Vale LOOKS LIKE ELVIS
Tuesday, 30 Jul 2024
Vale Looks Like Elvis
The King has left the building.
Owner Jim Critchley has advised us of the devasting and terribly sad news that Looks Like
Elvis has passed away peacefully but suddenly of a suspected heart attack.
Elvis was about to turn ten and an unusual fact is that Elvis shared his actual date of birth
with the same date attributed to all horses for the purposes of thoroughbred racing.
Elvis was a true racehorse who loved racing and the routine and attention of stable life.
In his racing Elvis was ultra-competitive and courageous.
Since his retirement, Elvis had been exploring and progressing, through the early stages of a
possible new career in equestrian and looking forward beyond dressage, to some cross-
country galloping that would surely have suited his athleticism, enthusiasm for competition
and love of a decent gallop.
Jim and Eagle Farm trainer Bryan Dais purchased Elvis at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in
2016 and Bryan and his wife Nicky subsequently guided Elvis through his early development
to become a very successful cult horse in Brisbane prior to his career with Jarrod.
Ultimately, Elvis became an exceptional but under acknowledged racehorse, with a race
record that really does not do him justice. It is worth noting that in a career that saw him race
68 times he won ten races and finished second 15 times, many of those close finishes in
black type races, including a photo finish with Yulong Prince on Melbourne Cup day in 2019
when Craig Williams was hoping to ride a race to race double after his memorable
Melbourne Cup victory.
Elvis earned nearly $1.5m for his owners and was also loved by punters, many of whom
gravitated to him and his name, towards the end of race day and he seldom failed to give
them a memorable ride and a decent return.
Many performers have impersonated Elvis and in his last win on 4 June 2022, our Elvis
turned the tables when unusually, he missed the start and then, in a jaw dropping
performance with Linda Meech aboard, negotiated his way through the field to win a Winter
Championships race at Flemington. The run was a reasonable Looks Like Elvis
impersonation of Rough Habit in the 1992 Stradbroke Handicap. A comparison that is poles
apart in some ways but similar in others.
The passing of Elvis is profoundly sad and premature, but he will be fondly remembered by
many and loved forever by those closest to him.
Many thanks for a wonderful ride Elvo, it has been our privilege and good fortune to be
involved with you.
RIP Looks Like Elvis
https://www.racing.com/form/2022-06-04/flemington/race/8
The King has left the building.
Owner Jim Critchley has advised us of the devasting and terribly sad news that Looks Like
Elvis has passed away peacefully but suddenly of a suspected heart attack.
Elvis was about to turn ten and an unusual fact is that Elvis shared his actual date of birth
with the same date attributed to all horses for the purposes of thoroughbred racing.
Elvis was a true racehorse who loved racing and the routine and attention of stable life.
In his racing Elvis was ultra-competitive and courageous.
Since his retirement, Elvis had been exploring and progressing, through the early stages of a
possible new career in equestrian and looking forward beyond dressage, to some cross-
country galloping that would surely have suited his athleticism, enthusiasm for competition
and love of a decent gallop.
Jim and Eagle Farm trainer Bryan Dais purchased Elvis at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in
2016 and Bryan and his wife Nicky subsequently guided Elvis through his early development
to become a very successful cult horse in Brisbane prior to his career with Jarrod.
Ultimately, Elvis became an exceptional but under acknowledged racehorse, with a race
record that really does not do him justice. It is worth noting that in a career that saw him race
68 times he won ten races and finished second 15 times, many of those close finishes in
black type races, including a photo finish with Yulong Prince on Melbourne Cup day in 2019
when Craig Williams was hoping to ride a race to race double after his memorable
Melbourne Cup victory.
Elvis earned nearly $1.5m for his owners and was also loved by punters, many of whom
gravitated to him and his name, towards the end of race day and he seldom failed to give
them a memorable ride and a decent return.
Many performers have impersonated Elvis and in his last win on 4 June 2022, our Elvis
turned the tables when unusually, he missed the start and then, in a jaw dropping
performance with Linda Meech aboard, negotiated his way through the field to win a Winter
Championships race at Flemington. The run was a reasonable Looks Like Elvis
impersonation of Rough Habit in the 1992 Stradbroke Handicap. A comparison that is poles
apart in some ways but similar in others.
The passing of Elvis is profoundly sad and premature, but he will be fondly remembered by
many and loved forever by those closest to him.
Many thanks for a wonderful ride Elvo, it has been our privilege and good fortune to be
involved with you.
RIP Looks Like Elvis
https://www.racing.com/form/2022-06-04/flemington/race/8
