Harchibald (foaled in 1999 in France) is a retired French-bred, Irish-trained

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

Background

Harchibald was sired by the stallion Perugino out of the mare Dame D’Harvard. He was owned by DP Sharkey, trained by

Noel Meade Noel Meade is a horse trainer from Castletown, County Meath, Ireland. He established Tu Va Stables in Meath as a place to train his horses. Early career: flat racing Meade began his career as a horse trainer in 1971,

and predominantly ridden by

Paul Carberry Paul Carberry is a retired Irish National Hunt jockey. Background He was born on 9 February 1974.Punchestown Racecourse Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 Regional road (Ireland), regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays ...

near

Naas Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, 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 ...

where he won the Mongey Communications Morgiana Hurdle, a Grade 2 National Hunt race. Following his first Grade 2 win, Harchibald and jockey Paul Carberry went on to win the 2004

Fighting Fifth Hurdle The Fighting Fifth 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 at Newcastle over a distance of about 2 miles and half a ...

Newcastle Racecourse Newcastle Racecourse is a horse racing course located at Gosforth Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, owned by Arena Racing Company. It stages both flat and National Hunt racing, with its biggest meeting being the Northumberland Plate held annu ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

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 b ...

where he beat out Inglis Drever by 2 lengths. Following his win in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, Harchibald went on to beat Rooster Booster in the 2004

Christmas Hurdle The Christmas 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 at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres ...

. Had he gone on to win the

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 ...

, Harchibald would have become just the second horse since Kribensis in 1989/90 to win the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, Christmas Hurdle, and Champion Hurdle in the same racing season. However, Harchibald did not win the race, instead losing to Hardy Eustace by just a fraction of a length. Harchibald went on to post wins in the 2007 Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the 2008 Christmas Hurdle – his second win for each race. His 2008 win at the Christmas Hurdle denied Punjabi a chance to win the £1,000,000 bonus put up by

WBX World Bet Exchange (WBX) was a person-to-person betting exchange based in Notting Hill Gate, London in the United Kingdom, and licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. WBX.com was founded in 2002 by Malcolm Gray but did not offici ...

for winning the

Triple Crown of Hurdling Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a "treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * In ...

. In his career, Harchibald has participated in 48 races and tallied 14 wins, 11 places and 5 shows, with five of his wins coming in Grade 1 races. As of September 2009, his overall winning percentage is over 30%. Paul Carberry has been atop Harchibald for 9 of those 14 wins.

Retirement

Harchibald was retired in December 2009, following a brief stint as a chaser when he finished second to Sizing Europe on his only try over fences. He will remain with his trainer Noel Meade in

Tu Va Stables Tu Va Stables in Co. Meath, Ireland is an Irish thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding business that was established by Noel Meade, a prominent National Hunt racing horse trainer. Although he was a trainer, Meade did ride one horse earl ...

near Navan,

Co. Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the s ...

.Retirement
rte.ie

References

{{reflist 1999 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 11-f Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in Ireland