Mick Easterby Homepage



Middlethorpe

> Home > Middlethorpe (GB)




Middlethorpe and Paul Hanagan are led back to the winner's enclosure at York, 30th August 2000.

Middlethorpe(GB)

Gender: gelding
Colour: bay



AG Black and J Quickfall
Foaled:1997
Sire: Noble Patriarch
Dam: Prime Property
Owner:AG Black and J Quickfall
Breeder:Alan Black and Co and Mr MW Easterby
Races: 66
Wins: 12
Prizemoney: £ 75,289
Flat form:64053300/ 05173713136/ 0010568/ 1285307/ 337055/ 15670/ 29006/
Jumps form:4124211/ 4142/ 10104/ 8/





Middlethorpe's Story


Middlethorpe was bred by my late great friend Alan Black, an estate agent and chartered surveyor from York.

Alan was the son of one of my first owners, George Black, and the red and blue colours being no stranger to the winners' enclosure. The association with the Black family went back to the 1960s and there are many tales to tell. George's first horse was the giant Nigarda who won at Beverley in September 1961 and was watched by George who suffered a fatal heart attack just minutes after his horse passed the post.

Middlethorpe’s dam was the Tirol mare Prime Property, a racehorse of little account but she had managed one victory at Pontefract in 1995 off a mark of just 34 and with a seven-pound claimer in the saddle. It hardly seemed worth breeding from Prime Property but her owner insisted and she was covered by Noble Patriarch in in 1997 she produced a colt foal.

Middlethorpe was always going to be a long-term project and although running in Black's silks he was co-owned with Alan Black's good friend, Mr Quickfall, a director of York City Football Club.

Running three times before beginning his handicap career he was awarded a mark of 62. However, he finished his two-year-old season a maiden despite showing plenty of promise, but a drop in the weights would assist him in his three year old career.

Middlethorpe's first win came at Beverley in 2000 under the late Pat Eddery. On a rain-soaked night he was given a superb ride to lead inside the final furlong and stay on for victory. Later the same year he was a winner at York, the local track of his owners, taking the 'HBLB Travel Trade Gazette Apprentice Handicap' ridden by Paul Hanagan. The first-time blinkers had done the trick as he won easily at odds of 20/1. He followed up a week later when he was a rare runner for his owner at Chepstow, again Paul Hanagan was in the plate.

In August 2001 Middlethorpe scored at Pontefract, winning the twelve furlong 'Rogerthorpe Manor Hotel Handicap' in the hands of our then stable jockey, Australian Terry 'The Wombat' Lucas. At odds of 7/1 he was the rank outsider of the five-runner field but hitting the front a furlong out her hold on to win.

The following year saw Middlethorpe win the traditional opener of the turf campaign, the mile and a half Apprentice Handicap at Doncaster under Sam Hitchcott, his owner and trainer topping the winners' tables for the first 30 minutes of the season.

At the end of the 2002 season Middlethorpe switched to hurdling where his stamina would be a key strength and won his first race over timber at Newcastle. The same year saw Middlethorpe's half-brother Property Zone win his first race, scoring at Southwell.

A good season under National Hunt rules followed in 2003 as Middlethorpe won novice hurdles at Catterick and Wetherby, and then returning to Wetherby in December he won again off a mark of 111. In the meantime, Property Zone had left the yard and became a dual winner over hurdles for trainer Chris Grant. Tragically Property Zone died in 2003, suffering a fatal injury at Aintree.

In 2004 Middlethorpe mixed flat racing with jumping. His campaign began by winning the 1m 4f Apprentice Handicap at Doncaster for the second time, ridden by then apprentice jockey Paul Mulrennan. Switching back to hurdles he was successful twice more at Wetherby for jockey Tom Greenall, the second of these being his final career victory in December 2004. With perfect timing, a month earlier the baton was passed on to Middlethorpe's half-brother King's Square who had won his first race when successful at Newcastle. Although unable to emulate Middlethorpe's 12 wins, King's Square was to win again at Musselburgh in 2005 before being retired in 2007.

Middlethorpe himself was retired in 2006 having run 66 times and won six races on the flat and six over hurdles. He amassed over £75,000 in prizemoney.

Middlethorpe's family would race on until 2018 when Nunnery Lane (out of Prices Lane, a daughter of Prime Property) brought the curtain down on the dynasty at Wolverhampton. Too slow to win races on the flat, Nunnery Lane would embark on a new career on the polo field.

A sad postscript to the story followed in 2019 with the passing away of owner and breeder Alan Black, marking the end of a 60-year association with the stable.



More about Middlethorpe:
> An interview with Middlethorpe's breeder Alan Black




Race wins

Date Race Jockey Racecourse

04Dec04 Come Racing At Christmas Handicap Hurdle 2m Mr T Greenall Wetherby

29Oct04 Rocom Handicap Hurdle 2m Mr T Greenall Wetherby

25Mar04 Racing Schools Apprentice Handicap 1m 4f Paul Mulrennan Doncaster

27Dec03 Sky Bet In Running On All Premiership Games Handicap Hurdle 2m Gino Carenza Wetherby

05Mar03 Weatherbys Travel Novices' Hurdle 1m 7f 156y Gino Carenza Catterick

26Feb03 Kirkburton Novices' Hurdle 2m Gino Carenza Wetherby

25Nov02 St Modwen Properties Maiden Hurdle 2m 98y Gino Carenza Newcastle

21Mar02 Racing Schools Apprentice Handicap 1m 4f Sam Hitchcott Doncaster

07Sep01 Maskreys Handicap 1m 2f Paul Hanagan Chepstow

08Aug01 Rogerthorpe Manor Hotel Handicap 1m 4f Terry Lucas Pontefract

30Aug00 HBLB Travel Trade Gazette Apprentice Handicap 1m 2f 85y Paul Hanagan York

07Jun00 Racing Pages Handicap 1m 4f Pat Eddery Beverley




Three generation pedigree

MIDDLETHORPE (GB)

bay gelding

1997
Noble Patriarch (IRE) Alzao (USA) Lyphard (USA)
Lady Rebecca
Pampala Bold Lad (IRE)
Pantamerla (IRE)
Prime Property (IRE) Tirol (IRE) Thatching (IRE)
Alpine Niece
Busker Bustino
Kereolle (IRE)















RACEHORSES STAFF SERVICES NEWS CONTACT
Horses in Training Staff Facilities News Contact Michael & David
Yearlings Jockeys Bloodstock How to find us
Foals Vacancies Training a Racehorse SOCIAL MEDIA
Staff News   Facebook OTHER
RACING OWNERSHIP Twitter Racehorse Art
Runners & Entries SALES Buying a Racehorse Racing Links
Recent Winners Syndicates Racehorse Ownership
Racing Colours Horses for Sale  
BHA Ratings Rehoming  


Website © 1997 - 2022 Michael & David Easterby Racing. All rights reserved. Website by Tara's Artworld. View our Privacy Policy here.