How many times has Frankie Dettori won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe?

Veteran Italian jockey Lanfranco ‘Frankie’ Dettori has ridden his fair share of Group One winners in his career – nearly 250 at the last count, including a personal best tally of 17 in 2019 – and has the distinction of being the most successful jockey in the history of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Indeed, in the last three decades, Dettori has ridden in every renewal of the most valuable race in Europe bar 2013 – when a broken ankle sustained in a fall at Nottingham four days before the race prevented him from riding impressive winner Treve – and performed his trademark flying dismount at Longchamp, and Chantilly, six times.

Dettori recorded his first victory in 1995, aboard undefeated Cartier Three-year-old of the Year, Lammtara, trained for Godolphin by Saeed bin Suroor, following the tragic death of his original trainer, Alex Scott. His second and third wins came in rapid succession, on two more Godolphin acquisitions, Sakhee in 2001 and Marienbard in 2002, both trained by Saeed bin Suroor. However, having ended his association with Godolphin a decade later, Dettori had to wait until 2015 to ride his fourth ‘Arc’ winner. That year, he teamed up with his old ally John Gosden to win on Cartier Horse of the Year, Golden Horn, and in 2017 and 2018 recorded back-to-back victories on Enable, for the same trainer.

Why is the Lincoln Handicap so called?

Since 1965, the Lincoln Handicap, which traditionally marks the start of the Flat season ‘proper’ in late March or early April, has been run over the straight mile on Turf Moor, Doncaster. However, the race was inaugurated, as the Lincoln Spring Handicap Stakes – later renamed the Lincolnshire Handicap – at Lincoln Racecourse, on the Carholme, on the western edge of the city of Lincoln, in 1853.

Aside from unfortunate interruptions for World War I and World War II, the Lincolnshire Handicap continued at Lincoln Racecourse for over a century. Indeed, in its heyday during the inter-war period, the Lincolnshire Handicap dominated the horse racing press for weeks on end and, along with the Grand National, formed the traditional ‘Spring Double’. Remarkably, the 1948 renewal of the Lincolnshire Handicap drew a field of 58 runners, which was a record under Jockey Club rules.

Nevertheless, in 1964, the Horse Race Betting Levy Board announced that it was withdrawing financial support for Lincoln Racecourse, thereby forcing its closure. The Lincolnshire Handicap, renamed the Lincoln Handicap, was transferred permanently to Doncaster Racecourse, some 40 miles away; in 2006 and 2007, the Lincoln Handicap was staged at Redcar and Newcastle, respectively, while Doncaster was closed for redevelopment, but has otherwise been held at the Yorkshire venue every year since. The Lincolnshire area remains popular though despite this transfer, with the likes of Georgian town Stamford being something of a jewel in the crown of the area.

What is the northernmost racecourse in Britain?

Much beloved of certain pre-eminent trainers, including Gordon Elliot and Nigel Twiston-Davies, the northernmost racecourse in Britain is Perth Racecourse, near ‘The Fair City’ of Perth in central Scotland. The National Hunt-only course is situated in Scone Palace Park, adjacent to the ancient Scone Palace itself; its nearest neighbours are Musselburgh Racecourse and Hamilton Park Racecourse, roughly 60 miles to the south and 66 miles to the southwest, respectively.

The first recorded racing in Perth took place in a large green space, known as the ‘South Inch’, south of Perth city centre on the banks of the River Tay and approximately 4 miles south of Scone Palace Park. However, during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the honesty of competitors and the drunken behaviour of spectators on the ‘Inches’ were called into question more than once. In 1906, Lord Mansfield offered his land, in front of Scone Palace, for the construction of Perth Racecourse, which opened two years later. The racecourse has remained more or less unchanged ever since and the main grandstand is still the same one that was built for the opening of the racecourse in 1908.

What is a snaffle bit?

Regular viewers of televised horse racing coverage on ITV will, no doubt, that presenter Matt Chapman is very fond of saying that such-and-such horse did such-and-such ‘on the snaff’. For the uninitiated, the ‘snaff’ to which he is referring is, in fact, a snaffle bit, or a bridle incorporating such a bit, which is, unsurprisingly, known as a snaffle bridle.

Snaffle bits come in many different varieties, although the two most common types worn by racehorses are known as a ‘D-bit’ and a ‘ring bit’. Regardless of type, though, all snaffle bits share the same basic structure and the same basic action, albeit with a few subtle differences from one type to the next.

Typically, snaffle bits consist of a mouthpiece, made up of two jointed metal segments, with a large ring, to which a rein and cheek strap are attached, on each end. Snaffle bits act with direct pressure, more or less, on the bars, lips and tongue of the mouth. The bars are an area of the gums, between the front and back teeth, into which a snaffle bit should sit comfortably, if properly fitted. Generally speaking, snaffle bits are considered relatively mild, but can be made harsher, or more severe, by the addition of certain mouthpieces.

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