Hurdles and hurls for Grimes

THE Irish Champion Hurdle in Punchestown was inaugurated in 1999 and took its place in the calendar with a high profile first winner as the Champion Hurdle winner Isabraq followed up.

The triple champion didn’t appear at Punchestown in 2000 but the J.P. McManus colours were carried by the Christy Roche-trained Grimes.

Six and three quarter lengths behind Istabraq in Cheltenham came the Dermot Weld-trained Stage Affair. The Michael Smurfit-owned gelding had also been second behind the champion in the AIG Europe Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in January and was sent off a 3/1 favourite in Punchestown under A.P.McCoy. Blue Royal was one of three British-trained runners and was second favourite after his third place in the Champion Hurdle.

Grimes went off in front chased by Stage Affair and jumping boldly still led into the straight, he stayed on well under pressure, to hold off English challenge Decoupage. He was named after Limerick hurler Eamon Grimes, J.P. McManus being the secretary of the South Liberties club when Grimes captained the team that won the All-Ireland Hurling Final in 1973.

“J.P. always said he’d name a horse after me but he had to wait for the right one. Four years ago, he told me he’d found one and I’ve followed the horse to every race since,” Grimes said after the gelding went on to win the Galway Plate the following year. He is commemorated in the Grimes Hurdle run in Tipperary.

Brave to bold for Harchi

THERE were only five runners in the 2005 Emo Oil Champion Hurdle, but three of them were among the best hurdlers of their era.

The champion hurdler Hardy Eustace was missing but that took little from the race as the second from Cheltenham had gained as many column inches as the winner.

Harchibald and Paul Carberry had famously come cruising alongside Hardy Eustace over the last and up the run-in at Cheltenham only to find very little when asked and so be beaten by a neck, Carberry receiving some criticism for the ride. In Punchestown, Harchibald started 4/6 favourite against Brave Inca and Mac’s Joy.

AP McCoy replaced Barry Cash on Brave Inca and made the running. Brave Inca was the first to come under pressure as McCoy resorted to the whip. The big three took the final flight together and though Harchibald appeared to be going best, it was Brave Inca who proved the strongest in a rousing battle to the line. He got the verdict by a head from Paul Carberry’s mount, with Macs Joy a further length away back in third.

In his autobiography Carberry remembers: “Before the race Noel said to me something like, ‘Now for f**k’s sake, let’s not have another Cheltenham. If he’s going well enough kick him on and go for it. Don’t be just sitting on him again trying to prove you were right all along’.

In a reaction to Harchibald’s head defeat, Carberry wrote: “I met him in the parade ring and I just said to him, ‘I hope you’re happy now. Don’t ever tell me how to ride a f**king horse again’ “I knew we would have hacked up if I’d been allowed ride the horse the way I knew he should be ridden.”

All hail the Hurricane

TEN years ago, one of the best hurdlers of recent times, the Willie Mullins-trained Hurricane Fly, first got his name on the Rabobank Champion Hurdle roll of honour, in what would be the first of his four wins in the race.

He had won the Grade 1 Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle the previous year but had been absent since a third place in the Grade 1 at the track in November, missing Cheltenham. Ruby Walsh was also out of action with injury and Paul Townend was on board. Surprisingly he was only second favourite behind Dunguib.

Held up, he made headway into third after two out and was delivered with his challenge travelling well approaching last. He stayed to lead closing stages and beat Solwhit by a neck.

In the colours of George Creighton and Rose Boyd, he retired in the summer of 2015 with a record 22 Grade 1 wins and two Champion Hurdles to his name.