When two racing greats combined: Dunwoody and Dessie

Richard Dunwoody might be concentrated on his beloved Arsenal remaining top of the Premier League table over the festive period – but 35 years ago it was Desert Orchid’s date with destiny at Kempton Park that topped his Christmas wishlist.

Only Ruby Walsh has ridden more King George VI Chase winners than Dunwoody, but whereas the former’s Boxing Day cheer came solely aboard the imperious Kauto Star, for Dunwoody, he had the pleasure of splitting his quartet of Kempton triumphs between the incomparable ‘Dessie’ and equally popular One Man.

David Elsworth’s all-conquering grey had already bagged two King Georges and a Cheltenham Gold Cup by the time Dunwoody was handed the keys to the most popular horse since Red Rum at the beginning of the 1989-1990 season.

“There was a fair bit of pressure after he had already won two King Georges and luckily I had two warm-up rides on him before Boxing Day in 1989,” explained Dunwoody.

“You try to put it to the back of your mind, but especially that first year I rode him, the pressure was on after Simon Sherwood had won nine out of 10 on him.

“I have to thank David Nicholson really, as I had a retainer with ‘the Duke’, but he put a clause in my contract saying I would be free to ride him. I rode him in two Gold Cups as well and he was a fantastic horse.”

Those 1989 nerves would prove misguided as ‘Elsie’s’ great grey galloped remorselessly to King George number three in front of his adoring Boxing Day crowd.

Dunwoody told the Press Association: “He was brilliant around Kempton, absolutely phenomenal and knew the course so well himself. He would literally get to the far bend and take a blow turning into the straight and then he was away.

“He was brilliant in 1989, it all went according to plan. I made the running and it was all straightforward.

“Bob Tisdall and Barnbrook Again came to take me on going to the third-last, but he just quickened down to the second-last then absolutely pinged that, stood off outside the wings, and it was very easy from there.”

It would prove less smooth than the record books would suggest when Desert Orchid returned to become an unprecedented four-time winner 12 months later, however.

A 12-length romp may give the impression of a fitting celebration of greatness, but for Dunwoody there was something missing during the Christmas of 1990, leaving him craving the horse he had partnered earlier that year over the same track and trip.

“It didn’t quite live up to what he did the previous year,” continued Dunwoody.

“Sabin Du Loir took us on and Dessie wasn’t particularly enjoying it. His ears were back and he wasn’t really travelling or carrying me into the race as he had done the year before.

“Sabin Du Loir fell going down the back and suddenly he was back in front and his ears were pricked and again he went and did it pretty easily in the end, but it wasn’t quite like the year before.

“Ironically the best performance I had around Kempton on him was actually in the Racing Post Chase earlier that year and Elsie said to me ‘I wish today was Gold Cup day’ as he had never had him better. He was phenomenal and you wouldn’t get a horse doing that these days.”

Dunwoody and Desert Orchid’s association ended with a fall in the 1991 edition of the King George which signalled retirement for one of racing’s most decorated equine performers.

It would be four more years until Dunwoody was again thrust into the King George spotlight, when another dazzling grey entered the scene, Gordon Richards’ One Man.

“He won two in the same year and he was a great horse and they were some amazing days,” said Dunwoody, reflecting on his two King George triumphs aboard Greystoke’s finest.

“The King George that was moved to Sandown was my first ride on him and he was brilliant, jumped away down the back and tied up a little bit up the hill but not bad enough to stop him.

“In the second one back at Kempton, AP (Sir Anthony McCoy) was on Mr Mulligan and had led and he was still plugging away when I went past him at the third-last.

“Mr Mulligan fell at the last when tired, but he would certainly have kept going, as he proved in the Gold Cup, whereas One Man was tying up and he tied up quite badly in that last 50 yards.

“One Man wasn’t going anywhere quickly late on and I think AP would have definitely been closer to me at the line than he was at the last.”

Dunwoody felt the switch to Sandown for his first win inevitably left a telling mark on the pride of northern racing, saying: “Gordon said that Sandown race really took it out of him and wondered after that if he was really the same.

“Kempton is an easier track and even though he won by 14 lengths at Sandown I agree with Gordon and think it probably bottomed him a bit.”

Dunwoody moved abroad in retirement and has now replaced King George dreams with hopes of the Premier League trophy ending the season in the hands of Mikel Arteta.

“During my career the whole focus over Christmas was the King George and I would be lucky to have a ride in it most years,” said Dunwoody.

“It was certainly a race you would look forward to and I think most of us would make Christmas Eve our Christmas Day and we might have a meal and a bit of a party then things would be much quieter Christmas Day.

“You would be in the sauna rather than having a Christmas dinner if you had a light weight and you were reading the form and fully focused on the next day.

“I live in Spain now and nowadays on Boxing Day we go to my partner’s family and I have to say I’m probably more worried about what Arsenal may be doing over the holiday period.

“A bit like (fellow Arsenal fans) Mr McCoy and Frankie Dettori, we’ll be concentrating on coming out of the next few games top of the table and if that happens we will be very happy.”