Famed Irish rider, trainer Eddie Harty dead at 89
Eddie Harty, who competed for Ireland in the three-day event equestrian competition at the 1960 Olympics in Rome and rode Highland Wedding to a win in 1969 in the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse in Britain, died on Wednesday at 89.
Harty’s passing, at a nursing home in Newbridge, Ireland, occurred a day after the funeral of his wife Patricia, according to their son, Eoin Harty, the Kentucky-based trainer. Eoin Harty said that he visited his father on Wednesday morning.
“He was in very good spirits for a man who lost his wife,” Eoin Harty said. “He was with all his friends and family. He had a lot of health issues, mostly because of his career as a jump jockey. All the infirmities caught up with him.”
Born in June 1937 in Dublin, Eddie Harty spent a lifetime surrounded by horses. He was a jockey in point-to-point, or amateur, races in Ireland in the 1950s. At the Olympics, Harty finished ninth in the individual competition and was part of Irish team that finished sixth.
In the 1960s, Harty focused on a professional career as a steeplechase jockey, winning such races as the Topham Chase at Aintree Racecourse in 1965 and 1969, and the 1968 Mackeson Gold Cup at Cheltenham. He was closely allied with British trainers Fred Winter and Toby Balding.
At Aintree in 1969, Harty gained the mount on Highland Wedding after jockey Owen McNally sustained an elbow injury. Harty guided Highland Wedding to a 12-length win in a field of 30.
In 1971, Harty’s riding career ended because of injury. As a trainer, Harty’s stable included both flat and steeplechase runners, with wins that included two runnings of the Irish Cambridgeshire Stakes at The Curragh, a valuable autumn handicap.
Harty retired from training in 1995 and worked as a bloodstock agent.
Harty brokered deals that led to the Irish-breds Manndar, Sligo Bay, and Takarian joining California trainer Beau Greely’s stable. All became graded stakes winners, notably Manndar, who won consecutive Grade 1 races in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs and Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park in the spring of 2000.
More recently, Harty appeared as an expert witness in horse-related court cases in Ireland.
“He was in high demand,” Eoin Harty said.
After retiring from training, Harty was a frequent visitor to leading races, annually making the trek across the Irish Sea to the National Hunt Festival at Cheltenham in March.
“He was a very popular person,” Eoin Harty said. “He was a renowned horseman.”
Eddie and Patricia Harty were married for 68 years, Eoin Harty said. Survivors include another son, Eddie Jr., and daughter Freda.
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