98 unsuccessful runs, the dubious accolade of an unsuccessful century of appearances is not far away, writes David Dew.

NAVIGATION AND PRESENTATION

A website focused around the antics of an old plodder and his friends sounds somewhat farcical. But although Quixall Crossett fails to cut the mustard on the track, his website is as slick as they come. Praise should go to assistant trainer Geoff Sanderson, who is the brains behind the site. Although a more catchy domain name would not go amiss, together with a few video bursts of this "folklore hero", the site has some super photography, is fast loading, easy to follow and well-designed for an outfit not seeking financial gain.     Rating 8/10.

CONTENT

Quixall Crossett holds a special; place in the hearts of all those connected with him, - trainer Ted Caine and his family, including daughter Karen Woodhead, who owns the horse, and all the other inmates at High Crossett farm. He is also held in affection by the hopeful punters who invest the odd couple of pounds at massive odds in the as yet vain hope he will break his duck. It is fitting that he should have his own website.

Set up on October 25th, 2000, as a non-profit making tribute to one of the most notorious horses in training, Quixall Crossett's site features masses of information ranging from the serious to the humorous.Why is such a prolific loser held in such high regard? What happened to Ted Caine in the snow last weekend? The answers to these and other questions are here.

You can also track Quixall's career, right from his racecourse debut in a bumper won by subsequent Racing Post Chase winner Mudahim. Although the veteran nearly always starts as an unfancied outsider, usually with odds well into treble figures, the site shows that he once went off at a shocking 4-1. The result, however, was unaffected as Quixall trailed in a distant third of three.

Browsing the site leaves one with the impression the horses at High Crossett are an unlucky bunch. A half-brother to Bobbyjo collapsed and died when walking out of his stable; Cavalier Crossett won eight races but was killed at Worcester; and then there is Triona's Hope and a glut of other horses, all battling it out for notoriety as the second least successful horse behind the star of the show. Unlucky or not though, Caine and his staff live for their racing and their website is certainly a reminder that it is the taking part that counts.  Rating 8/10.

This appeared in the Racing Post in 1990 and refers to Quixall as Ted's latest bumper hope.  Who would have guessed where this story would end up??

Ted and Joy Against all the Odds

from the Racing Post, Wed 24th January 1990

TED CAINE a pig farmer and racehorse trainer, leans against a box door.

He is clad in his timeless outfit of waterproofs and wellies and, to complete it all, his well-worn corduroy trilby wrenched down at an implausible angle. Joy, the extremely pretty other half of an effective partnership, sorts the saddles in a well-kept tack-room

As tenacious and determined as a stiff wind tearing over Bilsdale's East Moor, few could describe the Caines as an ordinary couple. For the past 10 years the partnership has bred, broken and permit-trained a worthy bunch of jumpers from their hill farm in. Bilsdale. between the Cleveland and Hambleton Hills on the edge of the North York Moors.

High Crossett Farm clings stubbornly to the hillside above - the hamlets of Chopgate and Fangdale Beck. When the sky darkens on a winter's afternoon these harsh place names stir visions of darker ages.

But for the 20th-century UBC transmitter mast towering nearby, you might mistake 'second lot' emerging from the mist-shrouded moor for the ghosts of two Celtic horsemen swathed in animal furs.

The farm is home to a large pig breeding herd and seven home-bred equine brothers and sisters all revelling in names bearing the Crossett prefix.   Bilsdale born and bred, Ted Caine grew up among the plough horses on the family farm and became involved in racing only relatively recently. His younger brother, Alan, has been Master and Huntsman of the Bilsdale Hounds for the past three seasons and he also farms in the dale. But their father's knack of coping with inexpensive home-breds and other unruly cast-offs seems to have been passed down primarily to his eldest son.

For many years a keen footballer, Ted played regularly as a no-nonsense fullback for Great Broughton (Brian Clough's old team) in the local league. And football is not forgotten: he has named his latest bumper prospect Quixall Crossett, after none other, than the great Albert Quixall.

