After a disappointing year in 2012, the critics felt that Hurricane Fly’s time at the top had been and gone.
But with a third consecutive Irish Champion Hurdle under his belt, Willie Mullins’ superstar still had plenty of friends as he headed to Cheltenham bidding to become the first horse to regain the Champion Hurdle since Comedy of Errors in 1975.
His run that day was electric, beating defending champion Rock on Ruby into second, and the Fly showed that he’s still a force to be reckoned with as he went on to rack up a world record 17th Grade 1 victory in the Morgiana last month.
Past it? Not a hope.
Quevega
Every year the mystique surrounding Quevega intensifies. She only runs a couple of times a year, saving herself for the major races, and without fail she continues to reign as the undisputed queen.
No horse has ever won the same race at Cheltenham five times and as the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle entered its final few furlongs, Quevega’s shot at history looked to be faltering badly.
Eight or nine horses back she seemingly hit a flat spot before Ruby Walsh produced her for one of the all-time great finishes on that famous hill, blitzing the rest of field to win by a length-and-a-half.
There’s always one Grand National horse that captures the imagination of the Irish public and this year it was Seabass.
Trained by Ted Walsh (a man who once said “I rode her mother once,” lest we forget), daughter Katie seemed to have every chance to make history as the first female jockey to win in the race. One hundred years on from Emily Davison’s iconic Suffragette protest, the timing seemed particularly apt.
That Seabass had finished third in 2012 only added to the hype. He was backed into 11/2 favourite before the off but sadly there was to be no fairytale ending as he tailed off behind 66/1 shock winner Auroras Encore.
Ruler of the World
EMPICS Sport
Another Aidan O’Brien-trained winner of the Derby. So far, so unsurprising — but Ruler of the World was not the Coolmore shot that was expected to lead the way past the Epsom finishing post.
Stablemate Battle of Marengo was the 11/2 second favourite and the choice of O’Brien’s son Joseph but inside the final two furlongs, Ryan Moore picked his moment on Ruler of the World and pounced.
The hope was that he would go on to bigger and better things but even though he disappointed in the Prix Niel, the Arc and the Champion Stakes, a Derby-winning year is still a pretty good year.
Magician
Jae C. Hong
Another unexpected winner for O’Brien and Moore, Magician’s presence at the Breeders’ Cup flew a little bit under the radar, overshadowed by Declaration of War’s chances in the $5 million Classic.
John Gosden’s The Fugue was widely tipped to be Europe’s best chance in the Turf with Magician — winner of the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh in May — easy to back at 7/1.
But the Coolmore colt showed no signs of his freak Ascot injury (he hurt bruised his front legs while jumping out of an equine spa) as he powered up the straight to win by half-a-length.
Liberty Counsel
INPHO/Cathal Noonan
The world was captivated by the fairytale story of Auroras Encore in the Aintree Grand National but in the Irish equivalent a few weeks later, few would have predicted an equally unlikely success.
Liberty Counsel’s trainer Dot Love is well-known and loved on the Irish racing circuit but her small Mullingar yard had never seen a success like this before.
That’s equally true for Ben Dalton, the 21-year-old from New Ross who rode the 10-year-old to win at odds of 50/1 — matching the biggest price ever for an Irish national winner.
Blackstairmountain
INPHO/Donall Farmer
One of the lesser lights in Willie Mullins’ star-studded yard, Blackstairmountain made his own headlines this year — on the other side of the world.
The eight-year-old won Japan’s richest race, the Nakayama Grand Jump, pocketing the €565,000 top prize.
And you thought the Mullins/Walsh team was only dominating in Ireland…
Winners alright: 7 Irish horses that got us talking in 2013
Hurricane Fly
INPHO/Dan Sheridan
After a disappointing year in 2012, the critics felt that Hurricane Fly’s time at the top had been and gone.
But with a third consecutive Irish Champion Hurdle under his belt, Willie Mullins’ superstar still had plenty of friends as he headed to Cheltenham bidding to become the first horse to regain the Champion Hurdle since Comedy of Errors in 1975.
His run that day was electric, beating defending champion Rock on Ruby into second, and the Fly showed that he’s still a force to be reckoned with as he went on to rack up a world record 17th Grade 1 victory in the Morgiana last month.
Past it? Not a hope.
Quevega
Every year the mystique surrounding Quevega intensifies. She only runs a couple of times a year, saving herself for the major races, and without fail she continues to reign as the undisputed queen.
No horse has ever won the same race at Cheltenham five times and as the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle entered its final few furlongs, Quevega’s shot at history looked to be faltering badly.
Eight or nine horses back she seemingly hit a flat spot before Ruby Walsh produced her for one of the all-time great finishes on that famous hill, blitzing the rest of field to win by a length-and-a-half.
Watch the finish from 4:00
YouTube Credit: RUKTV1
Seabass
PA Archive/Press Association Images
There’s always one Grand National horse that captures the imagination of the Irish public and this year it was Seabass.
Trained by Ted Walsh (a man who once said “I rode her mother once,” lest we forget), daughter Katie seemed to have every chance to make history as the first female jockey to win in the race. One hundred years on from Emily Davison’s iconic Suffragette protest, the timing seemed particularly apt.
That Seabass had finished third in 2012 only added to the hype. He was backed into 11/2 favourite before the off but sadly there was to be no fairytale ending as he tailed off behind 66/1 shock winner Auroras Encore.
Ruler of the World
EMPICS Sport
Another Aidan O’Brien-trained winner of the Derby. So far, so unsurprising — but Ruler of the World was not the Coolmore shot that was expected to lead the way past the Epsom finishing post.
Stablemate Battle of Marengo was the 11/2 second favourite and the choice of O’Brien’s son Joseph but inside the final two furlongs, Ryan Moore picked his moment on Ruler of the World and pounced.
The hope was that he would go on to bigger and better things but even though he disappointed in the Prix Niel, the Arc and the Champion Stakes, a Derby-winning year is still a pretty good year.
Magician
Jae C. Hong
Another unexpected winner for O’Brien and Moore, Magician’s presence at the Breeders’ Cup flew a little bit under the radar, overshadowed by Declaration of War’s chances in the $5 million Classic.
John Gosden’s The Fugue was widely tipped to be Europe’s best chance in the Turf with Magician — winner of the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh in May — easy to back at 7/1.
But the Coolmore colt showed no signs of his freak Ascot injury (he hurt bruised his front legs while jumping out of an equine spa) as he powered up the straight to win by half-a-length.
Liberty Counsel
INPHO/Cathal Noonan
The world was captivated by the fairytale story of Auroras Encore in the Aintree Grand National but in the Irish equivalent a few weeks later, few would have predicted an equally unlikely success.
Liberty Counsel’s trainer Dot Love is well-known and loved on the Irish racing circuit but her small Mullingar yard had never seen a success like this before.
That’s equally true for Ben Dalton, the 21-year-old from New Ross who rode the 10-year-old to win at odds of 50/1 — matching the biggest price ever for an Irish national winner.
Blackstairmountain
INPHO/Donall Farmer
One of the lesser lights in Willie Mullins’ star-studded yard, Blackstairmountain made his own headlines this year — on the other side of the world.
The eight-year-old won Japan’s richest race, the Nakayama Grand Jump, pocketing the €565,000 top prize.
And you thought the Mullins/Walsh team was only dominating in Ireland…
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Blackstairmountain Horse Racing Hurricane Fly liberty counsel Looking Back Magician Quevega Ruler of the World Seabass