The Leader Newspaper
By Andrew Atkinson Exclusive
Cheltenham Triumph Hurdle 1995 winner Kissair and 2000 Arkle winner Tiutchev, bred by Mrs D M Rothschild, continue to spend happy lives in retirement with Nikki Atkinson.
“Rabbit (Kissair) was 30 on March 7, having been gifted to me in 1999, a couple of months after my sister died of cancer,” Nikki told me, ahead of the 2021 Cheltenham Festival.
“I was extremely sad, depressed and felt like my world had imploded,” said Teacher/Equestrian manager Nikki.
Kissair, trained by Martin Pipe, won the Triumph Hurdle in 1999, when beating Silver Wedge. He last raced in 2000 at Garthorpe, aged 9, when under trainer Nicky Henderson.