Five star performers for owner John Hales

Some superstars of the National Hunt sphere triumphed in the famous John Hales colours. We pick out five of the best.

1) ONE MAN (Gordon Richards)

One Man was among the first racehorses the Hales family became involved with and while that may have been seen as amazing good fortune, he also provided them with the whole gamut of emotions that racing can put you through. Having won his first five novice chases, he was sent off favourite for the old Sun Alliance Chase in 1994 but was beaten by the third last and trailed home in ninth. He won the Hennessy the following season off a low mark but was a faller in the King George when favourite and that finished his season. The following campaign saw the King George run at Sandown and he won his first Grade One in style. But Cheltenham proved his stumbling block once more, failing to get up the hill in the Gold Cup. He won the King George at its rightful home of Kempton the following season but again fell short in the Gold Cup and many felt he was destined not to win at the Festival. That was until he had just his second ever run over two miles in the 1998 Champion Chase when, under late substitute Brian Harding, he dominated in winning by four lengths. Sadly, One Man suffered a fatal fall in his next run at Aintree.

2) NEPTUNE COLLONGES (Paul Nicholls)

Neptune Collonges looked to face a stiff task under a big weight on ground that was quicker than ideal as he enjoyed his career swansong in the 2012 Grand National. Ridden by Daryl Jacob for the very first time in his lengthy career, Neptune Collonges worked his way into the history books by beating Sunnyhillboy by a nose, not surprisingly the shortest winning distance in the race’s long history. While everybody in racing dreams of a National win, Neptune Collonges was far from a one-race horse. Despite being around in the era of illustrious stablemates Kauto Star and Denman, he managed to win a Punchestown Gold Cup and an Irish Hennessy too. Since his retirement, Neptune Collonges has made a number of star turns at Grand National promotional events and is a regular visitor to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital ahead of the big race.

3) POLITOLOGUE (Paul Nicholls)

It should have been no surprise to anyone that Politologue went on to achieve what he did given he ran in a Grade One on just his second outing for Nicholls in the Challow Hurdle. Fences were always going to bring out the best in him, though. He was a Grade Two winner as a novice but the following year he had the misfortunate of having to take on Altior, who was unbeatable at the time. He did top Min in the Melling Chase at Aintree, though. In 2019, he gave Altior a huge scare in the Champion Chase but the following year, with his great rival a late absentee, he was best placed to take advantage of a lacklustre run from odds-on favourite Defi Du Seuil, making all the running. He added the Tingle Creek the following season.

4) AZERTYUIOP (Paul Nicholls)

When Azertyuiop first joined Nicholls, the discussion mainly concentrated on his eyecatching name but he ensured that did not last long. He won the Kingwell Hurdle on his debut for the yard, beating a previous Champion Hurdler in Hors La Loi III, but it was over fences he came into his own. Unbeaten in his novice season when he won the Arkle by 11 lengths, talk soon turned to the challenge of taking on Moscow Flyer and Well Chief, the standard setters in the two-mile division. Moscow Flyer famously came out on top at Sandown in a thrilling Tingle Creek but when Jessica Harrington’s defending champion unseated four from home in the Queen Mother, Azertyuiop took full advantage. He went on to have further battles in what was a golden era of two-milers but he also ran a huge race in the 2004 King George when beaten less than four lengths by Kicking King.

5) PROTEKTORAT (Dan Skelton)

Protektorat, owned in a partnership with former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson among others, will be remembered for providing Hales with his last major winner. However, he had already achieved plenty before that victory at Windsor in the Fleur De Lys Chase. He won a Grade One at Aintree as a novice, returned to Merseyside to win the now defunct Many Clouds Chase and also landed the Betfair Chase in 2022. Perhaps his best performance, though, came last March when he powered up the hill to beat Envoi Allen in the Ryanair Chase to seal a famous double for his owners, as just 40 minutes earlier they had won the Pertemps Final with Monmiral.