One of the most telling tributes to the exceptional ability of Hurricane Fly, whose retirement from racing was announced on Monday, is that Ruby Walsh, who rode him to win two Champion Hurdles and 18 of his 26 victories in all, always insisted that Cheltenham never really saw the true Hurricane Fly. “Some day,” Walsh said after Hurricane Fly’s victory at Leopardstown last Christmas, “he’ll go there and blow you away.”
As it turned out, Hurricane Fly’s final appearance in the Champion Hurdle, the fifth of his career, ended in honourable defeat as he came home third behind the outstanding Faugheen, a stablemate at the Willie Mullins yard in Ireland. When he then failed to beat Jezki at Punchestown the following month, it was clear that another winter campaign aimed towards a sixth appearance at Cheltenham’s Festival meeting might be asking too much.
But if Hurricane Fly never quite reached his brilliant best at Cheltenham, he still retires not just as a dual Champion Hurdle winner but also with a career record to confirm his as one of the finest and most consistent hurdlers that National Hunt has seen. His record of 22 Grade One victories over jumps may stand for decades to come - the previous record for a National Hunt horse was held by Kauto Star, with 16 - and the last of those came, appropriately enough, in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in January. It was Hurricane Fly’s fifth successive victory in the race, itself a new record, and ensured that he retires unbeaten in 10 outings at the south Dublin track.
