‘Pearl’ is the intriguing story of one of
Ireland’s greatest ever racehorses - the under-rated
and under-appreciated, ‘Florida Pearl’ who
was officially retired in August. From an initial outlay
of just under 50,000punts, he went on to earn his owners
over 1.3million euro.
Florida Pearl
has been one of the great equine heroes
of this or any racing age. It's not just
his record, it was the way he kept coming
up for more, kept on having to justify the
impossible hopes a sport and a nation invested
in him.
16 wins and 8
places and just one fall from 33 races is
good enough for any horse. 6 visits to the
Cheltenham Festival, 8 seasons on the track
and the Hennessey Cognac as a 12 year old,
start to mean something extra and yet still
do not explain his worth.
Florida Pearl
was a horse who went through hardship as
well as acclaim. His is a story that needed
to be told. Anyone who likes jump racing
will read it with a gladdened heart.
- Brough Scott
Brough Scott, the renowned racing pundit and former
Channel 4 presenter , very kindly offered to write the
blurb for the book.
The book, which is also published by the author, is
available to purchase online.
In hardback, and with many colour photos, it is very
reasonably priced at 15 euro.
Book Launch
A great crowd turned up at the Florida Pearl
Book Launch in the Davenport Hotel. Trainer Willie Mullins made the journey from
Thurles races as did two of Florida Pearl's most successful
jockeys - Paul Carberry and Barry Geraghty.
Owners Archie and Violet O'Leary were also in attendance
and were joined by a host of other owners including
Noel O'Callaghan owner of a host of famous horses -
most notably Davenport Millennium and Alexander Banquet.
TV3 sent along a film crew and interviewed everyone
connected with the book. Bouquets of flowers were presented to Tracey Gilmour,
Florida's loyal and loving handler and to Violet O'Leary
for helping her husband reach the recent milestone of
75 years young. Hennessey very kindly donated a case
of their fine cognac and a case of white wine for the
evening.
RTE were represented by Colm Murray and Robert Hall.
In a speech delivered to those present, Hall commented:
"Its also an important book and one which our
Grand-children can look back on and read about a famous
Irish racehorse at the turn of the 21st century".
A 25 minute video brought back memories of 4 of the
horse's most famous wins: the Bumper and Novice Chase
at Cheltenham, his terrific win over Best Mate in the
King George and of course his record breaking 4th win
in this year's Irish Hennessey Gold Cup.
Racing Post Review
'Labour of Love about an Irish Hero '
Pearl - The Amazing Story Of Florida Pearl
Justin Doyle (Justin Doyle Publications, €15)
Think Arkle, Desert Orchid, Red Rum, Istabraq and Best
Mate. You're quite rightly thinking these are some of
the greatest beasts to have ever set hoof on a racetrack.
By no minor coincidence, they have also all had their
glittering histories transferred into the written word.
Florida Pearl doesn't instantly spring to mind in any
conversation about racing greats, but he was voted 34th
in the Racing Post's survey, and it's worth remembering
the following facts: before he was retired in July,
Florida Pearl had raced every year since 1996; he won
16 of his 33 starts; he ran at six Cheltenham Festivals,
won the Champion Bumper, SunAlliance Chase and was placed
in two Gold Cups; oh yes, and he also won a record four
Irish Hennessy Gold Cups. That's some CV.
Which makes this story of his life a welcome addition
to the Christmas market of equine literature. Okay,
it's set out a bit like a book of poems with plenty
of double spacing between paragraphs, and there is the
odd error (trainer Ferdie Sutherland, not Fergie), together
with a few typographical irregularities, but the story
of Florida Pearl is one worth telling and reading.
From the start, when Archie O'Leary said he wanted a
horse with Willie Mullins and how Florida Pearl was
spotted on the point-to-point circuit, to winning at
the Cheltenham Festival on just his second start under
Rules, and then on through the glory years and some
rocky patches as well, the story could well be something
out of one of Jenny Pitman's fiction novels.
But it's real, and something many of us will have watched
without realising we were seeing history in the making.
You can whizz through the 125 pages in an evening and
won't be disappointed. And by the time you've turned
the final page, you might just even consider adding
Florida Pearl to your own list of racing greats.
