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happy retirement to the greatest hurdler I have ever seen.
– World record 22 grade 1s.
Missed his first 2 Cheltenhams through injury, his record could have been even better!
What a wise decision!!!!
Well done to the Fly, Ruby, Willie and his team!!!
A happy retirement and only positive news please!Enjoy every single day of it Fly!
Monster of a horse with wings and a turbo engine
Charles Darwin to conquer the World
Obviously ‘The Fly’ was a fine hurdler but I still think Istabraq was better.
Nevertheless, I hope he has a long and happy retirement
Ridiculous comment.
You should actually be banned for a week for that lol
edit – don’t know why I didn’t quote but this was in reference to the overrated comment!
overrated imo
I’d argue the complete opposite, hasn’t got the credit he deserves or at least didn’t until the past season or 2,particularly over in the UK.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>strawbear wrote:</div>
overrated imoI’d argue the complete opposite, hasn’t got the credit he deserves or at least didn’t until the past season or 2,particularly over in the UK.
I would agree. I think the Mullins/Walsh dominance has counted against the Fly but people on this side of the Irish Sea were warming to him and you just can’t argue against his record.
I’m glad he’s been retired at the right time.
Hurricane Fly’s “ability” depends how you rate horses. If adding something for being genuine and consistent then must rate highly amongst Champions, a “Great”.
If judging purely on “form” (level of ability actually shown) he never really beat any good horse by very far. In that way, can not imo be rated with Istabraq and Night Nurse. Disappointing Mullins does not run his best against each other away from Cheltenham; may be if he had The Fly could have produced a better performance, but did not. To a certain extent that’s been the same whenever one trainer dominates.
Even so – we should celebrate this wonderful little racehorse. Exceptional attitude made Hurricane Fly one of my favourites despite rarely backing him.
Happy retirement Hurricane.
Value Is EverythingSometimes not winning by far can be deceiving to the horses ability
Such was Ruby’s confidence in the horse he didn’t have to beat any good horses by far because Ruby could wait longer knowing he would pick them off, often going past them still half hacking along. Sea The Stars didn’t win by far for the exact same reason.Charles Darwin to conquer the World
Like a lot of sports stars, if you become far too successful at what you do (for some reason) people then want to see you knocked down a peg or two but when that eventually starts happening they then start wanting you to win again because you are seen as the under dog fighting against adversity.
We watched The Fly wipe the floor with everything in Ireland throughout his career but when it first came time for him to confirm that form at Cheltenham, injuries ruled him out for the first few years and I think this meant people strangely questioned whether he was the real deal or not. The fact that Cheltenham never really saw him at his brilliant best (even when winning his two titles) probably didn’t help either.
Due to those early injuries, he could be deemed very unlucky to ‘only’ win two Champion Hurdles but once he became a bit more vunerable with his advancing years, more people seemed to warm up to him; which while obviously well deserved was also a bit sad that it took so long for them to do so.
Imho he is the best 2m (and 2.5m) hurdler since the golden era of Night Nurse, Monksfield & Sea Pigeon.
Hope he will enjoy a long and well deserved retirement.
Like a lot of sports stars, if you become far too successful at what you do (for some reason) people then want to see you knocked down a peg or two but when that eventually starts happening they then start wanting you to win again because you are seen as the under dog fighting against adversity.
We watched The Fly wipe the floor with everything in Ireland throughout his career but when it first came time for him to confirm that form at Cheltenham, injuries ruled him out for the first few years and I think this meant people strangely questioned whether he was the real deal or not. The fact that Cheltenham never really saw him at his brilliant best (even when winning his two titles) probably didn’t help either.
Due to those early injuries, he could be deemed very unlucky to ‘only’ win two Champion Hurdles but once he became a bit more vunerable with his advancing years, more people seemed to warm up to him; which while obviously well deserved was also a bit sad that it took so long for them to do so.
Imho he is the best 2m (and 2.5m) hurdler since the golden era of Night Nurse, Monksfield & Sea Pigeon.
Hope he will enjoy a long and well deserved retirement.
