He won nine of his eighteen races over fences including a 20-length victory in the 1965 Two-Mile Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
After leading much of the race, he was beaten by Buona Notte in the Henry VIII Novices' Chase at Sandown Park, finishing as the runner-up.
[2] Dunkirk started the 1965/66 season by beating Mill House by 15 lengths to win the two-mile Frogmore Chase at Ascot.
In the King George VI Chase, he was well clear of the field when he started to slow, allowing Arkle to gain on him.
He broke his neck in the fall, but a vet's report stated that he had suffered from the equine flu and his lungs were full of blood; therefore, he was dying before he took off at that final fence.