Quixall will be remembered as the speedy England and Manchester United inside forward of the mid-1960s. Perhaps Sedgefield will one day resound to shouts of "Quixall Crossett is magic" if this equine namesake ever scores.

After Ted had hung up his football boots the couple made time to spectate at local point-to-points. "Let's do summat ourselves." was Ted's reaction and the racing bug had bit. Strangely, he has rarely had a runner between the flags.

The Crossett dynasty began when -they acquired Portavia, an inconsequential mare who ran moderately in point-to-points. The other dams were all unplaced and mostly unraced. With Blind Harbour, an equally unfashionable sire. the Caines had certainly made a modest start, but their optimism knew no bounds.

Cavalier, Carousel Crown and Crusader each cost the princely snip of £50 a live foal. Together with their other three horses, the total cost represented is a rock-bottom total of £460.

Most Crossetts grow into angular, old-fashioned, chasing sorts, the exception being a diminutive Crestina at 15 hands. "We're not too sure what 'appened with her," says Ted. "She's just a family pet."

Sensibly the others have been allowed to mature in their own time and have not been rushed. Most have had three or four runs over hurdles as five- and six-year-olds before going chasing.

Both Caines speak of their extended family with affection drawn from knowing them all since birth. Good, roughish or moderate, each is loved the same.

Crown, strong and all of 17 hands, makes his hunter chasing debut shortly. He was pulled up in his only novice chase last term and suffered from sore shins.

"He's a strong, powerful horse. I've real hopes for him,' says Ted. "A real "boy," adds Joy,.

Most successful to date has been Cavalier. Having finished third at Carlisle in a novice chase on Easter Saturday he duly won a handicap chase- there on the Monday, beating Cool Strike. "We was capped with him that day," says Ted. "He's such an honest horse."

Carousel, second to Highfrith at Wetherby last November is sadly out for the season with a leg. Placed several times last season this tough mare was well capable of winning a race had she stayed sound.

Ted admits that "training horses here t'int easy, like", particularly as they employ no staff. Extremes of weather always hit them hard, and excursions to Malton all-weather or to Redcar sands become necessary expeditions.

These journeys usually end with two horses waiting patiently in the trailer outside Safeways in Malton while Joy does a big shop.

Slow work in August on the moor coincides annually with the Glorious Twelfth on Lord Feversham's estate. Fortunately, his lordship's keeper is usually swift to telephone High Crossett Farm when the moor is occupied. Some well-heeled, mostly Spanish, gentlemen might dine out for years on the morning when, amidst the skimming grouse, the butts were charged by a wild-eyed galloping Crossett.

Joy's carefully marked track through the heather is almost indiscernible to all but herself. The rough going, scattered with -peat bogs,' boulders and myriad streams ensures both horse and rider stay awake. The Crossetts fortunately know their way home.

One did once.  After having having dumped Joy, it found its way to the moor gate two hours ahead of its rider-In the spacious farmhouse kitchen Joy has just finished running up a set of silk colours. "Fine, but don't look too close," she said, pleased with her needlework. The white-and-purple spots were the colours of their daughter Karen's hair ribbons when she was a little girl. She has painstakingly made all the rugs in much the same way. Ted leant, against the Aga and reflects. "We've bin holding on for t'best years. We've been hard on ourselves. Often I say to meself; "Is it going to work?'" It already has.

Poetry in motion as Quixall fan bids to end losing streak

from the LONDON STANDARD, 8th January 2001

QUIXALL CROSSETT, this diary's early candidate for horse of the year honours in 2001 as he closes in on the magical 100 consecutive defeats, has failed to win again, this time on the internet.

In a contest to find the racing website of the year, the 16-year-old gelding's own page finished well behind the cyber-space innovations of the all powerful Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin stable. Undeterred, Geoffrey Sanderson, the brains behind Quixall Crossett's dot.com venture, penned this defiant poem...

