The Willie Mullins-trained Hedgehunter played a leading role in what was one of the most successful seasons for Irish-trained horses at the leading British National Hunt racing festivals in 2004/5. Coming off the back of no less than nine Irish-trained winners at the Cheltenham Festival, Hedgehunter’s victory as the well-backed favourite in the Aintree Grand National capped a glorious period for Irish punters and sealed his own place in history. However, like many future Aintree Grand National heroes, Hedgehunter did not always look to be a star in the making and his rise to prominence was very much a steady one.
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Principal Jockeys: Ruby Walsh, David Casey
Notable Wins: John Smith's Aintree Grand National (2005), Bobbyjo Chase (2005), Thyestes Handicap Chase (2004)
Early Days
The first year of Hedgehunter’s racing career hardly marked him out as a star of the future, as he proved a frustrating sort to follow in bumpers and maiden hurdles, finishinh second on his first five racecourse appearances before eventually breaking his duck in a maiden hurdle at Clonmel in February 2002. The following season he was sent over fences and when he won his fourth start in that sphere, the 2003 Grand National Trial at Punchestown, it was clear that a strong test of stamina was just what he needed. He had just four runs during the 2003/4 season, running big races in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury and the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow before easily winning the Thyestes Handicap Chase at Gowran Park. However, it was the last of those four runs, in the Aintree Grand National, that really caught the eye. Having raced freely in the early stages, he led until the second-last obstacle before being headed and falling at the final fence when looking sure to finish in the frame. That run showed Mullins that his eight-year-old was capable of going close in the world’s most famous steeplechase and thus, Mullins hatched a plan for another bid for glory in the Aintree showpiece.
Aintree Glory
The following season saw Hedgehunter run five unspectacular races over hurdles before, after the weights for the Aintree Grand National had been published, beating off Pizarro in the Grade 3 Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse. This was the perfect preparation for Aintree and off a handicap mark that was just 3lbs higher than the one he had ran off the previous year, it was relatively plain sailing for Willie Mullins’ charge. After a surprisingly straightforward journey, the nine-year-old came home 14 lengths to the good under Ruby Walsh, much to the delight of the punters that had made him the well-backed 7/1 favourite.
The following season saw Hedgehunter acquit himself exceptionally well without winning, finishing second in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and running an excellent race to finish six lengths second to his compatriot Numbersixvalverde in the Aintree Grand National.
While Hedgehunter failed to recapture the same spark in his final two seasons of racing, he is sure to be remembered as one of the great Irish-trained Aintree specialists and will always hold a special place in the hearts of the race goers that backed him on that memorable day at Aintree.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland – Updated January 2011
