Rhinestone Cowboy is an Irish bred

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 ...

. He was trained in England by

Jonjo O'Neill John Joseph "Jonjo" O'Neill (born 13 April 1952) is an Irish National Hunt racehorse trainer and former jockey. He is a native of Castletownroche, County Cork in Ireland. Based at the Jackdaws Castle training establishment in England. O'Neill ...

. In a career which lasted from 2002 until 2007 he ran seventeen times and won ten races including two Grade I hurdle races.

Debut

He made his racecourse debut in February 2002, winning a

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 ...

race at Ascot. His trainer them immediately stepped him up to the top level, where he contested the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival. Sent off the 5/2 favourite for the race, he finished second, when he was carried left in the closing stages of the race by the eventual winner,

Pizarro Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of Peru. Born in Trujillo, Spain to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...

2002/2003 season

He made his 2002/03 seasonal debut when winning a Listed Class Bumper at Cheltenham in November. He was then sent hurdling, where he went to complete a four - timer over the obstacles, which culminated in a victory in the Kingwell Hurdle as a novice. The reigning

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 ...

winner,

Hors La Loi Khors, Хорсъ is a Slavic god of uncertain functions mentioned since the 12th century. Generally interpreted as a sun god, sometimes as a moon god. The meaning of the theonym is also unknown: most often his name has been combined with th ...

was back in third place. In his next start, the novice was sent off the 5/2 favourite for 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 ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, where he finished third behind Rooster Booster.

2003/2004 season

The 2003/04 season proved by far to be Rhinestone Cowboy's best season. He started with victory in a handicap Hurdle at

Haydock Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 11,416 Haydock's historic area covers the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook ward. Haydoc ...

, before finishing down the field in the December Festival Hurdle. He then resumed winning ways in the

Agfa Hurdle The Contenders Hurdle is a Listed National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park Racecou ...

at Sandown in February, before returning to the Cheltenham Festival, where he finished third in the

Coral Cup The Coral Cup is a Grade 3 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 about 2 miles and 5 f ...

. It was in his next two starts that Rhinestone Cowboy showed how good he was. First, he won the Aintree Hurdle, where he overturned the previous season's

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 ...

form by beating Rooster Booster and Westender.Racing Post
/ref> More Grade 1 success followed 3 weeks later, as he won the

Punchestown Stayers Hurdle The Champion Stayers 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 Punchestown over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres), and during its ...

on his first try over 3

miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

. He had odds on stablemate

Iris's Gift Iris's Gift was a National Hunt racehorse trained in Britain by Jonjo O'Neill. Racing career National Hunt Flat races He made his racecourse debut in August 2001, where he won a National Hunt flat race at Worcester Racecourse. He followed th ...

back in second that day.

Leg injury

Rhinestone Cowboy suffered a leg injury in November 2004, which all but ended his racing career. He did come back in the 2006/07 season, where he finished down the field in Handicap Hurdles.

Today

The horse has not raced since March 2007 and it is thought that he has now been retired.

References

{{reflist Racehorses bred in Ireland 1996 racehorse births