Congrats to Godolphin
For website of the year,
I know I was beaten
But I bet I was near.

WITH 98 losers already, the anticipation for Quixall Crossett's ton is tangible. Expect further words from racing's budding poet laureate to acknowledge the century when it arrives, as it surely must.

Why this outsider is still a firm favourite

the LONDON STANDARD, 21st January 1999

Quixall Crossett, which sounds like a village in the Cotswolds, is Britain's most unsuccessful racehorse. In nine years he has had 83 races and lost the lot. The other day at Wetherby he trailed in last at 200-1.

The 14-year-old gelding is described by racing writers as "seriously slow" and "hopelessly outclassed". Some say he should be retired because his exploits do nothing for the image of racing.

Why should he? The old boy, trained by Caine at a place called Fangdale near Middlesbrough, never gets in anyone's way because he's always so far behind the rest of the field. He doesn't seem to care when he falls or is pulled up, which is more often than not.

He's no Red Rum, but in his own way, Quixall Crossett is tough, resilient and honest. Long may he race.

Here's one by Quixall himself!!

From the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, 24th July 1998

FIRST the good news. 

"I'm home, fit and well, and have eaten up.  I know I didn't win at Sedgefield yesterday, my 77th time of asking.  In fact, I was fourth at 100-1.   But I will keep on trying as long as my boss, Mr Eddie Caine, thinks I'm up to it.   I jumped okay and gave my lad a decent ride.  The trouble is Mr Caine says there aren't any suitable races coming up.  I did win the best turned out horse award at Sedgefield yesterday and I put that down to Mrs Joy Caine"  - QUIXALL CROSSETT

Photo:- You will always be a winner to us:  Stable lad Geoff Sanderson greets Quixall Crossett at Sedgefield after his 77th race without a victory.

Paul Haigh: Casting light where the Sun didn't shine

Published: 12/10/2000 (Features) Paul Haigh

Every now and then this column has to reply to letters-and this obligation, so often neglected, is never so pressing as when a correspondent points out that we may have got something wrong.

First, however, replies to a couple of rather less vital communications. Many thanks to Geoff Sanderson, assistant trainer to Ted Caine and "Life President of the Quixall Crossett Fan Club", who writes to advise that the great horse is back in training and raring to go for another campaign of no doubt unrelenting inadequacy.

Mr Sanderson encloses some clippings from an American newspaper in which their champion loser Zippy Chippy is compared unfavourably with the pride of High Crossett Farm (Middlesbrough, TS9 7LH).

He is also kind enough to inform me that I am the recipient of a couple of awards-`The Quixall Crossett Purple Prose Prize for 1999' and, following Lord Percy Bish Biro's attempt at verse on Arc day, the `Monaughty Man Poetry Prize for 2000'.   Thank you, Mr Sanderson, and thank you, too, for the poem of your own which shows how things really ought to be done. I promise to try to remain humble, in spite of these accolades.

Horse racing's champion loser is a victim of first-past-the-post system

INDEPENDENT

24 July 1998

By ANDREW BUNCOMBE

FOR A few magical moments at least, it seemed history was about to be turned on its head.

'Quixall Crossett is still very much in touch,' announced the commentator, sounding somewhat surprised. 'He's on the bridle.'

The commentator had every right to sound surprised. Quixall Crossett, a 13-year-old gelding with more enthusiasm than pure racing style, had not won in his last 76 outings, earning him the distinction of being the least successful horse in racing history.   So having secured a place in the history books, there was a lot riding on the 3.40pm Blackthorn Cider Novices Chase yesterday at Sedgefield. Not least there was £5 of The Independent's money placed at Coral bookmakers at Westferry, east London, at the unlikely odds of 100-1. 'Your horse is 100-1 mate, it's got no chance,' said a doubtful regular as the horses set off twice around the 11/4-mile circuit, with the going good to firm. The form guide in Racing Post had offered little more hope.

