First Past The Post Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ferdinand

Winning would seem to have been in Ferdinand's blood as his sire was the great Nijinsky, who in 1970 became the first horse since 1935 to win the 2,000 Guineas, The Derby and the St Leger in England, a series of races known as the Triple Crown.
Ferdinand gave his name to the Ferdinand Fee, an owners' donation programme to allow retired race horses to live out their lives in comfort. This came about after he was sold to Japanese owners for stud in 1994 and then sold, probably for pet food in 2002, without any notification to the previous owners.

In the book, "The Story of Ferdinand", Munro Leaf tells us of a flower loving bull, who when stung by a bee is mistaken for a fierce bull and taken to Madrid to be pitted against the finest matador. However, with so many flowers in the hair of female spectators, he is content to take in their scent, frustrating the matador in the process. The book was made into a film entitled "Ferdinand the Bull" by Walt Disney in 1938.

Answer: Archer

1861 was the first running of the Melbourne Cup and Archer won by six lengths. He also won the following year, this time by an impressive eight lengths, both times with John Cutts as jockey.
Archer and Cutts both died in 1872, just three months apart, Cutts aged 43 and Archer aged 16.

People born under the sign of Sagittarius are alleged to possess powers of prophecy; famous Sagittarians include Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Bruce Lee.

Answer: Coventry

Coventry, with Clarence Kummer as jockey, beat Backbone by four lengths in this race and did very little else in his career. The Preakness was just Coventry's fourth race and in his fifth race, he broke down part way through and was retired to stud.

Coventry can claim several notable people as sons and daughter, such as author of the Jack Reacher novels Lee Child, inventor of the jet engine Sir Frank Whittle and poet Philip Larkin, but surely none is more famous than Lady Godiva, wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia who rode her horse naked in protest at her husband's plans to raise taxes.

Answer: Ben Nevis

The Grand National of 1980 saw 30 horses start and only four horses finish, led comfortably by Ben Nevis, ridden by Charlie Fenwick, who became only the second American amateur jockey to win the race since the WWII.
Ben Nevis had been trained with the Grand National in mind, and first competed in 1979 but fell at the 15th fence, known as The Chair, meaning that he was given little chance by bookmakers in 1980 and started the race as a 40/1 outsider.

Ben Nevis in Scotland stands 1,345 metres (4,411 feet) above sea level, which when compared to Mount Everest at 8,848 metres or Denali in USA at 6,190 metres may seem tiny, but for UK it is massive and dwarfs the highest peak in England which is Scafell Pike at 978 metres.

Answer: Avatar

1975 should have been Avatar's year as he was entered in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont with Bill Shoemaker on board. In the Kentucky Derby he finished second and in the Preakness came in a disappointing fifth meaning he started the Belmont unfancied, but Shoemaker's better understanding of the horse meant he rode a brilliant race to take the lead in the final furlong and ride to victory.

"Avatar" (2009) was a movie about humans settling a planet in order to mine a rare mineral, which upsets the ecosystem and threatens the existence of the indigenous Na'vi people. The film won Oscars for art direction, visual effects and cinematography.

Answer: Cigar

The inaugural Dubai World Cup attracted a strong field, with horses trained in UK, USA, Australia and Japan as well as four trained by local trainer Saeed bin Suroor, but it was the American-trained Cigar that passed the post first by a distance of half a length.

The Cohiba brand of Cuban cigar was originally made in 1966 exclusively for Castro, although they were later sold to other high ranking members of the Cuban government and often given as gifts by diplomats. In 1982, the Cohiba was released for general sale to the public and has maintained its reputation as one of the finest cigars available.
Cohiba cigars are available in USA but these are made in the Dominican Republic and contain no Cuban tobacco at all, and while they are considered a fine cigar, they are generally acknowledged to be of a lesser quality than a genuine Cuban Cohiba.
Fidel Castro smoked his first cigar aged 14 and gave up the habit when he was approaching 60 years old in an effort to live a healthier life. He died in 2016 aged 90.

Answer: Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas, the Irish horse with Kieren Fallon on board, won this race by a head from Youmzain and was one of four horses trained by Aidan O'Brien in the race. Also in 2007, Dylan Thomas won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, as well as the Irish Champion Stakes leading to him being named European Horse of the Year.

Dylan Thomas the Welsh poet and playwright was just as well known for his hard drinking as for his literary genius, which apart from "Under Milk Wood" also gave us the moving "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" written in 1947 and believed to be about the imminent death of his father, although he did not die until 1952. Thomas himself died in 1953, aged just 39.

Answer: Stradivarius

Stradivarius was also the winner of the Gold Cup in 2018 and Dettori first won the race in 1992, riding Drum Taps. On their 2019 outing, they took the lead a furlong from home and ended up beating Dee Ex Bee by a length.

The Stradivarius name is synonymous with quality stringed instruments, especially violins, violas and cellos, although they have also made guitars, mandolins and harps during their long history which dates back to Antonio Stradivari in the 17th century.
Approximately 650 Stradivarius instruments still survive, made to such a level of perfection that in the 21st century, luthiers and scientists use X rays and CT scans of existing examples in order to create reproduction instruments that will offer the same tone.

Answer: Vodka

With a purse of almost $6 million, the Japan Cup is one of the richest horse races on the calendar. Vodka had raced in the Japan Cup the two previous years, finishing fourth in 2007 and third in 2008 before her win by just a nose in 2009.

The word vodka is derived from the Russian "voda", which means water and the drink has its origins in Poland and Russia. Some of the finest vodkas available today still come from this region including Khortytsa from Ukraine and Zubrowka from Poland, although if you're buying, I'll have a Schramm please, in my opinion the finest potato vodka there is, made in British Columbia, Canada.

Answer: Camelot

Camelot was clear favourite to win the 2012 Derby and did so by an impressive five lengths. Ridden by Joseph O'Brien and trained by Aiden O'Brien, this result made it the first time a father and son as trainer and jockey had ever won the race since it started in 1780.

In the classic Monty Python movie, King Arthur (played by Graham Chapman) was going to lead the knights, Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Galahad the Pure, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot, and Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Film to Camelot but after deciding against it was directed by God to seek the Holy Grail instead.