Like-A-Butterfly (19 April 1994 – 7 February 2013) was an Irish

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 ...

and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

who competed in

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: ...

racing. Although she did not begin competing in public until she was seven years old she had a successful racing career, winning twelve of her seventeen races, including five at Grade I level. She was unbeaten in three

National Hunt Flat 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 ...

races including the

Champion INH Flat Race The Champion INH Flat Race is a Grade 1 National Hunt flat race in Ireland for amateur riders which is open to horses aged four to seven years. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong ( ...

and her first five over

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

including 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), and ...

Deloitte Novice Hurdle The Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres ...

and

Supreme Novices' Hurdle The Supreme Novices' 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 distance of a ...

. She won the

Irish Champion Hurdle The Irish Champion 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 Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and du ...

but missed the whole of the next season through injury. In her final season she competed in steeplechases and won three times including 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 ...

and the

Mildmay Novices' Chase The Mildmay Novices' Chase is a Grade One National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Mildmay course at Aintree over a distance of about 3 m ...

. After retiring from racing she produced five foals before dying of

horse colic Colic in horses is defined as abdominal pain, but it is a clinical symptom rather than a diagnosis. The term colic can encompass all forms of gastrointestinal conditions which cause pain as well as other causes of abdominal pain not involving the g ...

at the age of nineteen.

Background

Like-A-Butterfly was a bay mare with no white markings bred in Ireland by P. J. McGee. he was sired by Montelimar, a lightly-campaigned son of

Alleged In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions.

who won the

Gallinule Stakes The Gallinule Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres), and it is schedu ...

in 1984 and became a very successful National Hunt stallion: his other progeny included the

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 handicap ...

winners

Hedgehunter Hedgehunter (born 25 January 1996) is an Irish race horse, who won the 2005 Grand National steeplechase, ridden by Ruby Walsh and trained by Willie Mullins. He had fallen at the final fence the previous year when well placed. He then finished se ...

and

Monty's Pass Monty's Pass (23 April 1993 – November 2022) was the winner of the 2003 Grand National at Aintree, Liverpool, when ridden by Barry Geraghty, trained by Jimmy Mangan and running in the colours of the Dee Racing Syndicate, a group of owners b ...

. Her dam, Swifts Butterfly, was a poor racehorse who never finished better than third in thirteen attempts in 1990 and 1991. During her racing career, Like-A-Butterfly was owned by

J. P. McManus John Patrick McManus (born 10 March 1951) is an Irish businessman and racehorse owner. His career lasted from the 1980s to the 2010s. He was one of the biggest shareholders of Manchester United, until his stake was bought out by Malcolm Glazer ...

and trained by the former flat race jockey

Christy Roche Christy Roche (born 3 December 1949 in Bansha, County Tipperary) is a retired Irish flat racing Champion Jockey and racehorse trainer. Over his thirty-year career between 1968 and 1998 he won the Irish Derby three times, in 1982, 1992 and 199 ...

at Coolaghknock Glebe,

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, ...

Racing career

2000/2001 National Hunt season: National Hunt Flat races

Like-A-Butterfly did not race until the age of seven, when she began competing in

races, also known as "Bumpers". On 7 January at

Naas Racecourse Naas Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, approximately 18 miles from Dublin. The course stages both Flat racing and National Hunt racing and in 2010 fifteen race meetings were held there. The Naas Races Company w ...

she started even money favourite against twenty opponents in a two-mile event and won easily by eleven lengths from twenty opponents. Two weeks later at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

moved up in distance to two and a quarter miles and started 4/9 favourite in a field of eight. Ridden as on her debut by Alan Crowe, she took the lead three furlongs from the finish and drew away to win by fifteen lengths. On 27 April, the mare was moved up in class for the Grade I paddypower.com Champion INH Flat Race in which she was ridden by the leading amateur jockey J T McNamara, Crowe being forced to miss the ride after sustaining a broken

collar bone The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the righ ...

. Like A Butterfly started 11/8 favourite ahead of the previously unbeaten

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

s Native Jack and

Davenport Milenium Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local governm ...

. She was restrained by McNamara in the early stages before moving up to take the lead a

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

and a half from the finish and kept on well in the closing stages to win by one and a half lengths and three lengths from Davenport Milenium and the mare Spirit Leader.

2001/2002 National Hunt season: Novice Hurdles

In the 2001/2002 season, Like-A-Butterfly competed in

Novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural us ...

races, beginning at

Navan Racecourse Navan Racecourse is a horse racing venue at Proudstown near Navan, County Meath, Ireland, approximately 48 kilometres from Dublin. The course stages Flat racing but is best known for National Hunt racing. Navan Racecourse is owned by Horse Racing ...

in November. Ridden by Charlie Swan and starting the 4/7 favourite, she won by eight lengths from Rule Supreme, a gelding who went on to win the

Hennessy Gold Cup /Ladbrokes Trophy The Coral Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run ...

in 2005. Swan partnered the mare again when she started 4/7 favourite for the Grade I Royal Bond Hurdle at

Fairyhouse Fairyhouse Racecourse is a horse racing venue in the Republic of Ireland. It is situated in the parish of Ratoath in County Meath, on the R155 road, R155 Regional road (Ireland), regional road, off the N3 road (Ireland), N3. It hosted its first ...

on 2 December. She took the lead three hurdles from the finish, went clear of her opponents, and won by four lengths from Sacundai, despite being eased down by Swan near the finish. At the end of the month she won again at Leopardstown, but had her closest race up to that time, prevailing by half a length from the five-year-old Pietro Vannucci. Like-A-Butterfly prepared for her first

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 Rac ...

with a run in the Grade II Deloitte and Touche Novice hurdle at Leopardstown on 10 February. She took the lead at the sixth hurdle and drew clear of her rivals in the closing stages to win by five lengths, with the unplaced runners including

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 ...

