Native Upmanship is a former

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: ...

racehorse. He was trained in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

by Arthur Moore and owned by

John Magnier John Magnier (born 10 February 1948; also known as "The Boss") is an Irish business magnate. He is Ireland's leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside the horse-breeding industry. Magnier has also been a Sena ...

Early career

He made his racecourse debut in a

National Hunt flat race National Hunt flat races, informally known as bumper races, are a type of flat racing but run under National Hunt racing rules in Britain and Ireland. National Hunt flat races were created on 15 July 1891 when a conference between the stewards of ...

in February 1998 at Gowran Park, where he finished third behind subsequent

Champion Bumper The Champion Bumper is a Grade 1 National Hunt flat race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four to six years. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ ...

winner Alexander Banquet. He had one more run that season in April, where stepped up on his debut, to win a

at the

Punchestown Festival 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 ...

1998/99 season

He reappeared in the 1998/99 season, where he made his seasonal debut in a Grade 3 Novice Hurdle at Navan in October, finishing fourth. His trainer stepped him up to the top level a month later for the

Royal Bond Novice Hurdle The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), an ...

, and Native Upmanship finished seventh of eight runners, behind Alexander Banquet. His next outing saw him dropped down considerably in a maiden hurdle, which he won. He then finished second in his next three runs, two of which were at Grade 2 level. In his final run of the season, Native Upmanship went to the

, where he was sent off an 8/1 chance for the Land Rover Champion Novice Hurdle and won by 5 lengths.

1999/00 season

The 1999/00 season saw Native Upmanship go down the novice chase route. After winning a beginners chase at Navan in November, he won the Durkan New Homes Novice Chase, before another victory in the Dr P J Moriarty Memorial Novice Chase. He then went 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 Ra ...

, where he was sent off the 7/2 favourite for the

RSA Chase The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of abou ...

and finished fourth. In his final appearance of the season, he won the

Powers Gold Cup The Boylesports Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (4,023 me ...

2000/01 season

Native Upmanship began the 2000/01 with two victories in the Fortria Chase and the

John Durkan Memorial Chase The John Durkan Memorial Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland. It is run over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs {2 miles 4 furlongs and 40 yards, or 4,060 metres) at Pu ...

. Following this, he was sent off the favourite for the Lexus Chase and finished a distant fourth behind Rince Ri. In his final two starts of the season, when pulled up in the Irish Hennessy Chase and fourth in the Gold Cup at Fairyhouse. These runs seemed to confirm the opinion that he didn't get the 3-mile trip.

2001/02 season

The 2001/02 season saw Native Upmanship finish second in his first three runs of the season, in the Fortria Chase,

, and Lexus Chase. He then won the Kinloch Brae Chase in January 2002, before going to the

, where he finished second to

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 , ...

in 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 his next start, which was over a more adequate trip of 2 miles and 4 furlongs, he won the

Melling Chase The Melling Chase, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Marsh Chase, is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aint ...

. In his final start of the season, his trainer again stepped him up to 3 miles plus, for the

Punchestown Gold Cup The Punchestown Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 3 miles and ½ furlong (3 miles and 120 ...

, where he finished second to

Florida Pearl Florida Pearl (1992-2012) was an Irish-bred race horse who raced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was owned by Mrs Violet O'Leary and trained by Willie Mullins. His major race successes included the Champion Bumper, Royal & SunAlliance Ch ...

2002/03 season

The 2002/03 season saw Native Upmanship follow a near identical path to the previous one. After finishing second in his seasonal debut at Naas, he won the

again, before going to Kempton for the first time to contest the King George VI Chase, where he finished fifth to Best Mate. He then won his second successive Kinloch Brae Chase, before returning to the

, where he again finished second in the

, this time behind Moscow Flyer. He returned to Aintree, where he won his second successive

. He again finished the season contesting the

, where he finished third behind First Gold, seemingly failing to see out the trip again.

2003/04 season

The 2003/04 season saw Native Upmanship make his seasonal debut in the

, where he finished fifth behind

Beef Or Salmon Beef or Salmon is a multiple Grade 1 winning National Hunt racehorse. He was trained in Ireland by Michael Hourigan and owned by B J Craig And Dan McLarnon. He was most famous for defeating three Cheltenham Gold Cup winners in Best Mate, Kickin ...

. After winning the Kinloch Brae Chase again, he finished third in both the

Newlands Chase The Newlands Chase is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Naas over a distance of about 2 miles (3,218 metres) and during ...

and the

. He completed the season with a fourth place behind Moscow Flyer in the

Punchestown Champion Chase The Punchestown Champion Chase, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the William Hill Champion Chase, is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is ...

Final two seasons

Over the next two seasons, Native Upmanship continued to run in the top races in both

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, including the 2006

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handica ...

, but he won only one, in a Grade 3 race at Navan in April 2005. After finishing last of 6 runners in the 2006

, he was retired.

References

{{reflist Racehorses bred in Ireland