Very fair summary LD73; The Fly’s demolition of Go Native (did he end up fave for the next yr’s Champion Hurdle?) from the final flight was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen on a racecourse
Sometimes not winning by far can be deceiving to the horses ability
Such was Ruby’s confidence in the horse he didn’t have to beat any good horses by far because Ruby could wait longer knowing he would pick them off, often going past them still half hacking along. Sea The Stars didn’t win by far for the exact same reason.When giving a numbered rating for a performance Nathan, you can add a little for ease of victory. If numerical ratings are to mean anything – can not add more than it looks as though the horse has in hand. As said, Hurricane Fly never beat a good horse by far. Sea The Stars beat Rip Van Winkle by an easy length in the Eclipse. On RVW next start won the Sussex by an easy 2 1/2 lengths from Paco Boy, who’d won the Queen Anne on his latest start… Form that works out. Then there was the Irish Champion, easy 2 1/2 lengths back to Fame And Glory with the same to Mastercraftsman in third (9 clear of fourth). Fame And Glory had won the Irish Derby on his latest start by an easy 5 lengths. Mastercraftsman had won the Irish Guineas by 4 1/2… Sea The Stars did not need to win by further than an easy 2 1/2 lengths to be rated exceptional.
Unfortunately can’t see a Sea The Stars moment in Hurricane Fly’s career. Can you? Doesn’t mean he was incapable of one, just that he can not be numerically be rated that way. But every racehorse does not need to be rated numerically. Ruby did not “wait longer knowing he would pick them off, often going past them still half hacking along”; he did not do that to good horses.
imo Hurricane Fly was a “Great” in attitude and consistency, putting up more Grade 1 performances than any other hurdler I can remember. What a Racehorse!
One worth celebrating. 
Value Is EverythingI think sentiment often clouds the judgement with racehorses who had long careers.
Hurricane Fly clocked up an amazing amount of grade 1 wins but he was certainly helped by a serious dearth of talented and consistent opposition over the years.
A run through Hurricane Fly’s wins sees an awful lot of short starting prices and it’s a lot easier winning Grade 1 races when you are facing Grade 2 horses.
The Fly competed in an era of “One and you’re done” Champion Hurdlers, Jezki being the latest incumbent to fail to retain his title, and it was the biggest open secret in History that Ruby Walsh would be on Faugheen come Cheltenham 2015.
He’s admirable and remarkable for 23 wins from 29 Hurdle races but greatness can only be measured based on the ability of the horses who formed the competition in the years any champion was active and it’s been a division lacking depth in recent times, evinced by the latest Champion Hurdle being effectively a three horse race for the entire season and a one horse race in reality.
Istibraq was the best in the last generation for me and I believe that, barring injury, Faugheen should also relegate Hurricane Fly in terms of actual ability.
The Fly is up there for sure but he’s Noble Mission, rather than Frankel.
For all that, he’s a legend and his place in racing folklore is assured.
Feet up champ and enjoy.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Nathan Hughes wrote:</div>
Sometimes not winning by far can be deceiving to the horses ability
Such was Ruby’s confidence in the horse he didn’t have to beat any good horses by far because Ruby could wait longer knowing he would pick them off, often going past them still half hacking along. Sea The Stars didn’t win by far for the exact same reason.When giving a numbered rating for a performance Nathan, you can add a little for ease of victory. If numerical ratings are to mean anything – can not add more than it looks as though the horse has in hand. As said, Hurricane Fly never beat a good horse by far. Sea The Stars beat Rip Van Winkle by an easy length in the Eclipse. On RVW next start won the Sussex by an easy 2 1/2 lengths from Paco Boy, who’d won the Queen Anne on his latest start… Form that works out. Then there was the Irish Champion, easy 2 1/2 lengths back to Fame And Glory with the same to Mastercraftsman in third (9 clear of fourth). Fame And Glory had won the Irish Derby on his latest start by an easy 5 lengths. Mastercraftsman had won the Irish Guineas by 4 1/2… Sea The Stars did not need to win by further than an easy 2 1/2 lengths to be rated exceptional.
Unfortunately can’t see a Sea The Stars moment in Hurricane Fly’s career. Can you? Doesn’t mean he was incapable of one, just that he can not be numerically be rated that way. But every racehorse does not need to be rated numerically. Ruby did not “wait longer knowing he would pick them off, often going past them still half hacking along”; he did not do that to good horses.
imo Hurricane Fly was a “Great” in attitude and consistency, putting up more Grade 1 performances than any other hurdler I can remember. What a Racehorse!