. On 12 March at

Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, hosts National Hunt horse racing. Its most prestigious meeting is the Cheltenham Festival, held in March, which features several Grade I races including the Chel ...

, the unbeaten mare started 7/4 favourite against twenty-seven opponents for the Grade I Gerrard Supreme Novices' Hurdle, with her main rival appearing to be the former

flat Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

racer Westender. Like-A-Butterfly led briefly in the early stages and then tracked Westender before regaining the lead two hurdles from the finish. She was overtaken by the

Willie Mullins William Peter Mullins (born 15 September 1956) is an Irish racehorse trainer and former jockey. Career He commenced racehorse training in 1988 having previously worked as an assistant to his father Paddy Mullins and Jim Bolger. Willie is a fo ...

-trained Adamant Approach, but when that horse fell at the last she regained the lead and held off the renewed challenge of Westender to win by a neck. Like-A-Butterfly was unbeaten in eight races when he started favourite for the Grade I Menolly Homes Champion Novice Hurdle at

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 ...

on 24 April. She took the lead after the second last hurdle, but was soon overtaken and sustained her first defeat, finishing third behind Davenport Milenium and Thari.

2002/2003 National Hunt season: Hurdles

Like-A-Butterfly made her debut in open competition when she was matched against the multiple Grade I winning gelding Limestone Lad in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on 26 January 2003. Swan tracked Limestone Lad for most of the race before taking the lead at the last hurdle. The gelding rallied strongly in the closing stages, but Like-A-Butterfly held on under pressure to win by a head. After the race, Swan commented "The mare is very quick and dug deep for me" and said that she "would have a big chance of taking the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

". On 11 March at Cheltenham, the mare started 13/2 fourth choice in the betting for the Champion Hurdle behind

Rhinestone Cowboy "Rhinestone Cowboy" is a song written by Larry Weiss and recorded by American country music singer Glen Campbell. When released on May 26, 1975, as the lead single and title track from his album ''Rhinestone Cowboy'', it enjoyed huge popularity w ...

, Rooster Booster and

Intersky Falcon Intersky Falcon (foaled 19 February 1997) is a retired British Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. He won eleven Hurdling (horse race), hurdle races and one Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in a thi ...

. She was among the early leaders, but struggled in the second half of the race and eventually finished tenth behind Rooster Booster. On her final start of the season a month later she finished third behind Sacundai and Rooster Booster in the

Aintree Hurdle The Aintree 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 Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (), ...

2004/2005 National Hunt season: Steeplechases

After missing the whole of the 2003/2004 season with a tendon injury, Like-A-Butterfly returned to compete in steeplechases in the following season. In her first appearance in more than nineteen months, she was ridden by

Conor O'Dwyer Conor is a male given name of Irish origin. The meaning of the name is "Lover of Wolves" or "Lover of Hounds". '' Conchobhar/Conchubhar'' or from the name ''Conaire'', found in Irish legend as the name of the high king Conaire Mór and other hero ...

and was an impressive four-length winner of a novice chase at Naas on 20 November. The mare started favourite for the Grade I

Durkan New Homes Novice Chase The Racing Post Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), chase in Ireland. The race is run at Leopardstown Racecourse in December, over a distance of 2 miles and 1 furlong ...

at Leopardstown on 26 December, but dropped out of contention five fences from the finish and failed to complete the course for the only time in her career as O'Dwyer pulled her up before the second last. The mare was moved up to three miles for the

Royal & SunAlliance 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 about ...

at the Cheltenham Festival in which she was ridden by

A. P. McCoy Sir Anthony Peter McCoy (born 4 May 1974), commonly known as AP McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish former National Hunt horse racing jockey. Based in Ireland and the UK, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners, and was Champion Jockey a reco ...

. She moved up to challenge the leaders three fences from the finish but weakened from the last and finished fifth of the six finishers behind

Trabolgan Trabolgan (foaled 1 June 1998) is a retired, Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. In a racing career which was seriously disrupted by injuries and other health problems, he won five times fro ...

. On 29 March at Fairyhouse the mare dropped back in distance for the Grade I Powers Gold Cup over two and a half miles and started 7/2 favourite in a field of thirteen which included Davenport Milenium. Ridden by McCoy, she tracked the leader before challenging for the lead at the final fence and won by half a length from Forget The Past. Like-A-Butterfly's final appearance came at

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, whi ...

on 8 April, when she started 6/1 third favourite for the Mildmay Novices' Chase over three miles and one furlong. McCoy restrained the mare in the early stages before moving up to take the lead approaching the last fence and winning by one and three quarter lengths from See You Sometime and the favourite L'Ami.

Breeding record

Like-A-Butterfly was retired from racing to become a broodmare for J. P. McManus's stud. She produced five foals: *Speckled Wood (bay filly, foaled 2008, sired by

High Chaparral High Chaparral (1 March 1999 – 21 December 2014) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from September 2001 to October 2003, he ran 13 times and won 10 races. His win in the Racing Post Trophy made him one ...

), winner of three races *All For Luck (bay filly, 2010, by High Chaparral), unraced *Unnamed filly, 2011, by

Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish litera ...

*Unnamed colt, 2012, by Yeats *Unnamed colt, 2013, by Yeats Like-A-Butterfly died in February 2013 after contracting

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...

following the birth of her last foal. Roche said "I've never trained one better than her. She was a bit special".

Pedigree

References

{{reflist, 2 1994 racehorse births 2013 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Cheltenham Festival winners Thoroughbred family 23