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When Mick Easterby handed over 800 guineas for a dark bay yearling at Tattersalls in 2003, he wasn't buying a future celebrity. He was buying a jumper in the making, a German‑foaled son of Platini, a stallion with Group 1 victories in Italy and Germany. The colt was gelded, turned away to grow, and brought back in with the modest ambition of becoming a useful National Hunt horse.
Nothing in those early years hinted at the life he would eventually lead.
Liverpool, as he came to be known, made his debut in a Market Rasen bumper in 2006, finishing fourth. He repeated the placing at Worcester, but the 2006/07 season that followed was a struggle, his form figures reading an uninspiring 000P. A switch to point‑to‑points brought little immediate improvement. He was pulled up on his first attempt at Sheriff Hutton, and after a run at Mordon in 2008 he was absent from the track for almost two years.
But some horses simply take time to find their purpose.
When Liverpool returned to pointing under the care of Ian Mason, something clicked. Ridden by Mason's daughter Joanna, he finally broke his maiden at Dalton Park in 2010, a hard‑fought victory by a head, almost four years after his first racecourse appearance. He won again at North Carlton in January 2011 and finished runner‑up at Witton Castle on what would be his final outing between the flags.
Retirement from racing didn't slow him down. Liverpool moved into the show ring, where he proved a natural, qualifying and competing at the Horse of the Year Show and winning three times at the Great Yorkshire Show, three times at the Lincolnshire Show as well as lots of other show appearances across the north.
Liverpool also hunted and charmed wherever he went. But his most unexpected reinvention was still ahead.
Enter Mark Atkinson, a professional horseman specialising in film and television work. He was searching for ex‑racehorses to portray racehorses on screen, a surprisingly difficult brief. A family friend pointed him toward Liverpool. There were doubts about his age, but Mark agreed to give him a trial, with the reassurance that he could always return home.
He never did.
Liverpool took to film work with the calm assurance of a seasoned actor. Still owned by the Mason family but cared for by Mark, he quickly became a favourite on set. His temperament, quiet, kind, utterly dependable, made him ideal for close‑up work, and so steady that actors could ride him themselves rather than relying on doubles.
Since then, Liverpool has appeared in numerous productions, most recently the second series of the BBC drama Rivals. At 24 years of age he remains a consummate professional: unflappable, generous, and seemingly delighted with his new life in front of the camera.
Liverpool's story is more than a charming anecdote.
It's a reminder of the extraordinary second, and even third, careers that horses can enjoy, and a testament to the idea that age is no barrier to reinvention. From an 800 guineas bargain basement yearling to point‑to‑point winner to television star, Liverpool has lived a life more exciting than anyone could have imagined the day he walked into the Newmarket sales ring.
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