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National Stakes
The Vincent O'Brien National Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September. History The event was established in 1849, and it was originally called the National Produce Stakes and then the National Stakes. The inaugural running was won by Chatterbox. For a period the National Stakes was classed at Group 2 level, and it was promoted to Group 1 in 1985. It was extended from 7 furlongs to a mile in 1997, but its former distance was restored in 2000. The race became known as the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes in 2009, in memory of the successful trainer Vincent O'Brien (1917–2009). It reverted to its previous title in 2011 but was renamed the Vincent O'Brien Stakes in 2012. In 2014 the title reverted to the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes and it becam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curragh Racecourse
The Curragh Racecourse -- usually referred to as simply the Curragh -- is one of Ireland's most important Thoroughbred racecourses. It is situated on the Curragh plain in County Kildare, between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. History The name "Curragh" comes from the Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ... word ''Cuirreach'', meaning "place of the running horse". The first recorded race on the plain took place in 1727, but it was used for races before then. The first Derby was held in 1866, and in 1868 the Curragh was officially declared a horse racing and training facility by act of parliament. Racecourse redevelopment Redevelopment of the Curragh grandstand and racecourse facilities began in 2017 with completion due in time for commenceme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest flat racing jockeys of all time and the originator of a much imitated style. Popularly called "The Long Fellow", he was known for his competitive personality, restricting his weight and, on occasion, not sparing the whip, such as in the 1972 Derby. Piggott was convicted of tax fraud in 1987 and sentenced to three years in prison. He served just over one year. Early life Piggott was born in Wantage, Berkshire, to a family that could trace its roots as jockeys and trainers back to the 18th century.p45, David Boyd, A Bibliographical Dictionary of Racehorse Trainers in Berkshire 1850–1939 (1998) The Piggotts were a Cheshire farming family who from the 1870s ran the Crown Inn in Nantwich for over 30 years. Piggott's grandfather, Ernest Pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Storm Bird
Storm Bird (19 April 1978 – 3 December 2004) was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the outstanding European two-year-old of 1980, when he was unbeaten in five races, including the Anglesey Stakes, National Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes. His subsequent career was disrupted by injury and illness, and he was well beaten in his only race of 1981. He was then retired to stud, where he became a successful breeding stallion. Background Storm Bird was a bay horse with a white star and snip and two white socks bred in Canada by Windfields Farm. He was one of many important winners sired by Northern Dancer, who won the Kentucky Derby in 1964 before becoming one of the most successful breeding stallions in Thoroughbred history. His dam, South Ocean, had previously produced Northernette (also sired by Northern Dancer), the champion filly of her generation in Canada at two and three years of age. The colt was sent to race in Europe and was trained b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Sangster
Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004) , 9 April 2004. Retrieved 2012-09-25. was a British , owner and breeder. Sangster's horses won 27 European Classics and more than 100 |
Monteverdi (horse)
Monteverdi (foaled 10 April 1977) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the leading European two-year-old of 1979, when he was unbeaten in four races including the National Stakes, Ashford Castle Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes. His three-year-old season was a disappointment as he failed to win in four races, finishing second in his first two races and then running unplaced in the Irish 2000 Guineas and Derby. He was then retired to stud where he had little success as a sire of winners. Background Monteverdi was a small, "neat, quite attractive" chestnut horse with a small white star and white socks on his hind legs bred in Ireland by Lawrence Kip McCreery at his Orchardstown Stud in County Tipperary. He was sired by Lyphard, an American-bred, French-trained stallion who won the Prix Jacques Le Marois and Prix de la Forêt in 1972. At stud in the United States, Lyphard sired many important winner including Three Troikas, Manila and Dancing Brave. Monteverdi's dam Jani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Hills
Barry Hills (born 2 April 1937) is a retired British thoroughbred horse trainer. He lives in Lambourn, England. Biography Barry Hills had three sons in his first marriage, to Maureen Newson: John, Michael, and Richard. John (died 2014) was a horse trainer, while the twins Michael and Richard are retired jockeys both of whom are still active in the horse racing industry, After his divorce, he married Penny Hills, and had two more sons, Charles and George. Charles is a current trainer and George provides bloodstock insurance in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Career In the mid-1950s, Barry Hills was an apprentice jockey to, among others, Fred Rimell. In 1959, he was the head lad of John Oxley. In 1969, he acquired a horse training license and began training horses at South Bank Stables in Lambourn. In 1986, he moved to Robert Sangster's Manton Yard where he remained until 1990, when he moved back to South Bank. By the end of 2000, he had trained 2166 winning horses in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernie Johnson (jockey)
