YESTERDAY’S HEROES

Graham Buddry remembers the career of Derring Rose

Until recently the long distance staying hurdlers were a generally maligned group, considered too slow for the Champion Hurdle and not good enough to go over fences.
Despite several earlier incarnations it wasn’t until 1972 that they even had their own, proper, championship race at the Cheltenham Festival and even then the Stayers Hurdle, as it was named, was always the poor relation.
Occasionally a decent enough animal would win the event, such as Crimson Embers, Galmoy and Dorans Pride but the...