Hurricane Fly (foaled 5 April 2004) is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his performances in hurdle races when under the care of trainer Willie Mullins at Closutton in County Carlow in Ireland. He is a dual winner of the Champion Hurdle and previously held the world record for most Grade 1 (or Group 1) races won by any racehorse until overtaken by Winx in 2019. Originally bred to be a flat racer, the gelding began his racing career in France where he had moderate success, winning twice in ten races. At the end of 2007 he was sold and transferred to Ireland where he began to compete in National Hunt events. On 15 March 2011, Hurricane Fly ridden by Ruby Walsh won the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. After finishing third in the 2012 renewal, he became the first horse in thirty-eight years to regain the Champion Hurdle title by winning the race for a second time in 2013. On 26 April 2013 he had his 16th Grade 1 victory in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle equalling the record for Grade 1 wins previously shared by Kauto Star and John Henry. He took sole possession of the record when winning the Morgiana Hurdle on 17 November 2013. He added a further five wins at the highest level before being retired with a record total of 22 such wins in August 2015. That total was equalled by Winx when she won the W. S. Cox Plate on 27 October 2018. Hurricane Fly is now enjoying his retirement in the lush green paddocks of the Irish National Stud in County Kildare and enjoys meeting the thousands of admirers who visit him there each year. Background Hurricane Fly is a small bay horse with a white star bred in Ireland by the Italian Agricola Del Parco. He is one of many top-class horses sired by Montjeu. Others include the Derby winners Pour Moi, Authorized, Camelot and Motivator, the St Leger winners Scorpion and Masked Marvel and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Hurricane Run. Hurricane Fly was originally sent into training with Jean-Louis Pelletan in France. Racing career 2006 & 2007 seasons: Flat racing As a two-year-old in France in 2006, Hurricane Fly ran four times, failing to win but finishing second twice. In the following year he won two races including the listed Prix Omnium II (beating the subsequent Champion