Ernest Johnson (born 1948) is an Epsom Derby winning British flat racing jockey. Career He began his apprenticeship with Captain Peter Hastings-Bass at Kingsclere. On that trainer's death in 1964, he transferred to Ian Balding. His first win came on Balding's Abel at York on 18 May 1965 and his first big win came on Salvo in the 1966 Vaux Gold Tankard for Harry Wragg. In 1967, he won the Ebor on Ovaltine and the Cesarewitch on Boismoss, and ended the season as Champion Apprentice with 39 victories. In 1968, he moved to Middleham, North Yorkshire where he rode for Sam Hall, although he still rode for many leading southern stables. That year he won 68 races, including a second Ebor on Alignment, the Free Handicap at Newmarket on Panpiper and the Portland Handicap on Gold Pollen. 1969 brought Johnson his biggest career victory - a "faultless ride" in The Derby on Blakeney - and his biggest seasonal haul to that date of 79. In 1972, he became stable jockey to Barry Hills ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bertram And Diana Firestone
Bertram Robert Firestone (August 18, 1931 – July 12, 2021) and Diana Johnson Firestone (born January 26, 1932) of Newstead Farm in Upperville, Virginia were major owner/breeders of Thoroughbred equestrian and flat racing horses. They were voted the 1980 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner and in 1982 were inducted in the Virginia Thoroughbred Association Hall of Fame. They are former owners of Calder Race Course and Gulfstream Park in Florida. Their Genuine Risk was known for winning the 1980 Kentucky Derby. Early life Bertram Firestone was a highly successful industrial real estate developer. Diana Johnson is the daughter of John Seward Johnson I and Ruth Dill. One of the couple's six children, her paternal grandfather, Robert Wood Johnson I, was the founder of the health-related products manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson. Her maternal grandfather, Colonel Thomas Melville Dill, was a prominent Bermudian soldier, lawyer and politician. Thoroughbred racing The Firestones raced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dermot Weld
Dermot K. Weld (born 29 July 1948), a former jockey is one of Ireland's most successful racehorse trainers. He holds the record for the most winners trained in Ireland (2,578 set in August 2000). Weld maintains his stable, Rosewell House, in Curragh, Ireland. He is married, with two sons. Irish bookmakers, Paddy Power, tried to launch a campaign to change the name of the Galway Races to the Dermot Weld Retirement Fund Races; however, it proved to be unsuccessful. He was played by Brendan Gleeson in the feature film '' The Cup''. Education Educated at Newbridge College, a qualified veterinarian ( UCD 1970). In 2016, Weld was awarded UCD Alumnus of the Year in Veterinary Medicine. Major wins Ireland * Irish 1000 Guineas - (5) - '' Prince's Polly (1982), Trusted Partner (1988), Nightime (2006), Bethrah (2010), Homeless Songs (2022)'' * Irish 2000 Guineas - (1) - ''Flash of Steel (1986)'' * Irish Derby - (3) - ''Zagreb (1996), Grey Swallow (2004), Harzand (2016)'' * I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wally Swinburn
Walter Robert Swinburn, (born 1937), is a retired jockey who competed in Flat racing. He was Irish flat racing Champion Jockey in 1976 and 1977, and was the first jockey to ride 100 winners in a season in Ireland. He was based at various times in Britain, India, France and Ireland. His career lasted from 1951 to the end of the 1982 season and following his retirement he owned a stud farm in Newmarket. His son, Walter Swinburn (1961–2016), was also a successful jockey. Major winners Ireland * Irish 1,000 Guineas - (2) - ''Pidget (1972), Prince's Polly (1982)'' * Irish Oaks - (1) - ''Blue Wind (1981)'' * Phoenix Stakes - (1) - ''Smokey Lady (1979)'' Great Britain * Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ... - (1) - ''Romulus (1962)'' References 1937 bir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pampapaul
Pampapaul (24 March 1974 – 1979) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a two-year-old he was one of the best colts of his generation in Ireland, winning the National Stakes and being placed in both the Railway Stakes and the Royal Lodge Stakes. In the following spring he recorded his biggest success with an upset victory over The Minstrel and Nebbiolo in the Irish 2,000 Guineas but failed to reproduce the form and was well-beaten in his last three races. He made a very promising start as a breeding stallion but died in 1979 after only two seasons at stud. Background Pampapaul was a "rangy, strong" chestnut horse with a white star and muzzle and three white socks bred in Ireland by his owner Hans Paul. The colt was sent into training in County Kildare with Stuart Murless, the younger brother of the English trainer Noel Murless. Although he was overshadowed by the reputation of his brother, Stuart Murless had a long and successful training career, recording ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
