Owner Peacock pays tribute to Arctic Fire Owner Nick Peacock has paid tribute to Arctic Fire after the top-class hurdler was retired. The Willie Mullins-trained nine-year-old won five of his 19 starts over jumps including the 2015 Hatton's Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse and the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last March. He also chased home esteemed stable companion Faugheen in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Punchestown Champion Hurdle two years ago and was placed behind another illustrious former Closutton inmate, Hurricane Fly, in a Ryanair Hurdle and and Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown. Despite achieving a rating pushing 170 at his peak, Peacock feels injuries prevented his charge reaching his full potential. He said: "He's been a wonderful horse and it's just a shame his career was curtailed by injury. "He gave us our second win in the County Hurdle after Wicklow Brave, who won it a couple of years earlier. "He won a Grade One in the Hatton's Grace and if Faugheen wasn't there, he'd have won a Champion Hurdle. "He'd also have won an Aintree Hurdle (in 2015) if he hadn't fallen at the last. I think that was the start of his woes as he was down on the ground for 10 or 12 minutes, the screens were up and we feared the worst. I suppose you could say everything he did after that was a bonus. "I don't think we ever really saw the best of him, to be honest. "We'll find him a nice home now for his retirement."
