Paul Carberry: Celebrating the Career of a National Hunt Icon Paul Carberry was widely regarded as one of the most stylish riders of his generation, a man with impeccable timing and part of the first father/son combo to win the Grand National at Aintree. About Paul Carberry hails from a great racing family. His father, Tommy, was a famous National Hunt jockey in the 1960s and 1970s. His uncle Arthur Moore, became one of Ireland's leading National Hunt trainers and his younger siblings, Phillip and Nina, also enjoyed stellar careers in the saddle. Born in Ratoath in Co Meath, Carberry was steeped in racing as a child. He began his career on the Flat and was champion apprentice with 27 winners in 1993 when stationed with Jim Bolger, but made his name over jumps, going on to become champion National Hunt jockey in the 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 Irish seasons, largely linking up with Noel Meade. He rode 14 winners at the Cheltenham Festival and landed the Aintree Grand National on Bobbyjo, trained by his father Tommy, in 1999, a year after having won the Irish National at Fairyhouse on the same horse. At Cheltenham, he registered his first win on Rhythm Section in the 1993 Champion Bumper and his last on Very Wood in the Albert Bartlett in 2014. His only Championship-race win came on Solwhit (2013) in the Stayers' Hurdle. Carberry was acclaimed for his ability to produce a well-timed late winning run and his style in the saddle was unquestionable. He called time on his career in the summer of 2016 after failing to recover from a long-standing leg injury sustained in a fall at Listowel in September 2015. Carberry later opened Morcelli House, an elite pre-training facility for young horses where he focuses on preparing the next generation of champions. Bobbyjo the greatest moment of all The likes of Ted & Ruby Walsh and Willie & Patrick Mullins have followed since, but in 1999 it was Tommy & Paul Carberry who made history as the first father and son to combine as trainer/jockey of an Aintree National winner in Bobbyjo. Sent off a well-backed 10/1 chance, Bobbyjo and Paul Carberry briefly looked outpaced at the second last but came home strongly for a 10-length win from Blue Charm. The rider always pinpointed that afternoon on Merseyside as his greatest in the saddle. "Personally, by far, it has to be the English Grand National, it was a dream I held from being a youngster and to date is still my greatest achievement and to win on a horse trained by my dad made it extra special," he said. Harchibald the great rogue Another stellar performer in Carberry's riding career was Meade's top two-mile hurdler Harchibald. Together they won plenty of top prizes, including the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle at Kempton in 2004 and 2008. The first of those wins witnessed the quintessential Carberry ride as he came late to nail front-running Rooster Booster, while it was another late show to deny Snap Tie in 2008. They landed the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth twice at Newcastle, but perhaps Harchibald's most infamous afternoon was the 2005 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. Harchibald sauntered on to the heels of the leaders, Hardy Eustace and Brave Inca, and appeared primed under a motionless Carberry after jumping the last on terms, but he didn't find as much up the Cheltenham hill as appeared likely and was denied a neck by the gallant front-runner Hardy Eustace.
