Might Bite (born 20 June 2009) is a retired Irish-bred, British trained

thoroughbred racehorse The Thoroughbred is a horse breed developed for horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are considered " ...

. He won four Group 1 races before being retired in 2021.

Career

Might Bite was bred in Ireland by John O'Brien. His first race was at Newbury in January 2015, finishing 3rd before winning at the same course in March. A further victory at Cheltenham in April followed. He switched between Chase and Hurdle races during 2015 and into early 2016, before scoring a first chase win at

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

in December. A fall followed before a run of form consisting of six victories in seven races. This run of form in 2017 included multiple Grade 1 wins at Cheltenham in the

RSA Chase The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), chase in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged five years or older. ...

, Aintree in the Mildmay Novices Chase and Kempton Park in the

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a dis ...

. Might Bite would return to the

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 ...

in 2018 for a tilt at the Gold Cup, but ultimately finished second to

Native River Native River (foaled 4 May 2010) is an Irish-bred, British-trained, retired Thoroughbred racehorse who raced under National Hunt rules. He was a specialist long-distance steeplechaser known for his front-running style and apparently inexhaustib ...

. A month later he won again at Aintree, this time in the Grade 1

Betway Bowl The Alder Hey Aintree Bowl is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 3 miles and 1 fu ...

. Following a summer break, Might Bite returned to Haydock in November 2018 but did not recapture his previous form and failed to win another race before retirement in 2021. His final race was at Aintree in the Grand Sefton Handicap Chase over the Grand National course, where he was pulled up. Might Bite was trained by

Nicky Henderson Nicholas John Henderson (born 10 December 1950) is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times. Background His father was Johnny Henderson who was one of the founders of the Racecourse Holdings Tr ...

for his whole racing career and was primarily ridden by

Nico de Boinville Nicolai "Nico" W. Chastel de Boinville (born 14 August 1989) is an English horse racing jockey who competes in National Hunt racing. De Boinville has ridden more Grade One winners than any British jumps jockey currently active. Early life He ...

References

{{reflist Cheltenham Festival winners 2009 racehorse births Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom