adjudged to have won by a short head. There was no photo-finish at the time in National Hunt racing and there was some criticism of the judge's verdict. He became the oldest horse to win the race, supplanting Thrown In who won as an eleven-year-old in 1927. The winning time of 6:23.4 for three and a quarter miles was a record for the race. Silver Fame's time has never been beaten (as of 2016) although it should be mentioned that the distance of the race has been slightly altered on several occasions. Silver Fame returned for a final season in 1951/52. He failed to recover his best form: after being beaten at Leicester Racecourse he finished unplaced behind Mont Tremblant in the 1952 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After the end of his racing career Silver Fame spent several years as a hunter for Lord Bicester. Assessment and honours In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Silver Fame an "average" Gold Cup winner. Pedigree Silver Fame was inbred 4 × 4 to Persimmon, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree. References 1939 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 23-a Godolphin Arabian sire line Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Cheltenham Festival winners National Hunt racehorses