French Holly was an unusually large, powerful, bay gelding standing 18 hands high[2] with no white markings bred in Kentucky by Mario Sakurai.
Ridden by Paul Carberry he started the 5/4 favourite in a field of fifteen runners and won "comfortably"[6] by four lengths after taking the lead in the final quarter mile.
Ridden by Richard Hughes, he was among the leaders before weakening in the closing stages to finish sixth of the twenty-five runners, nine and a half lengths behind the Irish-trained winner Florida Pearl.
[8] In the following month he made a second unsuccessful attempt to win the Jack White Memorial Flat Race at Punchestown, finishing third behind Arctic Camper and Cloone Bridge.
In June at Royal Ascot, French Holly made his only appearance in a conventional Flat race when he finished eleventh of the thirteen runners in the Queen Alexandra Stakes.
In the 1997/1998 National Hunt season French Holly competed in novice hurdle races, making his debut over obstacles at Ayr Racecourse on 16 November.
[9] At Haydock Park in December he started 8/11 favourite against fifteen opponents and won by three and half lengths from Foundry Lane, having taken the lead three hurdles from the finish.
[12] At Huntingdon Racecourse in February French Holly started 8/13 favourite against three opponents and recovered from several jumping errors before accelerating after the last hurdle to win by two lengths from Better Offer.
[15] On his first appearance of the 1998/1999 season, French Holly was matched against more experienced hurdlers in a handicap race at Ascot Racecourse and started 5/4 favourite despite carrying top weight of 168 pounds.
Despite his defeat, he was moved up in class four weeks later for the Fighting Fifth Hurdle (then a Grade II race) at Newcastle Racecourse and finished second, five lengths behind the favoured Dato Star.
On 28 December 1998, at Kempton Park Racecourse French Holly faced Dato Star again in the Grade I Christmas Hurdle with the other runners including Kerawi, who had won the race in 1997.
[18] French Holly met Istabraq for the third time in the Aintree Hurdle over two and a half miles in April a race which also attracted his half-brother Deano's Beeno.
[19] In the early summer of 1999, French Holly was sent to compete in France where he was based with Murphy's daughter in Normandy and reportedly enjoyed excursions to the beach at Deauville.
[19] A reportedly "ecstatic" Murphy said that "the whole purpose of bringing him here and running him over the bigger obstacles was to give him the experience he needs for a chasing campaign next season and we want to win the Millennium Gold Cup".