The French Furze is an Irish Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

, born to sire, Be My Guest

Be My Guest (horse)

Be My Guest was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion sire. He was bred in Kentucky by Walter Haefner, a Swiss businessman and owner of Moyglare Stud Farm in Ireland...

 and dam, Exciting. He is owned by Jim Ennis

Jim Ennis

James Ennis is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He played collegiate hockey for Boston University and was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the sixth round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft...

 and was trained by Nicky Richards

Nicky Richards

Nicholas Gordon Richards is a British racehorse trainer specialising mainly in National Hunt racing. He is based at stables at Greystoke, near Penrith, Cumbria, England...

. Throughout his time as a racehorse, he was ridden by several famous jockeys, including Brian Harding, Tony Dobbin

Tony Dobbin

Tony Dobbin is a retired Northern Irish National Hunt jockey who rode mainly in Great Britain. He rode the winner of the Grand National on Lord Gyllene in 1997 and won over 1,200 races during his career in the saddle. He was the regular stable jockey for Nicky Richards...

 and Tony McCoy

Tony McCoy

Anthony Peter McCoy OBE , commonly known as A. P. McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish horse racing jockey....

 among others. At the time of his retirement, The French Furze had amassed a career record of 11 wins, 12 places and 8 shows while accumulating £232,499 in lifetime earnings.

The French Furze started racing as a two year old in September 1996 when he was entered into the Dance Design European Breeders Fund Maiden, finishing in seventh place out of 12 entries. He won his first race, the Gilane Amusements 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle, in August 1997 at Tramore Racecourse in County Waterford

County Waterford

*Abbeyside, Affane, Aglish, Annestown, An Rinn, Ardmore*Ballinacourty, Ballinameela, Ballinamult, Ballinroad, Ballybeg, Ballybricken, Ballyduff Lower, Ballyduff Upper, Ballydurn, Ballygunner, Ballylaneen, Ballymacarbry, Ballymacart, Ballynaneashagh, Ballysaggart, Ballytruckle, Bilberry, Bunmahon,...

, Tramore in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. He beat a field of eight horses to earn his first victory. Early in his career, when The French Furze won a race, he would go on to win by impressive distances. His first seven victories were won by 10, 11, 14, 15, 4, 6, and 24 lengths

Length (horse racing)

A horse length, or simply length, is a unit of measurement that refers to the length of a horse from nose to tail, approximately 8 feet, It is commonly used in Thoroughbred horse racing, where it describes the distance between horses in a race...

 respectively.

Although The French Furze won 11 races, his most notable win came late in his career in November 2003 when he won the Fighting Fifth Hurdle

Fighting Fifth Hurdle

The Fighting Fifth Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newcastle over a distance of about 2 miles , and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped...

 at Newcastle Racecourse

Newcastle Racecourse

Newcastle Racecourse is a horse racing course located at Gosforth Park near Newcastle upon Tyne in England. It stages both flat and National Hunt racing, with its biggest meeting being the Northumberland Plate held annually in June.-History:...

 in Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Entering the race as a 25 to 1 longshot, The French Furze and jockey Brian Harding bested a field of eight horses en route to a victory over Geos by three-quarters of a length.

In 2007, The French Furze’s achievements and seven consecutive entries into the Fighting Fifth Hurdle were honored when a race was named after him. The race, named the WBX

WBX

World Bet Exchange is a person-to-person betting exchange based in Notting Hill Gate, London in the United Kingdom, and licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. WBX.com was founded in 2002 by Malcolm Gray but did not officially launch until November, 25th, 2006...

 French Furze Novices' Hurdle, spanned two and three-quarter miles and was run on December 1, 2007. The race was won by Tazbar, who defeated Innominate by an astounding 38 lengths.

The French Furze was retired at the age of 13 in December 2007 after a poor showing in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle. When asked about The French Furze, trainer Nicky Richards said: He has been a pleasure to train, but age has caught up with him. I owe him plenty as he was the horse who enabled me to rub shoulders with the big boys shortly after I started out. In all, The French Furze ran over 80 races in his career.