'Seriously slow maiden in danger of becoming a folk hero,' was its description. 'Ran a cracker by his standards when he was the second of two finishers in May.'

Undeterred and probably unaware of such doubts about his talents, Quixall Crossett raced on, showing the sort of character that has resulted in his supporters setting up a fan club in his honour. ('He always wants to get going at the start of the race. It's just that at halfway he starts to look after himself,' explained his trainer Edward Caine.)

By this stage, some way into the race, the atmosphere in the bookmakers was becoming more tense and, urged on by the commentators enthusiasm, even the doubting regular was starting to believe the seemingly impossible was about to happen.

'Hey mate, your horse is fourth now. All it needs is for the three in front to fall at the fences,' he enthused, his eyes glued to the screen showing the race live from a damp and drizzly Co Durham.  Three fences to go. All riders over safely. Two fences to go. All riders over safely. One fence to go. All riders over safely.

'Come on, damn you,' cried The Independent, as the prospect of £500 in winnings began - slowly, but surely - to slip away.  Sadly it was not to be. The distance to make up was simply too much and Quixall Crossett had to be satisfied with a valiant fourth.

But perhaps it was better that way. After all, who would wish to upset such a record?

INDEPENDENT, 27th February 1999

If Him Of Praise is the monkey at Haydock then the gorilla colony is formed by Quixall Crossett and Monaughty Man in the preceding contest. Both are trained by Ted Caine and both are useless.  Quixall's unblemished (by victory that is) record is composed of 84 runs and no wins. Monaughty Man has managed one success in 43 runs, but, if anything, he boasts the poorer recent form. He was pulled up on his first four outings this season, and also put his hooves in the air at Ayr last time. If you back either of these horses, you are very fortunate to have betting facilities in your compound.

Hopeless horse gallops unvictorious into history

By SEAN MAGEE
The Independent on Sunday, 19 Jul 1998

A LANDMARK sporting record - fit to rank alongside those of Roger Bannister, Jim Laker or Bob Beamon - was shattered last Monday evening. Quixall Crossett, a 13-year-old gelding, finished last in a tin-pot steeplechase at Wolverhampton and became the horse who has run the most races - 75 - without ever winning. He beat the previous king of the tail-end, Amrullah, defeated in every one of his 74 races and a racehorse so famous that his retirement in 1992 made the News At Ten.

Quixall Crossett's name owes its first part to Albert Quixall, Manchester United's inside forward of the late 1950s, and its second to High Crossett Farm at Fangdale Beck, near Middlesbrough, where he is trained by farmer Ted Caine. 'He had all sorts of problems as a foal, but we wouldn't give in with him', said Mr Caine after the hand of history had touched his horse on the shoulder.

In 1990 Quixall Crossett ran his first race at Catterick. He finished tailed off behind Mudahim, who went on to join Jenny Pitman and won the Irish Grand National last year. Quixall Crossett trod a humbler path around the small northern tracks, always starting at long odds but picking up bits of place money. To date he has finished second twice and third five times and earned over pounds 7,000.

Two seasons ago, he ran in 31 races, a huge work rate. He was no match for Unguided Missile at Haydock or Dublin Flyer at Huntingdon, but running fourth against such stars earned good money. As a perpetual loser, all opposition comes alike to him.

This spring saw Quixall Crossett closing on Amrullah's record. Then in May, on his 73rd outing, disaster nearly struck. In a steeple-chase at Wetherby he made a late rally against the odds-on favourite. But the post came just in time and Quixall Crossett's record remained unsullied by victory. Quixall Crossett recovered from this fright to brush past Amrullah two races later, and, for good measure, record his 76th defeat at Worcester on Wednesday.

Why does Ted Caine persist? 'He scowls at you in his box and looks miserable walking round the paddock but he likes jumping and loves his racing. His legs are hard as iron and he's never once finished distressed.
There's still a race to be won with him.'

