Farclas Grand National Wins
Farclas has never won the Grand National.
Their best finish to date was in 2021 where they came 5th. They were ridden by Jack Kennedy and trained by Denise Foster.
Farclas started his life off as a racehorse in France but was then brought across to Ireland, where he made an instant splash. Chasing definitely brought out the best in him and took him to many big meetings and races during his career.
Foaled in 2014, the horse would run from the Gordon Elliott yard, under the ownership of the Gigginstown Stud for his entire UK & Irish career. He wasn’t a prolific winner, landing just five career victories from a total of 25 starts, but he has won on a huge stage, the Cheltenham Festival.
The horse developed into a strong staying chaser during the peak of his career, and that saw him tackle the Grand National once, in 2021. He finished a very respectable 5th place that day, 29 lengths behind the winner Minella Times, and giving jockey Jack Kennedy a great spin on him.
Full Results
| Year | Result | Prize Money | Handicap | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5 | £40,000 | 10-3 | Jack Kennedy | Denise Foster |
Farclas’ Early Years
Farclas began racing in France, where he would run in four races on the flat. He finished fourth in the first three of those but finally got on the board with a win in what would be his last French appearance, winning by a head.
Then it was over to the Gordon Elliott yard after being purchased by the Gigginstown Stud. Elliott clearly thought he was a nice horse and wasted no time with him, putting him into a Grade Two contest for his first Irish run and first run over hurdles.
The confidence was justified, he finished second in that race to get off to a great start as a hurdler. Stepped up further afterwards, he went back to Leopardstown, this time for a Grade One contest, where he improved and finished second again.
It was all eyes on the Cheltenham Festival in March 2018 for Farclas, in with a chance of winning the Triumph Hurdle, despite never having won a race over hurdles. In the end, that didn’t matter, the placing by Elliott was spot on, and Farclas won the contest by one and three-quarter lengths to land his first hurdles win on the biggest stage in UK & Irish racing.
The following year he struggled over hurdles against the very best in open company, but a year later, when going chasing, he came back to life and won three novice chase races in a row. That was going to set him up for a tilt at some of the bigger events, but sadly injury struck and kept him off the track for well over a year.
Farclas’ Big Race Wins
The Triumph Hurdle success at the 2018 Cheltenham Festival was the one and only big race success for Farclas, though, of course, it is the one meeting where everyone wants to win, so it was certainly a big one.
During his novice chase season, the horse appeared to be back on track, but injury-hit, and that’s a disappointing moment in his career because he may have been able to add another big race to that total had he been fit.