Wayward Lad

Wayward Lad (1975-2003) was a successful English Thoroughbred National Hunt racehorse. He was one of the "Dickinson five" (Michael Dickinson-trained horses that took the first five places at the 1983 Cheltenham Gold Cup). The horse's career ended in spring 1987 with a second success in the Whitbread Gold Label Chase at Aintree. By then he had won 28 of his 53 races on 16 different tracks. That final success, at the 1987 Grand National meeting, brought his career earnings to £218,732, at the time a sum beaten only by Dawn Run. His most prestigious wins came in the King George VI Chase, which he won for a third time in 1985. Wayward Lad also finished a close second to Dawn Run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1986, on a course on which he never won in nine races. A row between his owners resulted in the horse going to the Doncaster sales, where Tony Dickinson (Michael's father) bought him for 42,000 Guineas. He was then sent into retirement with his son, who had begun a new career training in the USA. The Sporting Life opined: "One cannot dispute this horse's consistent excellence over a period of nine years".