Fortria

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Fortria (foaled 1952) was an Irish National Hunt horse best known for being the first to win both the Champion Chase twice and the inaugural Mackeson Gold Cup. A bay gelding bred by Mr. A. Craigie, he was owned by George Ansley and trained by Tom Dreaper, with Pat Taaffe as his jockey. His sire was Fortina, who won the 1947 Cheltenham Gold Cup, and his dam was Senria.

Fortria began racing in 1957, starting over hurdles before switching to fences. After a breathing problem in 1958–59 was fixed, he emerged as a top two-mile chaser. He won the 1959 Champion Chase at Cheltenham and the 1959 Pathfinder Chase at Manchester. The following season he captured the Champion Chase again (1960) and won the Mackeson Gold Cup (1960). He also won in Ireland, including the two-mile win over Albergo and the 1961 Punchestown Handicap Chase, and he took the 1961 Irish Grand National over a longer distance.

In 1962 he won the Mackeson Gold Cup again and finished second in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, a position he repeated in the 1963 Gold Cup. Fortria ended his career with 20 wins and earnings of £20,344. In his honour, Navan’s Grade 2 Fortria Chase bears his name.