Who owned Golden Miller?

Dubbed ‘The Finest Chaser of the Century” by the ‘Sporting :Life’ in 1934 – which was, of course, over two decades before the birth of Arkle – Golden Miller was the most famous steeplechaser of the interwar years and rightly so. He was retired from racing in 1939, but remains the most successful horse in the history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, having recorded five consecutive victories between 1932 and 1936, and the only horse ever to have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in the same season, which he did in 1934, prompting the aforementioned newspaper headline.

Almost as famous was his owner, the Honourable Dorothy Paget, the daughter of Almeric Paget, Lord Queensborough and, at one time, the richest unmarried woman in England. A nigh on impossible child, who was expelled from no fewer than six schools, Paget was little or no better as an adult and her eccentrities become the stuff of legend. An arrogant, overweight, chain-smoker, who paid little attention to her appearance, she was, nevertheless, one of the most significant female racehorse owners in British history, amassing over 1,500 winners, under both codes, during her lifetime. Paget was also an inveterate gambler, betting, and often losing, huge sums of money on a daily basis, including at night, thanks to her peculiar, nocturnal lifestyle.

As far as Golden Miller is concerned, Paget bought the gelding as a four-year-old in 1931, along with Insurance, who would go on to win the Champion Hurdle twice, in 1932 and 1933, for a total of £12,000. She did so at the behest of trainer Basil Briscoe, who would saddle Golden Miller to his first four Cheltenham Gold victories, but fell out with Paget after the 1935 Grand National – for which, despite carrying 12st 7lb, ‘The Miller’ started 2/1 favourite, but unseated rider on the first circuit – leading to an acrimonious parting of the ways. For the remainder of his career, Golden Miller was trained by Owen Anthony.