in the 1941 Gold Cup) fell in the race and sustained a fatal injury. In the Gold Cup Red Rower started 3/1 favourite and was in the leading group until the last ditch fence when he was badly hampered by the fall of the leader Solarium. He came away from the fence well adrift of the new leader Medoc, and although he steadily reduced the margin he was beaten eight lengths into second place. In the following September National Hunt racing was suspended in Britain and the next two Cheltenham festivals did not take place. National Hunt racing resumed at the end of 1944 although several leading jumpers including Medoc and Prince Regent were unable to compete owing to a decision of the National Hunt Committee not to accept entries on behalf of horses which had left the country after 1 June 1941. Red Rower, now officially trained by Lord Stalbridge, won at Windsor Racecourse in February 1945 before contesting the Cheltenham Gold Cup on 17 March in a record field of sixteen runners. The field included five horses who had never won over fences and five others who were aged thirteen or over. Red Rower, ridden the former flat race jockey Davy Jones started the 11-4 favourite ahead of Paladin on 100/30 and Schubert on 11-2 whilst the other runners included the thirteen-year-old Poet Prince. Red Rower tracked the front-runners before going up to dispute the lead with Paladin and Schubert at the last fence and drew away on the run-in to win by three lengths. Red Rower's last major race was the 1946 Grand National the first edition of the race for six years. Now a twelve-year-old he carried the third highest weight of 161 pounds and was pulled up in a race won by Lovely Cottage. Assessment and honours In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Red Rower a "poor" Gold Cup winner. Red Rower is remembered in the name of Red Rower Close, a residential street in Cheltenham. Pedigree References 1934 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 52 Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Cheltenham Festival winners National Hunt racehorses