Roman Hackle
Roman Hackle (foaled 1933) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1940 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After winning several races over hurdles he was switched to steeplechasing in 1939 and made an immediate impact by winning the Broadway Novices' Chase. In the following year he won the Gold Cup as a seven-year-old but did not build on his early promise. In two subsequent bids for the Gold Cup he ran poorly when favourite in 1941 and fell in 1942. His British career ended when National Hunt racing in Britain was suspended in September 1942 but he went on to win races in Ireland. Background Roman Hackle was a "giant, raw-boned" bay gelding bred in the United Kingdom. His sire Yutoi was a high class stayer who won the Cesarewitch Handicap in 1921. Roman Hackle's dam Wanoya was a great-granddaughter of the Belgian-bred broodmare Muirninn, whose other descendants included leading National Hunt stallion My Prince and the Belmont Stakes winner Amberoid. During his racing career Roman Hackle was trained by Owen Anthony who had been a successful amateur jockey before taking up training: he had won the 1922 Grand National with Music Hall and trained Thrown In to win the Gold