Many of Haydock’s old race names were in honour of former course officials and I admit that is what I thought of the Peter Marsh Chase. Instead, it relates to the Peter Marsh Group of companies. This record does not deal with sponsored races, but I have made an exception in this case in case others think, like I did, that Mr Marsh was an official. Established in 1837 by the first Peter Marsh – there have been five generations since – the company found its niche manufacturing sacks. From 1861-1941 they were made in Dundee, where jute was shipped from India. As time and packaging technology moved on, they now make paper boxes and sacks.
The Peter Marsh company sponsored several bumpers around the country in 1979 and 1980. They took the plunge by financing a prestige race at Haydock in January 1981. That 3m limited handicap chase pitted a past and an imminent Gold Cup winner against each other, Tied Cottage and Little Owl.
The race has been remarkably resilient, keeping its place in the calendar for over 40 years with conditions fairly well unchanged until 2024, when it changed from a limited to a full weight-range handicap. It has also survived changes in the business’s management. The standard could not live up to that of its first five winners – Little Owl, Bregawn, Ashley House, Combs Ditch and The Thinker – but any horses that win these days carrying a big weight will have done well enough to justify tilting at the Gold Cup as a lively outsider.
Sources include:
https://petermarsh.co.uk/history/