The Persian War Novices’ Hurdle is named after an outstanding horse who won three consecutive Champion Hurdles in 1968-70. He only just missed out on a fourth by being in less than tip-top condition when lining up for the 1971 race and coming up against another exceptional horse, Bula.
He won twice as a three-year-old for Dick Hern before being sold as a jumper. He was the leading juvenile hurdler for the first half of the 1966/67 season. Then he was sold for £9,000, a record price for a hurdler to Henry Alper, the owner of a firm of insurance assessors. This was his first horse. It was money well spent; he ended the season by winning the Triumph Hurdle. The following season he was sent (abortively) to France to race while Britain suffered foot and mouth disease. On his return he won the Schweppes Gold Trophy, beating 29 others carrying top weight. The Champion Hurdle followed, and another in 1969.
For his first two championships Persian War was trained at Oakgrove, a stone’s throw from Chepstow racecourse, by ex-jockey Colin Davies. Then Alper, who always thought he knew more than his trainers, fell out with him. The horse moved to another stable. He won the 1970 Champion Hurdle in the care of Arthur Pitt and continued to race until 1974, passed from pillar to post. His strike rate would have been better than his actual 18 wins from 51 races if Alper hadn’t wanted to race him so much and persist with him when he was past his best. Persian War had six trainers while in his ownership.
He won the Welsh Champion Hurdle when it began in 1969. It turned out to be great timing, as all the excellent Cheltenham champs of the next decade won the Welsh version too. Chepstow named a race after him in 2000 and, being confined to novices and run over two and a half miles, it has proved to be a stepping stone for several future staying hurdlers and chasers. It is still going strong at their Jump Season Opener meeting in October.