DARTMOOR AIR WAS AN ELIXIR FOR MAC VIDI

Graham Buddry remembers the ageless chaser

- Graham Buddry

There comes a time in life when you’ve done enough, had enough and retirement is both the sensible and pleasant option. Even in racehorses the ability and desire to compete wanes with the passing of the years but one horse continued well after his contempories had hung up their racing plates. Not only that, in his golden years he found form that was nothing short of astounding. Enter Mac Vidi.

A bay gelding foaled in 1965 (his own sire was foaled way back in 1947) Mac Vidi was seen as being nothing more than just a bit of fun for his West Country owner-trainer-breeder, Pam Neal.

Mac Vidi took to racing like many before him and many afterwards, in a modest way. He won his share of small races, he was placed enough times to keep everyone happy and occasionally he had a bad day and finished down the field. And so it continued year after year.

Mac Vidi was far more effective at three miles, and in his last five years he never ran in anything shorter than that, having faced less distance only a handful of times in the preceding years. In fact, so effective was he at exactly three miles, Mac Vidi raced beyond that distance on only three occasions, all in his best ever season, which we will come to shortly.

Back in the day racing was far different with handicaps being far more prominent with fewer conditions and graded races about. This suited Mac Vidi as did his indifference to any ground conditions, being able to run, and win, on any surface from heavy to firm. Also, with the exception of a few trips to Cheltenham, Mac Vidi ran almost exclusively at Lingfield, Ascot, Kempton and Sandown with just the odd trip elsewhere.