Badsworth Boy stands alone in Champion Chase history. Trained by Michael Dickinson and later his mother Monica, the fiery chestnut possessed blistering speed, accuracy at his fences, and a competitive streak that made him almost untouchable at two miles. By 1984 he was already a dual Champion Chase hero — but his third victory would elevate him to legendary status.
Despite carrying the wear and tear of years of hard racing and managing chronic foot problems, Badsworth Boy arrived at Cheltenham with the same fierce determination that had defined him. Ridden with calm authority by Robert Earnshaw, he was sent straight into his comfort zone: bowling along, jumping fast and low, and stretching the field from the outset.
Turning for home in the 1984 Queen Mother Champion Chase, he quickened again, putting the race to bed with the ruthless efficiency that had become his trademark. The Cheltenham crowd rose to salute a horse who had dominated the division in a way no other has matched.
His third successive Champion Chase sealed his place in racing immortality. Many great two-mile chasers have followed, but none have equalled Badsworth Boy’s unique treble — a record that still stands as a benchmark of brilliance, toughness and sustained supremacy.
