Before Nijinsky, which was the last horse to win the British Triple Crown?
It has been well chronicled how, on September 12, 1970, the hitherto unbeaten Nijinksy coasted to victory, under hands and heels riding by the legendary Lester Piggott, in the St. Leger at Doncaster to become the fifteenth, and last, winner of the British Triple Crown. In five-and-a-bit decades since, only Camelot, in 2012, has attempted to repeat the feat; despite being sent off at prohibitive odss of 2/5, the Montjeu colt never really looked like overhauling the largely unconsidered 25/1 outsider Encke in the closing stages of the St. Leger and was eventually beaten three-quarters of a length.
Before Nijinsky, though, the last horse to win the British Triple Crown was Bahram, bred and owned by Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III, and trained by Frank Butters at Fitzroy House Stables in Newmarket, in 1935. Champion Two-Year-Old, having won all five starts as a juvenile, including the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket, Bahram comfortably won the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, by 1½ lengths from Theft, in the same ownership, on his three-year-old debut.
The Blandford colt was subsequently sent off 5/4 favourite for the Derby and duly justified his short odds with a comfortable, 2-length victory over Robin Goodfellow. Bahram extended his winning sequence to eight in the St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot later the same month, landing odds of 1/8 and, despite being held up in his work by a bout of coughing, headed to Doncaster as the overwhelming favourite for the St. Leger.
His regular jockey, Freddie Fox, suffered a serious head injury in a fall the day before the final Classic of the season but, in the hands of the deputising Charlie Smirke, Bahram made short work of his seven rivals, winning by five lengths at odds of 4/11. Smirke said afterwards, ‘He could have won with 12 stone and two men on his back!’