The Independent on Sunday

This is Britain's least successful horse. Today he looks a safe bet to notch up his 77th straight defeat

TONY PALEY

23 July 1998, The Guardian, p.26


THE outspoken bookmaker Barry Dennis has built up quite a following on Channel 4's Saturday racing programme The Morning Line with his Barry's Bismarcks slot, in which he has a successful record tipping well-fancied horses that he says will not win.

Today at Sedgefield even the most ignorant punter could pick out one runner not to put his hard-earned on. The trouble is, no one is going to offer odds about Quixall Crossett not winning because he makes such a habit of it. The 13-year-old gelding has never won a race, his string of 76 defeats making him the most unsuccessful horse in British racing history.

Quixall Crossett made the title his own last week when he finished last at Wolverhampton, going past the notorious Amrullah's tally of 75 defeats. And in today's Blackthorn Cider Novice Chase, on any known ratings, he looks likely to stretch his lead by finishing about two fences behind the favourite Royal Barge.

Ted Caine, who trains one other horse under permit at Fangdale Beck in North Yorkshire in addition to Quixall Crossett, dismisses talk of retirement for his pride and joy.

After all, the horse has finished second twice. And, when third at Wolverhampton in May, he would have won in another 50 yards when finishing fast by his - admittedly modest - standards.

''He has a good life and loves going racing,'' says Caine. ''He always wants to get going at the start of the race and wouldn't go if he didn't want to race.

''It's just that at halfway he starts to look after himself. To me he's a success - not many horses stay sound after so much racing. He's a survivor in the toughest game there is.''

Given the fondness the British have for the underdog it is no surprise to discover that both Amrullah, now retired, and Quixall Crossett have their own fan clubs, both set up a few years ago with the foresight only hardened backers possess for spotting a loser. Both horses have got bigger cheers than the winner when eventually crossing the line in races.

But even if Quixall Crossett miraculously started winning a sequence of races, Britain's least successful racehorse might not be able to pay his way.

The owners of Lady Rockstar, who has won eight out of 13 races for them, pointed out last week that, despite winning pounds 24,000 in prize-money, they are still pounds 6,000 short of paying for the training fees and other costs they have incurred since they bought her 17 months ago.

American TV films Quixall

Published: 24/03/1999 (News)

QUIXALL CROSSETT's fame is set to cross the Atlantic after ABC, the American TV network, filmed a profile of jumping's least successful horse.   London-based correspondent Mike Lee headed a four-man team that spent two days working on the story in the North East last week.

Their visit to Sedgefield culminated in close-up coverage of Quixall Crossett's 87th career defeat from 87 runs. The plan is to screen it on an ABC news show.   Trainer Ted Caine admitted to being surprised when contacted by Lee, but the Cleveland trainer readily agreed to co-operate with the project.

The film crew followed Quixall Crossett's every move at Sedgefield, where the 100-1 chance was the last of five finishers in a novices' chase.

"The old fellow and Mike Lee seemed to get on really well and the ABC team appeared to be very pleased with what they had filmed at the finish," said Caine.  "I don't know what the Americans will make of it all when it goes out on TV, but for us it was something different and we enjoyed being involved."

Quixall Crossett, meanwhile, is having a short break, but is likely to be back in action again over the Easter holiday period.
Caine said: "It was pretty testing at Sedgefield, 27 horses failed to complete. But at least Quixall Crossett finished and I will probably be sending him to Wetherby in a couple of weeks."

Tongue-in-cheek, Caine added: "His season hasn't really started yet and hopefully he has still to peak."

Haydock: Crossett `victory' delight

Published: 01/03/1999 (News)

As victories go it was a minor one, but for the Quixall Crossett fan club, Saturday's defeat of stable companion Monaughty Man was more than enough reason to break open the bubbly.  Ted Caine's teenage pair brought a combined record of one win from 129 attempts to the Greenalls Original London Dry Gin Chase and never at any stage looked likely to improve their respective records.
Still, their race within a race provided an amusing diversion, even if those who wagered on the Sporting Index match bet needed an extremely wide-screen television to follow the action!

