Thistlecrack

Thistlecrack
Racing silks of John and Heather Snook
Sire	Kayf Tara
Grandsire	Sadler's Wells
Dam	Ardstown
Damsire	Ardross
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	29 March 2008[1]
Country	United Kingdom
Colour	Bay
Breeder	R. F. and S. D. Knipe
Owner	John and Heather Snook
Trainer	Colin Tizzard
Record	25: 13-4-2
Earnings	£743,651
Major wins
Sefton Novices' Hurdle (2015) Long Distance Hurdle (2015) Long Walk Hurdle (2015) Cleeve Hurdle (2016) World Hurdle (2016) Liverpool Hurdle (2016) Worcester Novices' Chase (2016) King George VI Chase (2016)
Awards
British National Hunt Horse of the Year (2016)

Thistlecrack (foaled 29 March 2008) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt races. Unraced until he was five years old, he recorded his first win in a National Hunt Flat race in 2014. In the 2014/15 National Hunt season he won two minor hurdle races before improving when tried over long distances and winning the Grade 1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle. In the following season he established himself as the best staying hurdler in Britain with wins in the Long Distance Hurdle, Long Walk Hurdle, Cleeve Hurdle, World Hurdle and Liverpool Hurdle. When switched to steeplechasing in the following season he made an immediate impact, taking the Worcester Novices' Chase before beating more experienced horses in the King George VI Chase. His later career was beset by injury problems and he never won again, being retired from racing in March 2021 at the age of thirteen.