12/21/24
November 14, 2006
Obit for Dessie: Yesterday the great grey chaser Desert Orchid died at the age of 27. In his racing career he was a horse that was famous even outside the "horsey set". And deservedly so, foaled in 1979 he had an impressive career with 34 wins from 71 races
I don't follow racing very closely either, but I do enjoy a nice day out at the races a couple of times a year. It really seems that the 70's and 80's were a glorious period of horse racing - the names just roll off the tongue... Desert Orchid, Red Rum, Shergar, Nijinksy and so on. True sporting superstars in those days!
posted by afx237vi at 07:40 AM on November 14, 2006
Someone named 'fence' prefers steeplechase? Who would have thought! :-) Tremendous racing record, and a long life. Horse like that don't come around very often. (Looks out his window at his 2 week old ASH colt foal in the paddock) No, not often enough.
posted by owlhouse at 04:34 PM on November 14, 2006
It's FPP's like this that make me love SportsFilter. Thanks Fence for reminding me about the Steeplechase. I used to watch it on ABC's Wild World of Sports and in old Mickey Rooney movies. The whole atmosphere surrounding the Sport is fasinating. The courage of the Horses and Riders is nothing short of spectacular. Looking forward to some more in-depth FPP's or perhaps a column Fence and owlhouse you owe us a pic..........
posted by skydivedad at 04:51 PM on November 14, 2006
I'm not a huge racing fan, so I don't know how in-depth any FPP would be :) but I do watch the bigger races. At the moment I'm a bit of a Beef or Salmon fan, but that may be because I just like the strangeness of his name.
posted by Fence at 09:19 AM on November 15, 2006
RIP Desie!
posted by desigol at 10:41 AM on December 10, 2006
I'm not a big racing fan, but I'd always prefer jumps to the flat and Desert Orchid was a great example of why. Around and racing for years he had a very definite personality, and while I don't think I'd ever be one to join any horse's fan club there probably aren't more deserving.