Farewell Big Buck’s – The Champion Who Always Found More

There are great racehorses, there are champions, and then there are those horses who become part of your own racing memories. Big Buck’s was one of those horses for me.

The news that the great staying hurdler has died at the age of 23 is desperately sad. For followers of National Hunt racing of a certain era, Big Buck’s was one of the defining horses of his generation – and, in my view, quite simply one of the greatest staying hurdlers we have ever seen. Paul Nicholls described him after his death as being as good as any horse he ever trained. Considering that Nicholls trained the likes of Kauto Star, Denman and Master Minded, that tells you everything.

But statistics alone don't really explain why so many racing fans loved Big Buck’s.

For me, it was the way he won his races.

Big Buck’s had that wonderful habit of appearing to be in trouble. Somewhere during a race there would often be that familiar moment when Ruby Walsh would get lower in the saddle, while one of his rivals appeared to be travelling considerably better.

You knew that was coming, yet you still never worried.

He would hit that characteristic flat spot, Ruby would start getting serious – and then Big Buck’s would gradually begin to find his stride. The horse who looked vulnerable a few moments earlier would suddenly be gathering momentum.

And once he started staying, he just kept staying.

That was Big Buck’s.

He wasn't a flashy two-mile hurdler travelling on the bridle before exploding away from his rivals. His great weapon was stamina combined with an extraordinary amount of ability. He could look beaten without actually being beaten.

A Chaser Who Became A Hurdling Legend

Remarkably, the career which made him famous came about almost by accident.

Big Buck’s had originally been campaigned over fences and was certainly talented enough to win at Grade 1 level as a novice chaser. But jumping fences was never his greatest strength. After falling at the final fence in the 2008 Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, Nicholls made the inspired decision to send him back over hurdles.

Owner Andy Stewart apparently thought the trainer was mad.

It turned out to be one of the greatest training decisions in modern National Hunt history.

From January 2009, Big Buck’s embarked upon an extraordinary run of 18 consecutive victories. For years it stood as the modern record for consecutive wins over jumps before Altior eventually surpassed it.

At the centre of that run were four unforgettable trips to Cheltenham.

2009 – World Hurdle winner.

2010 – World Hurdle winner.

2011 – World Hurdle winner.

2012 – World Hurdle winner.

Four consecutive victories in what is now the Stayers' Hurdle. No horse has won the race more times.

And Cheltenham wasn't the whole story.

He also won the Liverpool Hurdle four consecutive times and landed the Long Walk Hurdle three times, ultimately collecting ten Grade 1 victories during his remarkable career.

Wherever the best staying hurdlers gathered, Big Buck’s generally turned up and beat them.

Ruby, Big Buck’s And That Flat Spot

The partnership with Ruby Walsh became one of those combinations that racing supporters instantly associate with an era.

Ruby understood him.

He knew that when Big Buck’s came off the bridle it didn't necessarily mean the petrol tank was empty. Quite often it meant the opposite – the serious part of the race was about to begin.

Perhaps the perfect example came in his fourth World Hurdle in 2012. Voler La Vedette looked a genuine threat approaching the finish and for a few moments the great champion appeared vulnerable.

But Big Buck’s did what Big Buck’s always seemed to do.

He found more.

He stayed.

And he won.

That fourth consecutive Cheltenham championship cemented his position amongst the greats.

One Of The Great Nicholls Horses

It is easy to forget just what an extraordinary collection of horses Paul Nicholls had at Ditcheat around that period.

Kauto Star.
Denman.
Master Minded.
Neptune Collonges.
Big Buck’s.

It was a golden age.

Yet Nicholls believes Big Buck’s belonged right alongside them. Following his death he reflected that, ability-wise, the great stayer was as good as anything he had trained, adding that over hurdles he had effectively been invincible.

That seems exactly right.

Big Buck’s eventually retired after the 2014 World Hurdle and enjoyed a long retirement, including hunting and accompanying the Felton family's children and ponies on rides. He finished his racing career with 23 victories from 40 starts and around £1.3 million in prize-money.

But again, numbers aren't really what I will remember.

What A Horse

I'll remember sitting there watching Ruby begin to push him along and thinking:

"He might be in trouble here."

Then thirty seconds later wondering why I had ever doubted him.

I'll remember that enormous staying power.

I'll remember the white noseband.

I'll remember Cheltenham.

And above everything else, I'll remember a horse who simply refused to stop trying and finding.

Big Buck’s wasn't merely an outstanding staying hurdler. He was one of those horses who made following National Hunt racing special.

For those of us lucky enough to watch him during those extraordinary years, he gave us countless wonderful afternoons.

Four World Hurdles. Eighteen consecutive victories. Ten Grade 1s. A true champion.

But perhaps the simplest tribute says it best.

What a horse.

Farewell, Big Buck’s. One of the very best.