One worth celebrating. I’m not on about number ratings Ginge.
Look at Masterminded to see how giving a number on a big length win can backfire.
Is Harbinger the best horse that walked the planet for one g1 win by +++lengths or should longevity not come in to it?
A football team can win 8-0 on their day doesn’t make them better than Barcelona who beat the same team 1-0.Charles Darwin to conquer the World
Some of the posts here lads questioning the hurricane
– Level of form
– facing grade 2 horses
– ability of the horses he faced
– short price fav
Sorry steve to pick a few of yours. Its just when I was reading these it reminded me of the fantastic letter Patrick mullins wrote a few years ago after the hurricane had won his 17th. Here it is in full below“I feel I have to respond to the comments by Simon Holt and Dave Edwards about Hurricane Fly in the Weekender of November 20.
Simon says Fly has won “uncompetitive contests — 11 of them at odds-on — which barely deserved their lofty status”, while Dave says he has done his winning in “fields of six or less against the same opposition”. Both are, I would suggest, wrong and their views are coloured by them not rating Irish races highly, simply because they aren’t run in England.
In his “uncompetitive” and “small field” races, Fly has beaten more than 20 Grade One winners, 12 of them Cheltenham Festival winners and 16 of them multiple Grade One winners. This group have won two Champion Hurdles, three Supreme
Novices’ Hurdles, two Triumph Hurdles, three Christmas Hurdles, three Fighting Fifth Hurdles and four Aintree Hurdles among the 50 Grade Ones they have won altogether.Fly also beat Literato (winner of the Group One Champion Stakes) and Spirit One (winner of the Grade One Arlington Million) into second and third in a Listed race in France.
It is also important to remember Hurricane Fly missed the 2009 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the 2010 Champion Hurdle, won by Go Native and Binocular. He has beaten both of them, while neither has beaten him. Add to this the four other
possible Grade Ones he missed around this time and three possible ones he missed in 2011/12 and he would seem unlucky not to have won more than 17.In 14 of his Grade One wins, the second horse has won two or more Grade Ones. Only twice has he had a non-Grade One winner finish second to him. Uncompetitive? A small field doesn’t mean it’s a bad race. It is harder to beat one good horse than ten average ones.
Being odds-on shows nothing other than you are going to be very hard to beat, as a champion should be. Frankel was odds-on in all of his Grade Ones. Black Caviar was regularly sent off at 1/20. Istabraq was nearly always odds-on and I would imagine it is difficult to get odds against on Usain Bolt any time he lines up.
There seems to be a thing about Fly beating Solwhit (five times) and Thousand Stars (three times) into second. Frankel beat Excelebration four times, at odds-on every time without leaving his home soil, but that, quite rightly, does not take away from his amazing legacy. Exotic Dancer was placed five times behind Kauto Star, but again this doesn’t take away from Kauto Star being one of the sport’s greats.
Solwhit has won eight Grade One races, five in Ireland and three in England. He beat Punjabi into second at Punchestown after Punjabi had won the Champions Hurdle, with Quevega and Sizing Europe in third and fourth. He also beat Sublimity, another Champion Hurdle winner, into second at Leopardstown. I dare anyone to describe him as anything other than a genuine Grade One horse.
Thousand Stars has won a Grade One over 2m in Ireland, two Grade Ones over 3m in France and was twice beaten only a neck in a Grade One over 2m4f in England. Indeed he beat Binocular at Punchestown in 2011 when second to Fly and beat Rock On Ruby at Punchestown 2013 when again second to Fly. The last two British-trained Champion Hurdle winners couldn’t beat Thousand Stars over 2m at Punchestown. He was only a length off The New One in Aintree this year. He can only be described as a genuine Grade One horse.
Hurricane Fly made these horses look ordinary and some have assumed they are. However, they have both won Grade Ones outside Ireland, as well as in. When there is a champion, the competition looks weak because one is so far ahead of the rest. Hurricane Fly defied history in regaining his title after losing it. He has broken a world record despite having three periods of missed time. He has beaten the best over hurdles for the past five years, as well as Group One winners on the Flat, and he is a champion. Show him the respect he deserves.”
PATRICK MULLINS,
County Carlow.
One worth celebrating. 
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