Hurricane Fly

Gringo180

Why don't they retire this great champion and let him bow out with his pride intact. One of the greatest hurdlers to ever grace the game is being made a mug of by either his owners or his trainer. Finished a well beaten 6th today in the French Champion hurdle over 3 miles. :mad::mad:

Earendil

Was thinking the very same today watching the race. It's getting to the stage where he'll be getting beaten by horses he'd have pissed by a couple of years ago. Upping his trip is a bit of a head scratcher too.

Gregk961

Its really bizarre all right. I could understand wanting to give punchestown a go for the home fans etc but would winning the race today improve his reputation any small bit? Surprised at connections to be honest he has done his bit, one of the greatest Irish horses should be remembered as such

posturingpat

Ill give an opposing viewpoint for the interest of fairness. He's had a wonderful season winning 3 grade 1s and placing in the Champion Hurdle. He was tried over 3 at Punchestown to see if he stayed, he jumped poorly by his standards that day and then Ruby got him caught in a bit of a pocket and Jezki got 1st run but HF looked like he did stay.

Willie says the horse is still full of beans at home so doesn't intend retiring him and he knows HF will find it difficult over 2 against Arctic fire And Faugheen so he decided to have another crack at 3 mile to find out for sure if he does stay rather than start him over 3mile next season and find out he won't stay it.


Thing now is he's got a 2 miler that's not good enough to beat Faugheen and if he's lucky might still have enough to beat Arctic fire on a going day in a tactical affair. I think if he keeps him in training HF will still be showing plenty at home and if he isn't he'll be retired. Could see him having HF in Morgiana and none of the big boys and he'd have every chance of winning, then let him have his 2 usual runs in December and January and hope for the best and then go for the 2 1/2 mile hurdle at Aintree which could be perfect for him.


As a fan of HF's that has seen him run at least a dozen times and have specifically gone to 5 or 6 meetings just to see him i was sure after watching him in his 2 spring runs last year he was done, his head carriage when asked a question was horrible and looked like an animal that was gone at the game. I called for Willie to retire him, that HF had enough but how wrong i was the little star came out again this year and when he won the Morgiana i balled my eyes out, yes a grown man balling my eyes out because this little champ that i took to my heart all them years ago and gave me so much entertainment had came back and proved me so wrong and proved to me he's never one to be discounted and magically he claimed another 2 grade1s and placed in a Champion hurdle and 2nd in the grade 1 3 miler at Punches town.

Rest assured if Willie doesn't think he can get a grade 1 out of HF he will be retired, this boy is the love of Willies racing life and he wont do anything he feels will be detrimental to the horse or his legacy. No matter what does happen Willie Mullins and his staff deserve all the credit in the world for having this buzzy horse that was running on the flat in France as a 2 year old and appeared to be made of glass for his 1st 2 seasons over hurdles to still perform like he has done this season.

Most of all thank you to Hurricane fly, there'll never be another like him. “he's a flat track bully" “he'll find nothing off the bridle" “he wont get up the hill" have all been said of him in the past and he proved all them doubters wrong,last season i said he was finished and he proved me wrong and i hope he does the same again next season.

What an absolute star. Ill never see another like him. Michael O'Hehir as HF passed the finish line in the Irish Champion hurdle last year beating Our Conor and Jezki summed it up perfectly for me “he battled like a demon".

Ian Whelan

Reality is that he's worth nothing when retired. When retired he will simply cost money. If I owned him I would keep on going with him. The race in France was a good race and it wasn't like he was absolutely disgraced. It's not like the horse is on a terrible run of form, he was recently third in a Champion Hurdle and second in a World Hurdle. I doubt they will retire him while he is still even close to winning a Grade 1.

Gringo180

6 runs he has had this season dont think he has ever ran that many times in a season even in his peak. Just puzzling for an 11 year old who is past his best. He owes nothing to the game, should of retired him after Cheltenham imo.

NaiveMelodies

Don't see the logic in retiring him. (Because there is none)
Horse can still compete and it's not like we'll ever forget his grade ones.(Unless you're a mug)
Mullins has said he's been easier to get race ready in the last couple of years too.

Gringo180

NaiveMelodies wrote: »

Don't see the logic in retiring him..

Hes past his best and will not touch Faugheen in any of the top races in Ireland. Whats the point in running him its only ruining his legacy imo.

