Meade hero Harchibald ‘living the life of luxury’

‘He’s still my favourite horse,’ insists master of Tu Va stables.

It may be almost 20 years since his heartbreaking Champion Hurdle near miss, but Harchibald still holds a special place in the affections of his trainer Noel Meade.

Harchibald won 14 of his 48 career appearances and struck at the highest level on five occasions.

But the conclusion of his 2005 Cheltenham Festival defeat – where he loomed up large in the hands of ever-loyal pilot Paul Carberry before agonisingly falling a neck short of victory – remains the underlying memory of Harchibald’s storied career on the racecourse.

Retired in 2009 and now 25 years of age, Harchibald is enjoying life in Cork, but his old tutor is always keen to be updated on the well-being of his favourite pupil.

“He was a great horse to have and we enjoyed him. He’s still my favourite horse,” said Meade.

“He is down in Cork with the Hurleys. When he retired, we gave him to Johnny Hurley’s wife to ride in racehorse classes, which she did for a while, but he wasn’t that simple at it.

“So, they eventually retired him from that as well and he’s been living the life of luxury for the last number of years, being well looked after.

“I’ve seen him a couple of times since he’s retired, I haven’t been down there lately, but they let me know what’s happening with him.”

Harchibald was at his peak during the 2004-2005 season, when successful raids on Newcastle’s Fighting Fifth and the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton made him a prime candidate to land the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Sent off 7-1 behind joint-favourites Hardy Eustace (the defending champion) and Back In Front, Carberry was at his patient best when biding his time in the rear before beginning to smoothly move into contention on the run to two out.

What happened next has gone down in Festival folklore, as a motionless Carberry cruised alongside fellow hurdling greats Hardy Eustace and Brave Inca jumping the last and remained locked on the bridle as the trio edged their way up the lung-busting Cheltenham hill.

With the winning post approaching, Carberry remained static, as if a cat playing with his prey, but although he knew Harchibald better than most, when the time finally came to ask his mount to go on and win the Champion Hurdle, he was repelled by the tough-as-teak title holder.

“I suppose he is remarkable in that he is remembered more for being beaten than he was for winning,” said Meade.

“That Champion Hurdle defeat, people remember him for that more than anything else. But he was always a strong traveller in his races and jumped very well, which was a big thing.

“It is what it is and you often think about it again and think if something was done different, maybe he could have won. I always stood by Paul and still do – and he did what he thought was right on the day. It’s hard to watch now even.

“I was stood alongside Dessie Hughes and when they jumped the last, Dessie tapped me on the back and said well done – and of course his horse stayed on. The other two horses were very strong battlers, both Hardy Eustace and Brave Inca were very tough.”

It was en route to that famous reversal when Meade believed Harchibald was at his very best, reeling in former Champion Hurdle victor Rooster Booster to claim the first of two Christmas Hurdles he would win at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Meade added: “The time he beat Rooster Booster at Kempton, I was watching at Leopardstown and stood next to Frank Berry and Rooster Booster went half a furlong in front and we were watching it wondering were we going to get there – and of course we did. That was very exciting and one I remember well.

“I think that was the year he was at his peak, although extraordinary enough, his piece of work he did before the Champion Hurdle that year at Navan on very soft ground was very poor. It was about 10 or 12 days before the race, but on the good ground at Cheltenham, he was a different proposition.”

No Harchibald story is complete without a word for Carberry, the man who partnered the gelding more than other and perhaps the only one to eclipse Meade’s love of the brilliant bay hurdler.

Carberry was on board for Harchibald’s biggest victories, but also in some of his most cruel defeats and Meade will always remember the jockey’s answer to a question posed after the 8-11 favourite had failed to conquer Straw Bear in the 2007 Christmas Hurdle.

“Paul absolutely adored Harchibald, he just loved him,” said Meade.

“I will never forget when he got beat in the Christmas Hurdle by Straw Bear, with AP riding, and he was beaten a head.

“Paul never hit him and I wasn’t there, I was in Leopardstown, so the following day I said to him ‘would you not have hit him just once?’.

“And Paul looked at me, and there was a tear in his eye as he said ‘why would I hit him, he was doing his best’. I will never forget him saying that to me.

Horse Racing – Stan James Christmas Festival – Kempton Park Racecourse
Harchibald ridden by Paul Carberry (right) on route to winning the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton (PA).

“He was very good on a flat track and Paul felt he just didn’t get home on a stiff track. He was very good at Newcastle and he was very good at Kempton.

“He won at both of those tracks twice and he won at Punchestown, which is flat enough too, he just struggled to get home when the track was a bit stiffer. He did win the International at Cheltenham though, which was a Grade Two.”

Harchibald would correct the record when winning the Christmas Hurdle for the second time in 2008, with his final career success followed by retirement in November the following year.

However, before time was called, Harchibald was given one start over fences, when he finished second to Sizing Europe, leaving his handler to wonder if connections should have pursued options over the larger obstacles sooner.

Meade said: “In the end, he did have one go over fences and I was always a bit worried about putting him over fences because he was so brave. But he jumped brilliant and I was a bit sorry we didn’t put him over fences earlier.

“He used to get a problem behind when he would run in soft and sticky ground, where he would pull a ligament behind and go lame on us, and that was always a problem. But it was probably a pity that we didn’t try him over fences earlier.”

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