Harchibald (February 1999 – May 2024) was a French-bred, Irish-trained

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

who won four Grade 1 races over

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

Background

Harchibald was sired by the stallion Perugino out of the mare Dame D’Harvard. He was owned by DP Sharkey, trained by

Noel Meade Noel Meade is a horse trainer from Castletown, County Meath, Ireland. He established Tu Va Stables in County Meath as a place to train his horses. Early career: flat racing Meade began his career as a horse trainer in 1971, ...

and predominantly ridden by

Paul Carberry Paul Carberry is a retired Irish National Hunt jockey. Background He was born on 9 February 1974.

Racing career

Harchibald started racing on the flat as a three-year-old in February 2002 and won his first race, the Prix Sengali-Carnaval. After a further nine races, including two wins, he moved to the yard of Meade in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

to begin his career in

National Hunt racing National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, horse racing in Great Britain, Great Britain and horse racing in Ireland, Ireland. Jump Racin ...

. He won on his first outing over hurdles in December 2002. He achieved his first victory in a graded race came in November 2004 at

Punchestown Racecourse Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 Regional road (Ireland), regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays ...

when he won the Grade 2

Morgiana Hurdle The Morgiana Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Ireland which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years or older. It is run at Pun ...

, ridden by Carberry. Two weeks later, Harchibald and jockey Carberry won the 2004

Fighting Fifth Hurdle The Fighting Fifth Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years or older. It is r ...

Newcastle Racecourse Newcastle Racecourse is a horse racing course located at Gosforth Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, owned by Arena Racing Company. It stages both Flat racing, flat and National Hunt racing, with its biggest meeting being the Northumberland ...

beating

Inglis Drever Inglis Drever (18 March 1999 – October 2009) was a champion racehorse trained in the North of England by Howard Johnson. He was one of the most successful hurdle racing horses to date and won the World Hurdle three times, bettered only by ...

by two lengths. In December 2004 they won the

Christmas Hurdle The Christmas Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 m ...

, beating Rooster Booster by two and a half lengths. Had Harchibald gone on to win the

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

at the 2005

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Race ...

, he would have become just the second horse since Kribensis in 1989–90 to win the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, Christmas Hurdle, and Champion Hurdle in the same racing season. However, Harchibald did not win the race, instead losing to Hardy Eustace by a neck. Harchibald went on to post wins in the 2007 Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the 2008 Christmas Hurdle – his second win for each race. His 2008 win at the Christmas Hurdle denied

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

a chance to win the £1,000,000 bonus put up by WBX for winning the

Triple Crown of Hurdling The Triple Crown of Hurdling is awarded to a horse that wins all three of the open, two-mile Grade 1 Hurdling races in any given English National Hunt season: #The Fighting Fifth Hurdle, held at the Newcastle Racecourse #The Christmas Hurdle, he ...

. During a career of nearly eight years, Harchibald ran in 48 races and tallied 14 wins, 11 second places and 5 third places, with five of his wins coming in Grade 1 races. Carberry was atop Harchibald for 9 of his 14 wins.

Retirement and death

Harchibald was retired in December 2009. His last appearance on a racecourse was in a flat race at

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

in November 2009, while the previous month he had finished second to Sizing Europe in the Buck House Novice Chase at Punchestown, his only race over fences. He was to remain with his trainer Meade in Tu Va Stables near Navan,

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

. Harchibald died in May 2024, at the age of 25. His trainer said: "Harchibald was the most wonderful horse. It's funny because he is more popular for the race he didn't win rather than all the races he did win. He didn't maybe do all the things we wanted him to do, but he did a lot of them. He gave us some fantastic days.... He was 25 and he enjoyed a wonderful retirement. Johnny Hurley looked after him since he retired and he treated him like a king."

References

{{reflist 1999 racehorse births 2024 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 11-f Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in Ireland