Brian Hartigan

an capall

an capall

Senior Jockey
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
5,516
Location
Dalkey
Those of you who have been around a while will remember 'the father of the house,' Brian 'Lord' Hartigan, both with affection and respect. News comes, sadly, that he passed away at the weekend having bravely fought cancer over the last couple of years.

Brian was the first person from the forum that I met in the real world, Leopardstown Hennessy meeting in the early 2000's. He certainly was opinionated, but always sincere and among his many qualities was an unshakable belief that Arkle was underrated at 212.

I'm in touch with his close friends who asked that this news be shared as he knew and liked many of you on here.

Ar Dheis De go raibh ar anam.
 
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Oh no.

This is awful news. I kept in touch with Brian for a while after he withdrew from the forum a long time back and I'll always remember his kindness, warmth and wit.

I remember the November Meeting meet-ups and being embarrassed when he asked me what I fancied in a later handicap hurdle (not the Greatwood, maybe a 3-miler). I suggested I liked the 20/1 on offer about some nag and, withuut any hesitation, he flipped open his phone, "Hello, this is Brian. Can I have £50ew on [nag], please? .... Thank you."

I think the horse might have finished fourth but I was shiting myself all the way through the race :lol:

He was indeed a character but in the most positive of ways.

He was also fond of reverting to Latin when the occasion allowed but it is with deep sorrow that I find myself saying, "Requiescat in pace."
 
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Sorry to hear this as a massive presence on here and in life no doubt. I met him very briefly once at Kempton and he was just as I had envisioned him to be. Thoughts with his family and friends.
 
Oh sorry to hear this..what was his username for anyone who didn't meet or know him that well?
 
I am very sorry to hear that. I only met Brian once but you didn't need to spend long in his company to appreciate what a knowledgeable man he was.

RIP
 
2002, Tuesday at Cheltenham. Istabraq is going for #4 and a spotty teenager who had been populating this forum (or andecedent) with controversial views turns up, having travelled through the night to be there. We all meet at the Arkle statue, where else, and Lord H is intrigued by this kid, whose name for some reason he keeps trying to rhyme with 'haemorrhoid.' I've been in touch with Brian until fairly recently and twenty years later he still always asked after Gearoid.

I will probably now get well and truly rogered by Slim for this display of sentimentality.
 
an capall said:
2002, Tuesday at Cheltenham. Istabraq is going for #4 and a spotty teenager who had been populating this forum (or andecedent) with controversial views turns up, having travelled through the night to be there. We all meet at the Arkle statue, where else, and Lord H is intrigued by this kid, whose name for some reason he keeps trying to rhyme with 'haemorrhoid.' I've been in touch with Brian until fairly recently and twenty years later he still always asked after Gearoid.

I will probably now get well and truly rogered by Slim for this display of sentimentality.
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I reckon we swapped daily emails for 15 years. That poor man wasn't put out of his misery soon enough. I won't half miss him.
 
This site is really something. The strength of camaraderie amongst members is amazing, as is the obvious love for the horses we all talk about. Brian was well before my time, but lovely to hear such heartfelt memories.
 
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I only met Brian twice in the flesh -a true gentleman and an absolute class act.Without a shadow of a doubt he carried the Forum in the early days.Very sorry to hear the sad news -may he rest in peace.
 
Brian was successful in business, knew lots about racing and had been involved with some good horses, especially the RSA winner Lord Noelie (although he enjoyed telling the story against himself about his syndicate choosing some yoke that never won anything, over the famous filly with the bockety stride, Attraction). He also had a great sense of humour, and along with Alan Morgan (one of the founders of this forum who was before my time) was mainly responsible for the wit, repartee and irreverence which made this forum the best around.

When Brian enquired on here if anyone was interested in taking shares in a young Irish ptp winner to be trained by Henrietta Knight, fresh from her successes with Best Mate, I was one of several forumites to get involved (Shadow Leader and Rory Delargy were others). For some of us it was our first time being involved in ownership and Bally Conn won a bumper on bottomless ground at Towcester on his debut. That turned out to be the peak, but it had some of us on a high that I never could have imagined. It lasted for weeks and weeks, until his next run. Ultimately he was disappointing and was moved on to Richard Hill, who diagnosed a back problem and got four low grade wins out of him in his next six runs. Ah well.

But I don’t regret that episode even slightly, expensive enough though it was in the end, because it introduced me to the power of the dream, and to some really good people. Since then I’ve always had a fetlock or a nose hair of a future prodigy on the track. Brian introduced me to that whole dubious pleasure and I’m very grateful to him.

Sadly the forum went through an anarchic period in the Wild West days of the Internet, as an tUasal An Capall recently put it, and Brian, who was a moderator at the time, quite understandably decided he had had enough. But his very positive influence on this place lingers on. I tried to persuade him once or twice that things had settled down here, and that it would be great if he returned. But he had gone through too much nonsense for him to feel able to return. Those who knew him here have missed him ever since.

RIP, Brian
 
There were a few people who made this place (and all the way back to the C4 days) the best place to discuss racing on the internet. Brian was one of those who set the tone. Sad to hear that he was ill and that he had passed. He couldn't half write well, when he needed to.

https://www.jockeysite.com/stories/arkle.htm
 
An all-round good bloke. Extremely knowledgeable, warm and well liked by a wide range and large number of people. A sporting gentleman in all ways he was a stalwart of the Forum for many years sharing his knowledge and kept us informed of the chances of his horses including Lord Noele and Looks like Trouble at Cheltenham. Really saddened by his passing and my thoughts are with his family and many friends . RIP
 
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Wouldn't it be nice if the Racing Post did a story about him -if only we had a wordsmith who has been published in a national newspaper previously.
 
Hi all. Had to get Col to reset my password it's been that long since I logged in, but had to return to add my thanks for having met Brian a couple of times. He snuck me into the runners up enclosure at Aintree with himself and Ian R at Aintree when Noelie finished 20/1 runner up on bottomless ground he hated. Soon as camera panned past us, Brian's phone went. One of the other owners wanting to know who I was in there with them! Brian was always a proper gent, and like a few I kept in touch for some time exchanging little snippets of info on racing and footy. RIP Lord H.
 
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What very sad news. A true gentleman in every sense of the word. Will surely be sadly missed, but never forgotten, by all who had the honour of knowing him. Rest in peace, Brian.
 
So, so sad to hear this. I met him a few times and can only echo others sentiments. A lovely man who was a true gentleman on the occasions I met him (either Newbury or Cheltenham) with a wry sense of humour. I have just re-read some of the Facebook messages we exchanged and they were highly amusing. And I’d forgotten what a great source of gossip he was too. RIP Lord H....you were truly deserving of the name given.
 
Marb said:
Oh sorry to hear this..what was his username for anyone who didn't meet or know him that well?
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BrianH

Brian was last on here June 2020, had a few messages from him on Facebook over the years. He loved being called LordH on here.
 
I think Brian had more-or-less finished with forums by the time I started, but he was someone who’s name commanded affection and respect whenever it was mentioned online. I eventually had the pleasure of meeting Brian (and a handful of his friends) a few years back with Gearoid/Slim, the Friday of DRF weekend, and it was easy to see why.

RIP.
 
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