Popular people's horse Limestone Lad dies at grand old age of 32

Rated joint-sixth greatest hurdler of all time by Timeform, the late-blooming son of Aristocracy and Limestone Miss was successful in 35 of his 65 races, and famously claimed the scalp of Istabraq in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle in 1999.

Istabraq had won the last two Champion Hurdles and would go on to make that three a few months later.

That was the first of four Grade One victories for Limestone Lad, although he also claimed both the Christmas Hurdle and Morgiana Hurdle on two occasions each and they were subsequently upgraded to top-flight status.

He was also out of the frame just twice in 53 starts over jumps and was unbeaten in nine handicap hurdles, adding to his huge popularity.

It was the five-and-a-half length defeat of Istabraq that catapulted him towards a new level of public awareness, though, and he confirmed his relish for tests of stamina on his first appearance over three miles by cantering to a first Christmas Hurdle by 30 lengths the following month.

In what was a characteristic of the way he was campaigned, this teak tough individual had won a handicap in between at Navan, the first of seven triumphs at a track that played to his strengths. He added the Boyne Hurdle and Lismullen Hurdle to his CV at the Meath venue.

Limestone Lad was placed in his two Stayers’ Hurdle appearances at Cheltenham, beaten a length by Bacchanal in 2000 and finishing third on his final racecourse appearance three years later, but he never enjoyed his travels and ran his heart out despite not eating or drinking on unfamiliar territory.

Remarkably, he was tried as a showjumper initially, having not shown a lot of racing talent early on. He ran in eight bumpers, winning two, before improving steadily with maturity and a switch to hurdles, where his rating climbed from a first mark of 99, to a career high of 169, off which he ran his final race.

He was sent chasing for a brief period and in typical fashion, ran six times over the larger obstacles from October to December 2000. Although he won four times, beating the high-class Sackville along the way and scoring at Grade Three level twice, he did not enjoy that sphere as much as hurdling and was back over the smaller obstacles the following month.

He would go on to become the first horse to win three Hatton’s Grace Hurdles and amazingly, after his retirement, the Bowes produced Solerina, who was stabled next to Limestone Lad, to win the next three renewals. Only Apple’s Jade and Honeysuckle have matched those feats.

It was his bold, front-running style that attracted the public to him as he galloped rivals into the ground, particularly on his favoured testing underfoot conditions.

That he represented a small, family operation, with Bowe’s wife Phyllis, and sons Michael and John all heavily involved, only added to the popularity.

A scarcely believable tally of 10 jockeys were led into the winner’s enclosure on Limestone Lad’s back. While Shane McGovern, Barry Cash and Paul Carberry were most closely associated with him, Ruby Walsh and Barry Geraghty rode him to victory while Fran Berry and Johnny Murtagh steered him to placed finishes on the Flat.

Aileen Sloane Lee was on board when he recorded his first triumph, by nine lengths, in a lady riders’ bumper at Limerick on December 28, 1997.

“We are so glad Limestone Lad had a long and very happy retirement,” said John Bowe on Friday morning. “He had seven years as a racehorse but 25 as a horse being a horse.

“He started life showjumping and a handicap mark of 99. Timeform still have him in the top ten all-time hurdlers.

“The last time he was not here in the place, I was a teenager, so we will be missing him a lot. In his later years, he was still holding his own in the field and bossing it.

“We appreciate that we were very lucky to have him here for 32 years. Michael, my mother and I had a glass of wine after we buried him last night. He is beside Solerina (who died in November 2021) and that will always be a very special place.

“The photo of him beating Istabraq is in the kitchen and we all agree that was his greatest moment. His unbeaten run of nine wins in handicap hurdles was another highlight but most of all, maybe what stood out was his character and toughness. That is what we will remember him most by.

“He had a wonderful following by many people down through the years and that meant a lot to us."

Limestone Lad passed away peacefully yesterday (Thursday, March 28), just four days shy of his date of birth, on April 1.

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