Francie Barrett

Gringo180 wrote: »

Why don't they retire this great champion and let him bow out with his pride intact. One of the greatest hurdlers to ever grace the game is being made a mug of by either his owners or his trainer. Finished a well beaten 6th today in the French Champion hurdle over 3 miles. :mad::mad:

I agree that sending him to France over that trip was stupid, but that doesn't mean there is a need to retire him. As long as the horse continues to do the business over his favoured trip in races likes the Morgiana then the connections would be foolish not to keep running it.

shy-tall-knight

Until he loses his enthusiasm on the gallops every morning then I say keep going. He's not exactly pet material so it's probably in his best interests to keep him going at something he enjoys and is bred to do.

Shemale

Sorry but the owners are **** milking every last bit out of him, the last time he ran in June he was a 3 year old flat horse.

He should have been turned and assessed in September and if looks keen let him run.

BumperD

I can see this ending horribly for hurricane fly. He should be retired gracefully, not made run another nh season going into his 12th year. If any other trainer did that, the knives would be out.

Shemale

Would hate to see that Bumper.

Terrible way of treating a great horse, try get a few grand out of him in what could be his last season cause the €2,000,000 he has won them already isn't enough, ****.

longshotvalue

Didn't he win at least 2 grade 1 this year and and ran a great 3rd in the Champion Hurdle. 1 bad run in france doesn't mean they have to hang up the saddle yet. He should be brought back if he is fit and enjoying it and given 1 more go for an irish grade 1 at least.

jimjamcos

Jesus lads, a bit of perspective is needed. As Aidan says he won 2 Gr1's and placed in another 2 this year so he's more than earned another crack. His first run in France for 7 years should be ignored in terms of form, unless you think old Thousand Stars has improved lengths by him in the space of a month. He never looked comfortable on Sunday and it could just be that he won't stay 3m in a proper run race. Regardless of that he's more than worthy of running in the likes of the Morgiana and especially Hatton Grace over 2m4 considering Mullins could pull half the field the week of the race.

posturingpat

BumperD wrote: »

I can see this ending horribly for hurricane fly. He should be retired gracefully, not made run another nh season going into his 12th year. If any other trainer did that, the knives would be out.

There's no guarantee he will be running another year is there? If he's still got plenty to offer when he comes in from his summer off hell go again and if he doesn't he won't.

And as for “if any other trainer did that" how many trainers could have done the job he has with HF? I think he's done an amazing job(its actually hard to comprehend just how well he has done training HF)and i think has earned the right to not have everyone questioning his methods and decisions regarding Hurricane Fly.

posturingpat

aidankkk wrote: »

Didn't he win at least 2 grade 1 this year and and ran a great 3rd in the Champion Hurdle. 1 bad run in france doesn't mean they have to hang up the saddle yet. He should be brought back if he is fit and enjoying it and given 1 more go for an irish grade 1 at least.

Won 3 grade 1s this year and finished in front of last years Champion hurdler 4 times yet some seem to think Willie and the owners are the devil incarnate for even contemplating taking him back in after his summer and seeing how hes firing.

handsfree2

posturingpat wrote: »

Won 3 grade 1s this year and finished in front of last years Champion hurdler 4 times yet some seem to think Willie and the owners are the devil incarnate for even contemplating taking him back in after his summer and seeing how hes firing.

Think how amazing it would be if he won another gr 1

Shemale

jimjamcos wrote: »

Jesus lads, a bit of perspective is needed. As Aidan says he won 2 Gr1's and placed in another 2 this year so he's more than earned another crack. His first run in France for 7 years should be ignored in terms of form, unless you think old Thousand Stars has improved lengths by him in the space of a month. He never looked comfortable on Sunday and it could just be that he won't stay 3m in a proper run race. Regardless of that he's more than worthy of running in the likes of the Morgiana and especially Hatton Grace over 2m4 considering Mullins could pull half the field the week of the race.

Nobody said he isn't capable of landing a nice prize. I think the run in France smacks of he mighn't fancy it next year so lets keep him in training longer than we have before to try win ourselves a few grand because €2,000,000 and 22 group 1s isn't enough.

BumperD

posturingpat wrote: »

There's no guarantee he will be running another year is there? If he's still got plenty to offer when he comes in from his summer off hell go again and if he doesn't he won't.

And as for “if any other trainer did that" how many trainers could have done the job he has with HF? I think he's done an amazing job(its actually hard to comprehend just how well he has done training HF)and i think has earned the right to not have everyone questioning his methods and decisions regarding Hurricane Fly.

His handling to date is not in question. I'm pointing out the backlash if anything happens to this 11 soon to turn 12 yr old champion hurdler superstar. I would retire him now to avoid that risk. That's just my opinion. Let's see how it plays out. I guess he could get injured in a field when retired just as easily. But not everyone will see it that way if he gets hurt on the track. Tough call. I guess that's why he's paid the big bucks.