lit a candle 4h agoMy grandad used to stream Cheltenham at 5am his time just to watch this horse run, and he'd call me right after. 2011, the first Champion Hurdle, he was still talking about it a decade later. Never seen a horse race in my life but I know that name.
Their story
Hurricane Fly was an Irish Thoroughbred who became one of the defining National Hunt hurdlers of his era, a dual Cheltenham Champion Hurdle winner whose Grade 1 tally set a world mark later matched and then surpassed only by Winx on the Flat. Foaled on 5 April 2004 and bred…
Hurricane Fly was an Irish Thoroughbred who became one of the defining National Hunt hurdlers of his era, a dual Cheltenham Champion Hurdle winner whose Grade 1 tally set a world mark later matched and then surpassed only by Winx on the Flat. Foaled on 5 April 2004 and bred in Ireland by Agricola Del Parco, the bay gelding by Montjeu out of Scandisk began life as a flat prospect in France with Jean-Louis Pelletan. Moderate juvenile form gave way to two flat wins in 2007, including the listed Prix Omnium II, before owners linked to George Creighton moved him to Willie Mullins at Closutton in County Carlow to chase a jumping career.
That switch remade him. In his novice season he collected early Graded wins in France and Ireland, then the Royal Bond and Future Champions Novice Hurdles, and the Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown. As a senior he became a fixture at Fairyhouse, Leopardstown and Punchestown, winning the Punchestown Champion Hurdle repeatedly and building a rivalry with Solwhit and later Jezki. On 15 March 2011, with Ruby Walsh aboard, he took the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham on his first visit to the Festival. After finishing third behind Rock On Ruby in 2012, he regained the title in 2013, the first horse in thirty-eight years to reclaim the Champion Hurdle. That spring he also equalled the Grade 1 win record of Kauto Star and John Henry, then broke it alone in the Morgiana Hurdle that November.
His Irish Champion Hurdle sequence ran to five straight renewals from 2011 to 2015. Timeform rated him 175. Career figures of 26 wins from 42 starts, including 24 from 32 over hurdles, and earnings near £1.9 million understate how often he answered a battle when rivals thought they had him. Mullins later called him one of the greatest horses through Closutton. Walsh called him the best jumper of a hurdle he ever rode, accurate, brave and, for a small horse, "the perfect horse."
Retired in August 2015 after a final French outing, Hurricane Fly spent more than a decade at the Irish National Stud in County Kildare, greeting visitors among other retired stars. His death at 22 was announced on 22 September 2026. Owners from the Boyd and Creighton families thanked Mullins, Gail Carlisle, Closutton staff and the National Stud. Mullins visited to say goodbye the same day. For racing fans who watched him pin ears and settle arguments up the Cheltenham or Punchestown hills, the record and the memories remain.
Biography adapted from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); RTÉ Sport (22 Sep 2026); The Irish Times (Brian O'Connor, 22 Sep 2026); Sky Sports Racing; Racing Post. Wikipedia ↗
In their own words
“Hurricane Fly was a brilliant racehorse but was without doubt the best jumper of a hurdle I ever rode.”
“He's one of the greatest horses to ever come through our stable. He was a horse who loved a battle and was so brave.”
“The Boyd and Creighton families are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Hurricane Fly. He provided us with so many great days and long lasting memories.”
Photos
2Hurricane Fly with handlers before racing at Punchestown, November 2012
by People Forever
Hurricane Fly
by People Forever
same, my dad's the same way about him, it's wild how far that reached