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La Touche Cup legend Risk Of Thunder dies aged 27

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RISK OF THUNDER (JOHN THOMAS MCNAMARA)

Risk Of Thunder (near): raced in the colours of actor Sean Connery

  PICTURE: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)  

 By Johnny Ward 12:30pM 1 FEB 2016 

RISK OF THUNDER, who won seven consecutive runnings of the La Touche Cup at the Punchestown festival, died of a heart attack on Sunday at the age of 27.

The son of Strong Gale ran in the colours of actor Sean Connery and was a household name in Irish jump racing. He landed Punchestown’s iconic banks contest from 1995 to 2002 inclusive, with the race not having taken place in 2001.

Trained to victory in the race in 1995 and 1996 by Noreen Hayes, he was in Enda Bolger’s care for his other five successes.

As well as training Risk Of Thunder, Bolger also rode the horse five times under rules including to success in the 1997, 1998 and 1999 La Touche Cups.

‘Best over the banks’

Bolger said on Monday: “He was a very special horse. Myself, Philip Fenton, Ken Whelan and JT McNamara all agree that he was undoubtedly the best banks jumper any of us had ever sat on.

“He really brought cross-country racing back to life with his flamboyant jumping – he was also high-profile because he was owned by Sean Connery and people used to go racing to see Sean.

“He would go up to Ruby’s double, which was a new jump at the time, and he’d throw everything at it. The crowd would gasp when he did that.”

Risk Of Thunder also finished fourth in the 1999 Irish Grand National and second in the Velka Pardubicka the same year.

Happy retirement

On his retirement after a final La Touche win in 2002, he was retired to JP McManus’ Martinstown stables, where he was Istabraq’s retirement companion.

Risk Of Thunder won 13 races from 39 starts under rules, all but one of them at Punchestown, and five point-to-points.


Risk Of Thunder: in numbers

109,640 – amount in pounds (£) won in prize-money in career
13 – age when retired
12
– wins at Punchestown
7 – victories in the La Touche Cup
5 – jockeys who won on him (Ken Whelan, Enda Bolger, Philip Fenton, Richard Dunwoody and JT McNamara)

 

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