For the record, Quixall Crossett was soon a fence behind under Gary Lyons, but had moved through to draw upsides Monaughty Man when that rival parted company with Owen Fagan two out.  His battle won, Quixall Crossett passed the post with ears pricked, almost 30 seconds-or the equivalent of over 100 lengths-behind the winner Mouse Bird.

And Lyons, who had put his reputation on the line by choosing Quixall Crossett ahead of Monaughty Man, was delighted to see his judgement vindicated.

"I had him covered all the way," quipped Lyons as he strolled back to weigh in after the veteran's 86th consecutive defeat.

True devotees, it's the clash of the anti-Titans

Published: 27/02/1999 (News) Paul Haigh

EVERY effort has been made to whip up interest in today's Greenalls Grand National Trial as well as the hugely important chase at Kempton which, I observe to my surprise and delight, actually bears the name of this newspaper. (See, David Pipe, I am willing to mention sponsors if I feel like it).  But there can be little doubt where the real interest of true devotees of our noble sport lies on this most momentous of all momentous racing weekends.  Ever since the weights came out and it was noticed that, in response to overwhelming public demand, the two most popular-and perhaps controversial-steeplechasers gracing the turf had been entered for the same contest, speculation about the possibility that they would actually be invited to meet in combat has been intense.
Since we realised that the pair were not only acceptors but had indeed been 'jocked up' for the battle of the anti-Titans, the talk in betting shops, on racecourses and in yards up and down the country has been of little else.

Keen students will have noticed that the names of not just one but both of today's major protagonists were notable by their absence from the list of 100 so-called "Horses of the Century", drawn up this week in a brief blaze of publicity by our cousins across the pond. But Americans are notoriously parochial in such matters, and this blatant attempt to distract attention from the confrontation that holds all serious racing folk in thrall may fairly be treated with the contempt it deserves. Man o' War? Secretariat? Who the hell are they?

This is the afternoon when Monaughty Man meets Quixall Crossett in the title fight to end all title fights. And we, you and I-but not, it seems, they, for the American networks have declined to carry pictures from Haydock-will be able to tell our children, and our children's children, that we were there. Or, at least, in front of the telly.

Anoraks will remember that there is some 'previous' here, a rivalry which has bubbled and boiled ever since Quixall gained a narrow 13-length verdict over his stablemate in the 1996 Peterborough Chase. But racegoers back then were unaware of the history being made, and their sights were instead trained on more trivial matters several hundred yards ahead.  Hats off to Ted Caine, trainer extraordinaire, who has ensured his two warriors will arrive at the post in prime condition for their date with racing destiny. He has bravely resisted the temptation to keep the two apart.

Hats off to envied owner Mrs Karen Woodhead, who, with magnificent sportsmanship, has bowed to the entreaties of an increasingly excited populace and allowed the great confrontation to take place.

Hats off to Gary Lyons, who, lest there be any suggestion that he might favour one chum over the other (I use the word "chum" in its purely literal sense; any implied reference to a well-known brand of pet food is as absurd as it is coincidental), has agreed to stand idly by while two gifted amateurs partner his old friends in the contest that will answer every fevered question.
Hats off to the Haydock management, whose far-sighted incentive policies have coaxed the two heroes to the course.
Hats off to the BBC, who, with an astute sense of occasion that more or less justifies the licence fee on its own, has made the Greenalls Original London Dry Gin Handicap Chase (Class B) the centrepiece of what may be a specially extended Grandstand.
At 1.45 today, or thereabouts, two big, brown, handsome (in their way) and, above all, supremely relaxed chasers will set off to decide which of them is The Most Relaxed of All.

