Moscow Flyer (10 May 1994 – 21 October 2016) was an Irish-bred and -trained

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

who ran over distances between 2 miles and 2½ miles (3.2–4 km). A top-class horse, he won the

Queen Mother Champion Chase The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the onl ...

in 2003 and 2005, the

Tingle Creek Chase The Tingle Creek 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 Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mil ...

in 2003 and 2004 and the

Arkle Challenge Trophy The Arkle Challenge Trophy is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham, England, over a dis ...

in 2002.

Background

Moscow Flyer was a bay horse with a white blaze and four white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the lat ...

bred in Ireland by Edward Joyce. He was sired by Moscow Society, a son of

Nijinsky Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...

, who showed good form in a brief racing career before becoming a successful National Hunt stallion. He was trained by

Jessica Harrington Jessica Jane Harrington (née Fowler, born 12 February 1947) is an Irish professional horse trainer. Harrington specialises in National Hunt racing but has also had success in Flat racing. Personal life Harrington was born in London. Her father ...

and ridden in most of his races by

Barry Geraghty Barry Geraghty (born 16 September 1979) is a retired Irish jockey. He is the second most successful jockey of all time at the Cheltenham Festival. Geraghty rode his first winner in January 1997 and three years later he became the Irish Champi ...

Racing career

Early career

Moscow Flyer never won a

Bumper Bumper or Bumpers may refer to: People * Betty Bumpers (1925-2018), American activist, First Lady of Arkansas, wife of Dale Bumpers * Dale Bumpers (1925–2016), American politician, governor of Arkansas and senator * Bumper Robinson (born 1974 ...

. He came third in two of his four bumpers, but never was first past the post. He was quickly changed to

hurdling 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, ...

after the usual one season of competing in bumpers. He started off as a close to top-class hurdler. He won the 2000 December Festival Hurdle claiming the notable scalp of

Istabraq Istabraq (born 23 May 1992) is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who was most famous for his hurdling. He won the Champion Hurdle on three occasions. He was trained by Aidan O'Brien and owned by John Patrick McManus. Jockey Charlie Swan r ...

who fell at the last when in contention. Moscow Flyer himself fell two out in that season's Grade 1 AIG Europe Champion Hurdle when in contention. He was entered in the 2001 Champion Hurdle but

Foot and Mouth Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

caused the Cheltenham Festival to be abandoned.

2001/2002 season: Novice chases

Moscow Flyer returned in the 2001/2002 season as a novice chaser. His record coming into the

was mixed. He had won three races but also fallen twice. Consequently, Seebald went off as favourite. However, Moscow Flyer won easily by four lengths. That year's

Champion Hurdle The Champion 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 on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...

was won with a Racing Post Rating four below Moscow Flyer's highest rating of 170 achieved the previous April at

Punchestown Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National ...

2002/2003 season: steeplechases

Moscow Flyer returned to the Festival for the 2003

having won four races out of five that season. In his only defeat, reigning champion

Flagship Uberalles {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Flagship Uberalles , image = , caption = , sire = Accordion , dam = Fourth Degree , damsire = Oats , sex = Gelding , foaled = 1994 , country = Ireland , colour = Bay , breeder = Miss E C Holdsworth , ...

made a very bad mistake at one fence in the

at Sandown. Moscow Flyer was behind him and was unable to avoid running into the back of him and unshipping

. He started as a short-priced 7/4 favourite for the Champion Chase and won by 7 lengths.

2003/2004 season

Moscow Flyer won his first three races of the season and again was the favourite for the

. He started at 5/6 while his main rival Azertyuiop was the 15/8 second favourite. His rival had won the previous season's

and the race was seen as a match between the two despite the presence of

and Tiutchev. However, Moscow Flyer made a mistake four out and gave Geraghty no chance of staying on him. Azertyuiop went on to an easy victory.

2004/2005 season

Moscow Flyer returned the next year to try to be the first horse in many years to regain the

. He retained his

crown and broke his odd record of falling every four races. Opposing him were Azertyuiop at 2/1 and a new challenger in the previous year's

winner Well Chief at 7/2. Strong betting support on the day made Moscow Flyer the 6/4 favourite. Azertyuiop made a mistake at the water jump and although he came third he was not in contention for the last half of the race. Moscow Flyer held off the challenge of Well Chief to the cheers of his fans. His subsequent win at Aintree was his seventh in a row. Moscow Flyer lost by a short-head at Punchestown to Rathgar Beau on 26 April 2005. Many thought that there was a dead heat, but the stewards awarded the race to Rathgar Beau. This horse was the first to beat Moscow Flyer when he didn't fall since Colonel Yeagar on 18 April 2001.

2005/2006 season

Moscow Flyer was aimed to win the

for a third time. He suffered another defeat to Central House at Navan in the Fortria Chase, a defeat clear from the landing after the last, that silenced the crowd. A further defeat followed in December by Hi Cloy at Leopardstown in a race best remembered for Roger Loughran's mistake as to the whereabouts of the finishing line. Subsequently, Moscow Flyer ran in the Champion Chase, entering the field without a win that year. He went off at 5/1 and finished fifth. He was retired immediately after the race.

Retirement

Moscow Flyer spent some time as a pin-up pony for retired racehorses in Ireland. He was in good health on a return to Sandown in 2006 for a parade before the Tingle Creek—and again before the Champion Chase at Cheltenham. In April 2007, in the closing race of the Punchestown Festival, a 2-Mile Charity Flat Race, Moscow Flyer recorded his first ever flat victory. Ridden by the Irish 18-year-old

Kate Harrington Kate Harrington (December 8, 1902 – November 23, 1978) was an American television and movie actress. Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, Harrington studied dramatics at the Bush Conservatory in Chicago. Three years later she was given her firs ...

, Moscow won comfortably and was giving a rousing reception in the winners' enclosure postrace. Moscow Flyer was in retirement with the Irish Horse Welfare Trust (IHWT) at their farm in Woodenbridge, Co Wicklow. He made public appearances for the Charity to help promote the work of the equine welfare charity and had many visitors throughout the year. Moscow Flyer was offered a place at the Irish National Stud in County Kildare, Ireland in spring 2012. His owner, former trainer, and staff at the IHWT decided that this was a great opportunity to afford more people a chance to see a true champion racehorse and an ambassador for equine welfare. He resided at the national stud with a number of other famous racehorses until October 2016 when his death was announced at the age of 22.

Pedigree

References

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Moscow Flyer'' {{Authority control 1994 racehorse births 2016 racehorse deaths Cheltenham Festival winners National Hunt racehorses Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 5