Punjabi (foaled in 2003 in

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) is a British

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 ...

, born to sire, Komatie and dam, Competa. Punjabi started racing as a three-year-old in 2005. He won his first race, a Class 6, in May 2006 at

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 a ...

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. Punjabi’s first notable win came in February 2007 at

Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 16 miles south-west of Charing Cross, London and on a border of Greater London. The site has of ...

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, England where he won the

Adonis Juvenile Novices' Hurdle The Adonis Juvenile Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in United Kingdom which is open to horses aged four years. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (), and d ...

, a Grade 2 National Hunt race. However, it wasn’t until 2008 when Punjabi started to make a name for himself, when he became the first horse to legitimately contend for the WBX sponsored

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 * I ...

. The Triple Crown of Hurdling awards a £1,000,000 bonus to the horse that wins the

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 ...

at Newcastle, the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park and 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 ...

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, England in the same racing season. Entering the 2008-2009 racing season, those involved with Punjabi believed their horse was a contender to win the Triple Crown of Hurdling. In early December 2008, jockey

Barry Geraghty Barry Geraghty (born 16 September 1979) is a retired Irish jockey. He is the second most successful jockey of all time at the Cheltenham Festival. Geraghty rode his first winner in January 1997 and three years later he became the Irish Champio ...

and Punjabi narrowly beat out Sublimity to win the Fighting Fifth Hurdle. Later that month, Punjabi was running well but fell two fences from the finish line at the Christmas Hurdle. The race was won by

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

. In March 2009, Punjabi held off a late charge by

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to win the Champion Hurdle in a dramatic

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

. After the win at the Champion Hurdle, trainer

Nicky Henderson Nicholas John Henderson (born 10 December 1950) is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times. Background His father was Johnny Henderson who was one of the founders of the Racecourse Holdings Tru ...

lamented at the fact that the fall in the Christmas Hurdle could have been ''"the most expensive fall in history."'' In his career, Punjabi has amassed 12 wins, 2 places and 4 shows, with all four of his 12 wins coming in Grade 1 races. As of May 2009, his overall winning percentage stands at 40%.Punjabi Pedigree
pedigreequery.com

References

{{Champion Hurdle winners 2003 racehorse births Cheltenham Festival winners Champion Hurdle winners Thoroughbred family 5-h Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom ja:ウェルアームド