Badsworth Boy was sold as a yearling for 2,800
guineas and entered training with Snowy Wainwright. As a two-year-old in 1977, the
colt ran eight times, winning minor events at
Beverley Racecourse in June and July. He was then sold to Doug Armitage and was
gelded in preparation for a jumping career. In his first season over obstacles, he won a race at
Sedgefield Racecourse and then finished third in the
Triumph Hurdle. In all, Badsworth Boy claimed victory eight times over hurdles and eighteen times over fences, in spite of the fact that his very fast jumping sometimes led to disaster. In the first of his three Champion Chase triumphs, Badsworth Boy won by a distance from Artifice, with his stablemate and favourite
Rathgorman - the 1982 winner - well behind. In 1984, he had ten lengths to spare over Little Bay, and in his final success, he finished the same distance in front of Far Bridge. As of 2020 he remains the only horse with three wins in the race. His final trip into the winner's enclosure came in January 1987. Badsworth Boy was diagnosed with
navicular disease as a juvenile and suffered from
arthritis throughout his life. Michael Dickinson described him as the best horse he ever trained. ==Retirement and death==