The Gay Future affair, or coup, was a plan that was brilliant in its conception, but ultimately ruined by one minor, but critical, oversight on the part of the conspirators. Dubbed ‘Operation Crock of Gold’, the coup was the brainchild of Tony Murphy, a millionaire construction magnate from Co. Cork, and planned for Cartmel on Bank Holiday Monday, August 26, 1974. On that day, the Ulverston Novice Hurdle at the Cumbrian course was the intended target for Gay Future who, as far as anyone not involved was concerned, trained by unheralded permit holder Tony Collins in Troon, on the west coast of Ayrshire, Scotland. However, unbeknown to the racing public, a month or so earlier, an unnamed horse, trained by Edward O’Grady in Co. Tipperary, had been shipped across the Irish Sea to Collins’ yard, with identity documents fraudulently identifying it as Gay Future.

To avoid suspicion, Collins also declared two horses – both moderate, but neither an intended runner – at Southwell and Plumpton, respectively, on the same day. The plan was for Murphy and a diverse cast of characters, later dubbed the ‘Cork Mafia’, to place a series of doubles and trebles on the three Collins-trained horses, safe in the knowledge that when the other two were withdrawn they would revert to single bets on Gay Future, leaving bookmakers with large, unexpected liabilities on the horse. Furthermore, on the day of the race, conditional jockey Jimmy McNeill was replaced by Tim Jones, a leading Irish amateur rider and the regular partner of the horse masquerading as Gay Future.

The plan worked, too, at least insofar that Jones steered the ‘ringer’ to a comfortable, 15-length win at odds of 10/1. However, it appears that the importance of the non-runners seems not to have been adequately stressed to Collins, who made no secret of the fact that he had no intention of running his horses in Nottinghamshire, let alone East Sussex, and allowed them to remain, in plain view, in his yard all day.

All that was required was a telephone call from an inquisitive journalist from the ‘Sporting Life’, to whom an unsuspecting member of stable staff confirmed the whereabouts of the horses, and the scheme started to unravel. Some bookmakers, mainly those in Britain, refused to pay out and Tony Murphy was subsequently found guilty of defrauding bookmakers and ‘warned off’ for ten years by the Jockey Club. He died, at the age of 52, in 1982, before the end of the ten-year period.

Photo by romavor, Public Domain

Horse racing punters spend years trying to win big at the races, but it appears they are not alone when it comes to believing in anything that can offer good fortune on race day. Many of the world’s most successful horse racing jockeys are just as superstitious as bettors. Australian jockey Chris Symons once admitted to the press that there’s “a lot of luck in winning”, which is probably why some jockeys become superstitious about their pre-race rituals.

For decades, superstition has gone hand-in-hand with gaming and punting, so it’s no surprise that horse racing is one of those sports to have some of the greatest and weirdest superstitions. With that in mind, this article is designed to shine a spotlight on some of the most commonly-talked-about superstitions in the world of horse racing, some of which are sure to put a smile on your face.

The bigger the ears, the better a horse’s racing attitude

It has been argued before that horses with longer ears than others are said to be more intelligent and have a better temperament for racing. Meanwhile, others have claimed that horses with large, floppy ears have better acceleration than their contemporaries.

Eye wrinkles are a sign of horses that make good jumpers

Some horse owners believe that visible eye wrinkles on horses are an indication of mental or physical discomfort. Researchers haven’t managed to prove this theory, but no research has yet been conducted into the notion among trainers that a horse’s eye wrinkles denote that it would make a good fence jumper for National Hunt racing.

Some owners think it’s bad luck for jockeys to ride trackwork prior to a race

Australian racehorse owner Lloyd Williams has previously intimated that he thinks it is bad luck to allow his riders to undergo trackwork with his horses prior to a big race. He claims it’s the number-one reason why Kerrin McEvoy won the 2016 Melbourne Cup aboard Almandin, without ever having ridden him before.

Magpie salutes for British jockey Sam Twiston-Davies

National Hunt jockey Sam Twiston-Davies, formerly of the Paul Nicholls stable, has a superstition of saluting any magpie that he sees aboard his horse en route to the post. It’s hard to know whether those salutes have special meaning to him or not, but, regardless, it seems to bring him good fortune, having won the Scottish Grand National back in 2017.

White tape is the key to Frankie Dettori’s success

 Photo by monkeywing, CC BY 2.0

After winning the Epsom Derby in 2007 and 2015, it was revealed that Frankie Dettori had applied white tape to his saddle before each victory. In 2007, it was a racing engineer that suggest he place some “lucky white tape” on his saddle aboard Authorized. Sound engineer Pete Binfield wrapped this tape around Dettori’s right stirrup, and 20 minutes later he was the eventual winner of the Epsom Derby. It was the same again on Derby day in 2015 when Dettori prevailed again with Golden Horn.

Red jerseys are very popular at Hong Kong racecourses

Given that red is deemed an incredibly lucky colour in Chinese culture, it’s little surprise that horse racing jockeys that ride on Hong Kong’s impressive racecourses clamour to wear as much red as possible. However, in the UK, a report from CNN suggests that 40% of winning riders in the Grand National have been wearing either blue or green.

All eyes are often on the parade ring

A superstition held by some horse racing punters is that the last horse to depart the parade ring for the racecourse will go on to win the race. We’re not quite sure why that may be the case—perhaps the horse is extremely relaxed and doesn’t need to go to the post early? We’re not quite sure that this theory would have worked for the madcap T-Rex racing at Emerald Downs, either! Either way, it’s certainly something that some bettors place huge importance on during a race meeting.

 

It’s often said that dogs are mans best friend, but I’d say that our history with horses, both in and outside of the sport of horse racing, holds just as much worth for many of us. A telling illustration of that was in news recently, when it was announced that a Prehistoric sandstone engraved with horses had been found near Bordeaux in France. Located at an ancient hunting site the carvings, thought to be around 15,000 years old, very clearly depict part of a horse, and also other smaller animals.

Other items were found at the Angoulême site including arrowheads and also heated pebbles, thought to be part of a fireplace. These fascinating discoveries from the Palaeolithic period will soon be on show for the public to see and offer a meaningful glimpse into our own past. Above all else and in the context of the website, it’s just nice to know that even thousands of years ago, we were appreciating the majestic nature of our equine friends. On a more creative note, it’s also marginally depressing that someone 15,000 years ago was able to carve a better engraving of a horse, than I can draw today on a piece of A4 paper in 2019!

I can’t get enough of these zany Japanese horse racing animatikons. Clearly I’m not alone as this one has been updated to include English commentary!