Quixall Crossett

TED CAINE TRIVIA

THINGS YOU KNOW YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Bangor, Chepstow, Exeter, Fakenham, Folkestone, Fontwell, Hereford, Kempton, Lingfield, Newbury, Newton Abbot, Plumpton, Taunton and Wincanton remain as the only current jumps courses at which Ted's never had a runner. Half a Billion WAS supposed to take part in a pro-celebrity bumper at Hereford during (we think) the 1993-4 season, but was judged too ill to run on arrival. Ted never sent one to Windsor before the jumps track was removed there a couple of years ago, nor to the pre-"sand" version of Wolverhampton; however, both of the now-extinct jumps tracks at Nottingham and Teesside played host to High Crossett inmates over the years. Wye closed just before Ted started training.

Quixall and Monaughty Man in particular have started at exotic prices many times over the years, but the only Crossett ever to be sent off at a four-figure price was Triona's Hope. He suffered this indignity twice in the space of fifteen days during the 1996-7 season, on both occasions in novices' hurdles at Carlisle.

Up to and including the defeats of Quixall Crossett and Triona’s Hope at Kelso on February 1^st 2001, High Crossett Farm has sent out 249 consecutive losing runners. The run, stretching back to Monaughty Man's sole victory in March 1995, includes the small matter of 86 defeats by Quixall Crossett!

Contrary to what certain factions of the press would have you believe, Ted’s current string are by no means dodgy jumpers. Since the start of the 1999/2000 season Ted has sent out 53 runners, of which NONE have fallen and only four have unseated their riders.

There’s not too many things in national hunt racing that Ted hasn’t tried at least once. During the 1990/1 season, Cavalier Crossett (once) and Crossett Cruisader (twice) even had a go at all-weather hurdling on Southwell’s Fibresand track.

It is a myth that entering horses in big races is something Ted has recently resorted to in order to pick up appearance money. As far back as 1990 Crown Crossett was running in Grade 1 company at Newcastle, and one of Monaughty Man’s earliest races over fences was in the 1993 renewal of Ascot’s pre-Christmas Grade 2 novices’ chase (then known as the Noel Novices’ Chase). Going even further back, one of Swanky Guide’s first ever runs for Ted, in October 1977, was in a hot Wetherby handicap chase against Red Rum! The High Crossett faithful has always had dreams and ambitions that go far beyond making a few quid quickly, and what’s wrong with that?!?

Whilst Quixall’s family tree may read like a morass of in-breeding and incest, on no occasion have two generations ever taken each other on in a race. Carousel Crossett campaigned alongside her mother Grange Classic during the 1985/6 season, but never ran against her. Similarly Crestina Crossett never took on her mother Cresta Crossett, although on September 23^rd, 1986 they did take part in consecutive races on the same Sedgefield card!

The pint-sized Crestina Crossett has two particular claims to fame which still hold true to this day. Firstly, she is the only Ted Caine horse ever to run as a three year-old; she pulled up in a juvenile novices’ hurdle at Market Rasen on August 17^th 1985. Secondly, and rather more unfortunately, she holds the stable’s record for the most consecutive failures to finish - nine in a row. Between October 1988 and January 1990 she ran up the figures FPPPF-PPPP, all in low-grade hurdle races. Cregg Rose has a little way to go yet to beat this!

Although relatively unknown amateur riders have ridden Ted’s horses more often as not, some have gone on to better things, not least Tony Dobbin, Carl Rafter, Cal McCormack, Robert Thornton, Bruce Gibson and Jim Crowley. Andy Orkney, one of Cavalier Crossett’s regular partners, now commentates for SIS, and gung-ho pilot par excellence Jonny Beardsall writes for Horse and Hound, Daily Telegraph, etc. Warren Marston, Gary Lyons, Sean Curran, Steve Wynne, Graham Lee, Brian Storey, Brian Clifford, Pauline Robson, Scott Taylor, Kenny Johnson, Michael Moloney and Nick Smith are among the other well-known names to have parked their bums on one of Ted’s over the years!

If you go far enough back into the formbook it is possible to find some decent form to Monaughty Man's name! During the 1994-5 season he was campaigned as a novice hunter, and scored his first - and to date only - victory at Ayr in March '95. Four weeks later, he finished seventh of 26 to Sheer Jest in the Martell Foxhunters Chase at Aintree.

Ted Caine once had a runner at the Cheltenham festival! Carousel Crossett qualified for and had a crack at the four mile chase in 1992, completing two circuits before refusing. However: Although the record books say she refused, what ACTUALLY happened was that she took off at the fence and landed on top of it, half over and half behind. It transpired that she had probably hurt her back in her previous race, but the injury did not catch up with her, nor become apparent, until the Cheltenham race.

Quixall is five days younger than Jeremy’s pet cat Einstein, and is only marginally heavier!