When they will return we cannot say-although I understand the spread boys will be happy to accommodate you if you happen to have any theories on the subject. But return they must. For in a very real sense, they belong now to posterity. I know Mrs Woodhead will forgive me if I say that, in truth, they belong now to us all.

FOUR stone or so out of the handicap they may be. Hopeless-in the sense that no horse has been since, perhaps, Foinavon-they most certainly are. But there is something splendid about their inadequacy; something touching, something very, very...British.
No doubt fools, in ignorant obsession with the merely victorious, will concentrate solely on the placed horses even in this transcendent epic. But the 1.45 at Haydock will go down in history-and not for anything these bit players may do.  When the great race is over; when the winner is rugged up and on his merry way home, I think we may safely be able to say that never, in the field of equine conflict, will so much attention have been lavished by so many on the back two.

Has old Quixall met his match?

Racing Post 27/02/1999 (News)

FORGET Grundy and Bustino in the 1975 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes or Arkle and Mill House in the 1964 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Racing's greatest match takes place at Haydock today, when teenagers Monaughty Man and Quixall Crossett go head-to-head in the Greenalls Original London Dry Gin Handicap Chase, writes Matt Chapman.

Well, not quite head-to-head, because there are six other runners in the field, but the chances are the Ted Caine-trained and Karen Woodhead- owned duo will have a ding-dong battle for last place throughout the two- and-a-half-mile event.

Quixall Crossett, 14, and jump racing's losing-most horse, faces his 86th defeat, while Monaughty Man has his 45th start.
He has won once, at Ayr in 1995. Between them, in 129 races, they have gained pounds 8,950 in prize-money, or pounds 69 per race.

Today the pair are 47lb and 41lb out of the handicap respectively, although the Jockey Club is not concerned.  Spokesman John Maxse said: "The safety and welfare of horses and riders is our main concern, and Quixall Crossett and Monaughty Man have shown they are not liabilities to themselves or others.  "By running in this race, they provide punters with full 1-2-3 each-way betting, so they are actually good for racing, not bad for it."

Caine also runs 'no-hopers' Cregg Rose and Triona's Hope against the forecast 1-33 hotpot Potentate in the White Rabbit Novices' Chase.

Newcastle: Crossett's losing streak in focus

Racing Post  08/02/1999 (News) Matt Chapman

HERE we go again. Quixall Crossett, jump racing's losing-most horse, is attempting to avoid his 84th defeat in the Stephen Easten Novices' Chase at Newcastle today, writes Matt Chapman.

Not that jockey Gary Lyons is concerned at the likely prospect of watching his five rivals-who include decent performers in Castletown Count, House Captain and Master Nova-from the rear.

Lyons yesterday pointed out: "The horse nearly always finishes and the orders are always the same-pull him up if he's not happy. There are much more risky propositions to ride in novice chases than Quixall Crossett."N

ow 14, Quixall Crossett, trained by Ted Caine, has finished second twice and third five times during his career, in which he has accumulated pounds 7,582 in prize-money.

Last time under Lyons, he was last of six-having been sent off at odds of 200-1-behind Step On Eyre at Wetherby, earning a comment in Chaseform which reads: "Quixall Crossett started with the others, but that was the last he saw of them!"
Lyons quipped: "Soon after the start at Wetherby I shouted at the boys to slow up a bit -but they were too far in front and clearly didn't hear me!

"But seriously, he's a great old ride and just goes his own pace. He would go to pieces if he was just put in a field, and he always finishes his races fresh and well, just in his own time.

"He has one speed, and although it is slow, he could keep going all afternoon at that speed."

Winless Crossett all set to plod on

Racing Post  07/01/1999 (News)

QUIXALL CROSSETT, the horse famous for never having won a race in 81 attempts, will have his first run as a 14-year-old on Saturday.

Permit-holder Ted Caine has entered the gelding in three events at Haydock Park.  The Middlesbrough-based pig farmer, said yesterday: "He's in the two- mile novices' chase and in races over two and a half and three mi