HURRICANE’S SEASONS ARE OVER: With no Irish racing on Tuesday, SHAMROCK pauses to reflect on the career of the mighty Hurricane Fly.
We’re often told that one of racings biggest problems in attracting interest from the general populous is the lack of equine stars.
I suspect this is the case. Let’s suppose we did a street poll of 100 people and asked them to name:
A famous footballer….
Rooney and Beckham, I suspect, would get the most votes.
A famous tennis player….
A whole host of possible answers with Federer, Djokovic and Serena Williams the front runners.
A famous racehorse….
This is where it would get interesting. I could only think it would be depressing in terms of the current picture. I suspect many people would STILL mention stars of yesteryear including Red Rum, Desert Orchid, Arkle. From the modern era on the flat Frankel and Sea The Stars would get mentioned and one fella from the jumps game might well get a few supporters too – Hurricane Fly.
He absolutely deserves his place in racings Hall Of Fame and whilst yesterday’s announcement of retirement was no great shock – it is a great relief to know he can start a hopefully long and happy retirement in the best of health.
22 Grade One victories is his final tally – an absolutely astonishing record which in a seemingly new era which favours running star horses less frequently is surely going to stand for a long time.
He joined Willie Mullins from France in 2008 and romped home by 12 lengths on his debut in a Punchestown maiden hurdle.
Career highlights since then make a long list but winning the Champion Hurdle in 2011 and becoming the
first horse since Comedy Of Errors in 1975 to regain the crown in 2013 were his pivotal moments. He also won five successive Irish Champion Hurdles from 2011 to this year which has now become his final winning race.
Trainer Willie Mullins said: “What can you say about him? He’s a legend of a horse. This day was always going to come and it’s great that we’re doing it on our terms, rather than due to an injury or something like that. He’s a horse who has everything – speed and stamina and an incredible bravery and aggressiveness. I think those are the key factors.”
His jumps form figures were: 11211/131/1111/1131/11111-11142-1113-26 and he won his connections nearly £2 million in prize money.
But he achieved much more than what money alone can buy. A genuine racing legend that will still get plenty of answers in years to come on that very simple question: “Name a famous racehorse?”
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