Moscow Flyer, the highest rated Chaser in Britain or Ireland for over a decade, was today announced as the British Horseracing Board’s 2005 Jump Horse of the Year.
Succeeding Best Mate, the inaugural Jump Horse of the Year, Moscow Flyer picked up two further accolades at the second annual BHB British Jump Racing Awards. Trained in Ireland by Jessica Harrington, the eleven-year-old was unbeaten in three races in Britain last season, landing the William Hill Tingle Creek Trophy Chase, Queen Mother Champion Chase and the John Smith’s Melling Chase, and was also both the Champion Two Mile and Two-and-a-Half Mile Chaser.
The Awards were presented by BHB Chairman Martin Broughton in front of a specially-invited audience of over 200, including owners, trainers, jockeys, industry and the media at a lunchtime ceremony in central London.
The Awards were based on and coincided with the publication of the Anglo-Irish National Hunt Classifications. Each Award was won by the highest-rated horse in the respective Classification category, provided that it was either trained in Britain or, if it was trained elsewhere, achieved a category-topping rating on a British racecourse. BHB’s champion owner, trainer, jockey and conditional jockey were also honoured.
The full list of Award winners was as follows:
Champion Novice Hurdler – Ambobo
Champion Novice Chaser – Ashley Brook
Champion Two-Mile Hurdler – Hardy Eustace
Champion Two-Mile Chaser – Moscow Flyer
Champion Two-and-a-Half Mile + Hurdler – Inglis Drever
Champion Two-and-a-Half Mile Chaser – Moscow Flyer
Champion Three-Mile Chaser – Kicking King
Champion Conditional – Paddy Brennan
Champion Jockey – Timmy Murphy
Champion Trainer – Martin Pipe
Champion Owner – David Johnson
Horse of the Year – Moscow Flyer
The ceremony was also marked by the formal presentation of prizes for the first Order of Merit. Andrea and Graham Wylie, owners of Overall Winner and Top Hurdler Inglis Drever, were presented with a cheque for £250,000. John Hales, owner of Top Chaser Azertyuiop, collected £50,000. All the prizes will be split 75% to the owner, 12.5% to the trainer and 12.5% to the stable team of each horse.
BHB Marketing Director Chris John said: “The BHB British Jump Racing Awards are a celebration of our great sport. They are the only of their kind and give official recognition to the outstanding performers over the season, who rightly have such a dedicated following.
“Moscow Flyer, a repeat winner in the Two Mile and Two-and-a-Half Mile categories, is a champion in every sense of the word. Judged by the standards of any era he is one of the greats, and his performances at Sandown Park, Cheltenham and Aintree, were among the highlights of a terrific season. He is a fitting Horse of the Year and millions eagerly await his return to action in the autumn.”
