Down Royal Champion Chase Legendary Winners: Looks Like Trouble Jump racing’s biggest prize is the Cheltenham Gold Cup and it’s one of the hardest races to win. Gold Cup winners are so well rounded and they have to be as tough as nails too. Noel Chance trained Looks Like Trouble and a number of big names got to ride him throughout his career. With that in mind, every horse who manages to get their name on the trophy goes down in the history books. The gelding came out on top back in 2000 but injury scuppered his very promising career after that. Here we take a look at the Cheltenham hero’s career. Early days Looks Like Trouble was foaled in May 1992 and he was by the sire Zaffaran and out of the mare Lavengaddy. His career didn’t get off to the best of starts and it may have been a bit of a surprise that he managed to hit the highest of heights. He started off in a maiden point-to-point at Carrigtwohill over in Ireland and he ran a nice race to finish second. Making his first start under rules in a Carlisle novice hurdle after that, he went on to finish fifth, with 5lb claimer Seamus Durack on board. Folkestone was the venue for the then six-year-old’s next run and he produced an improved display to finish second. Perhaps a bit surprisingly, his next run was very underwhelming and he finished 30 lengths behind the winner, clearly chasing was going to be his game. It took him a while to get going but once he did, his career accelerated at a rapid rate. His first win came in a three-mile novice chase at Doncaster, with Mick Fitzgerald doing the steering. He followed up at Sandown and a step up in grade was next on the agenda. Grade 1 glory Connections sent him to Cheltenham in March of 1999 and Paul Carberry rode him to a facile success in the Royal & SunAlliance Novice Chase (currently known as the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase). Noel Chance’s gelding absolutely trounced the field that day and none of his rivals could get anywhere near him. In touch with the leaders early on, Nick Dundee appeared to be travelling smoothly before a fall at the third-last and there was only one winner from then on. This major success firmly established Looks Like Trouble as a proper Gold Cup candidate for the following season, and for good reason! 1999/2000 season Norman Williamson was to ride him for all but one of his five starts for the campaign and the pair got underway in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby. The previous season’s Gold Cup winner, Seemorebusiness, came out on top that day and Looks Like Trouble finished third. An impressive return to winning ways in a Sandown intermediate chase then followed, although things didn’t quite go to plan in the King George and he pulled up. He was far too good for them upon his return to Cheltenham next time and the big one came next. Going for gold A late call up for Richard Johnson was announced ahead of the race and the race was to be run on unseasonably quick ground, with a going description of good to firm. Tracking the leaders in the early stages, he had to recover from a bad jump at the 10th fence. That error made little difference to him however as he maintained his position and made his challenge four out. Jumping to the lead at the last, he kicked on to claim Gold Cup glory, scoring by five lengths from Willie Mullins’ Florida Pearl. Later career and retirement He bolted up to win at Down Royal on his return the following season but missed well over a year after that, eventually making a winning return at Wincanton. Looks Like trouble went on to contest the 2002 Gold Cup and the Queen Alexandra Stakes but injuries had taken their toll and he wasn’t the same. Noel Chance’s gelding had a long and happy retirement, living to the ripe old age of 33, at the home of Richard Johnson in Herefordshire.
