The year 2014 was a year in which Irish horses distinguished themselves around the globe, from the Cheltenham Festival to Royal Ascot to as far afield as Australia. In looking at some of the standout performers of the last 12 months, there are no shortage of eligible candidates but the following eight amply illustrate that, on the track, this was a year to savour.

Jezki

(Jessica Harrington)

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Hurricane Fly’s absolute dominance of the Irish hurdling scene was brought to a halt by Jezki, who claimed a famous victory in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. Two defeats at the hands of Hurricane Fly at Leopardstown left Jezki with work to do heading a vintage edition of the Champion Hurdle. However, the six-year-old was produced in the form of his life by his master trainer as he edged out fellow JP McManus-owned runner My Tent Or Yours by a neck.

Jezki’s status as a member of hurdling’s elite was cemented at the Punchestown Festival in May where he notched up a resounding success over Hurricane Fly. The latter bounced back to beat Jessica Harrington’s charge at Punchestown last month and their rivalry promises to be one of the highlights of the winter months but by the time the 2015 Champion Hurdle comes around Jezki could still be the one they all have to beat.

Lord Windermere

(Jim Culloty)

Jump racing in Ireland has undergone a major revival since the fallow times of the late 1980s and early ’90s. Nonetheless it is remarkable to think that by the end of 2013 only three Irish-trained horses have won the Gold Cup since Dawn Run’s never-to-be-forgotten success back in 1986. Indeed, the raiding party for the 2014 edition of the great race didn’t look especially strong but a resurgent Lord Windermere edged out compatriot On His Own in an epic finish and the drama didn’t end there as he then had to survive a rather lengthy inquiry.

After winning the RSA Chase the previous year, Lord Windermere had established himself as a stayer of genuine quality but three low-key efforts in the run-up to the Gold Cup left him some way off the required standard.

Yet again, though, Jim Culloty excelled in producing the Old Vic gelding in the form of his life to edge a remarkable conclusion to the Gold Cup, which was the centrepiece of a incredible day at the Cheltenham Festival.

Vautour

(Willie Mullins)

One of the most enduring memories of 2014 was the display of Vautour in the Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham. This race has often been the scene of brilliant performances and the five-year-old produced a frontrunning tour de force.

Vautour had progressed nicely in his three runs prior to March and his warm-up win in a Grade 1 at Leopardstown indicated he was among the foremost contenders at Prestbury Park. However, he took his form to a new level in the Supreme Novices to look like a horse of limitless potential. His connections have opted to send him over fences this term and he couldn’t have made a better start when landing a beginner’s chase at Navan in November. If he enjoys a trouble-free run in the coming months, there is no telling how far he could go as a chaser.

Tell Us More

(Willie Mullins)

Tell Us More has yet to prove himself in graded company but he has certainly captured the imagination in winning both his outings on the track and there is little doubt that he is a top-class prospect. Just over a year ago the Scorpion gelding made a winning debut in a point-to-point and some five days later he was knocked down to Harold Kirk for £290,000 at a Brightwells Sale at Cheltenham. That sale saw him join the Willie Mullins team for Gigginstown House Stud and he made a bright start for his new connections with a smooth point-to-point bumper win at Gowran in March.

He returned to Gowran for his next start when winning a maiden hurdle by 11 lengths in November without ever coming under pressure. It may well be the case that Tell Us More will come into his own as a chaser but expect him to take a high rank among this season’s leading novice hurdlers.

Sole Power

(Eddie Lynam)

No mention of 2014 could pass by without reference to Eddie Lynam, who enjoyed an outstanding year headed by his almost complete dominance of the sprinting division. Of the five Group 1 sprints run in Britain this year, Lynam won four with stable stars Sole Power and Slade Power notching up a brace of top-flight triumphs. Slade Power, long held in the highest regard by his trainer, came of age this year, while the evergreen Sole Power continued to excel.

It is worth recalling that Sole Power won a Group 1 all the way back in 2010 when he sprung a 100/1 surprise in the Nunthorpe Stakes and to look better than ever at the age of seven this summer represents quite a feat on his trainer’s part. The centrepiece of Sole Power’s season was his King’s Stand Stakes victory at Royal Ascot in June where he became the first horse in 80 years to win back-to-back editions of the race. This was the start of a memorable royal meeting for Lynam, who won with three of his four runners.

Gordon Lord Byron

(Tom Hogan)

The storied career of Gordon Lord Bryon was already the stuff of fairytales before he had set foot on the racecourse in 2014. A Group 1 winner in France in 2012 and successful in the Haydock Sprint Cup the following year, the six-year-old was firmly established as an international campaigner of rare quality.

Yet he and trainer Tom Hogan took things to an altogether different level when he etched out a piece of racing history with victory in the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill, Sydney in March. The first northern hemisphere-trained horse to win a top-level event in Sydney, Gordon Lord Byron copper-fastened his status as one of the great international runners to have emerged from these shores.

After a couple of Group 1 seconds in the autumn, the six-year-old signed off in Europe for the year with a memorable last-gasp triumph in the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot in October. Events over the last 12 months have ensured that he will forever have a place in Irish racing folklore.

Australia

(Aidan O’Brien)

The level of expectation that accompanied Australia’s three-year-old career was nothing short of sky-high given that Aidan O’Brien had made no secret of the huge regard that he had for the Galileo colt.

In delivering a trio of Group 1 triumphs in 2014, Australia proved himself a middle-distance colt of the very highest quality. Admittedly his season ended with a somewhat anti-climactic defeat in the Irish Champion Stakes but this should not detract from his position as one of the standout flat horses of the year.

Following a juvenile career that promised so much, Australia met with defeat on his reappearance in the English 2000 Guineas but, in a very strong edition of that race, he performed honourably to take third.

Then it was on to Epsom where he was much the best in the Derby and a few weeks later he took advantage of the simplest of opportunities to land the Irish Derby. The best was yet to come though as he dropped back to 10 furlongs to record a smooth win in the Juddmonte International at York.

His York showing suggested that he would take all the beating in the Irish Champion Stakes but a wide trip throughout proved his undoing as he was nailed late on by The Grey Gatsby in a race that provided a thrilling climax to Irish Champions Weekend. Unfortunately, that defeat was the last we saw of Australia but he was unquestionably one of the standout colts of his generation and the appearance of his progeny in the sales ring and on the track is eagerly awaited.

Forgotten Rules

(Dermot Weld)

Although he falls under the flat category, Forgotten Rules first served notice of his potential in the National Hunt sphere as Dermot Weld took the interesting step of starting him off in a bumper at the Punchestown Festival in April. The Nayef gelding turned what is traditionally a well-contested event into a procession as he cruised to an effortless 13-length triumph. That display indicated that Forgotten Rules could make up into a stayer of some substance on the flat and this view was reinforced by his next start at Galway in August. Pitted against several capable rivals, the four-year-old sauntered to an eight-length triumph.

Forgotten Rules then faced an altogether stiffer task in the Group 2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October and, for one having just his third career outing, he did especially well to account for a decent field. In just three starts he had come a very long way and surely a first Group 1 triumph can’t be far away for a horse who has already established himself as one of the best stayers around.