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'He was a consummate horseman - it was a life well spent' - Eddie Harty with fond memories of his late uncle Buster

Eddie Harty: will go into an official training partnership with his son Patrick this summer
Eddie Harty: nephew of Buster Harty, who died last week aged 90Credit: Patrick McCann

Eddie Harty has described his late uncle Buster as a "consummate horseman" as he recalled his storied life which included beating Lester Piggott in a photo-finish, managing the US Olympic eventing team and training Gypsando to multiple big-race successes.

Cyril 'Buster' Harty died in Naas Hospital last Wednesday aged 90 and his cremation service took place on Wednesday. The eldest son of Captain Cyril B Harty, who was a show jumper for the Irish Army in the 1930s and trained Knights Crest to win the Irish Grand National in 1944, he was always destined to make his mark in racing. 

Buster and his brothers John and Eddie continued the family tradition by going on to have illustrious careers in the industry with Eddie landing the 1969 Grand National on Highland Wedding. Buster's daughter Sabrina, one of three children he had with his wife Margaret, is a Grade 1-winning trainer, while he began his career as an assistant and stable amateur to the legendary Fred Rimell, who was champion jumps trainer in Britain five times and trained four Grand National winners.

After a stint in California, he returned to take over the family stable from his father and Gypsando was the stable star with Harty sending him out to win an old equivalent of the Irish Champion Hurdle, Munster National, Guinness Chase and Leopardstown Chase.

His nephew Eddie, who saddled Captain Cee Bee to win the 2008 Supreme Novices' Hurdle, a horse named after his grandfather, recalls that the printed result of Buster's defeat of Piggott was a source of great pride for the family.

"Buster was stable amateur and assistant to Fred Rimell in England and beat Lester Piggott in a photo-finish at Wolverhampton in a hurdle race," he said. "The printed result took pride of place at the grandparents' house. The race result, first CP Harty and second L Piggott.

"He spent a lot of time in California. My grandmother was American and Buster took American citizenship. As a result, he was drafted and did a stint in the National Guard. He trained the US Olympic three-day event team for Rome in 1960, which my father also took part in. 

"His brother John was on the 1964 team. A measure of the kindness of Buster was he knew that John would be kind of on his own a bit while the rest of the team would be reasonably well got. So he handed a right few quid to John on the way out so he wouldn't look poor and would be able to hold his corner."

'Two mad Irishmen giving an exhibition in horsemanship and trying to kill each other'

Harty fondly remembered the late Sir Peter O'Sullevan describing a pulsating finish between Buster and Eddie snr, and summarised his uncle's life as one "well spent".

He said: "Gypsando would have been his flagship horse when he came back to train in Ireland. I would have been a small boy at the time and he was very successful in the 60s and early 70s. They had to move out of Springfield in the late 70s and his career petered out a bit after that.

"He was well regarded and there's a lot of amusing stories - we wouldn't have time to put them in the paper! He beat my father a half-length one day in Birmingham and Peter O'Sullevan wrote that, 'It was the only thing that brightened up the day, two mad Irishmen giving an exhibition in horsemanship and trying to kill each other'.

"I would say if anyone could pack into their lives what Buster did, it would be a life well spent. He was a consummate horseman and rode at the highest level."

Reporter and emerging talent award winner

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