Opening Verse
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Opening Verse
Opening Verse (1986–2002) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in England and the United States. Background Bred in Kentucky, his sire was the 1977 Epsom and Irish Derby winner, The Minstrel. Out of the mare Shy Dawn, his damsire was Grey Dawn, the French Champion Two-Year-Old Colt who beat Sea Bird II in the 1964 Grand Critérium at Longchamp Racecourse. Racing career United Kingdom Trained in England by Henry Cecil for Sheikh Mohammed, at age two Opening Verse made his racing debut with a win in the August 27, 1988 Park Lodge Maiden Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse. Then, on September 30 he won the Somerville Tattersall Stakes on the same course and on October 25, the Provideo Stakes at Redcar Racecourse. As a three-year-old, Opening Verse went winless until September 7, 1989 when he won the Strensall Stakes at York Racecourse. In the Group One Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park, he ran second to Nashwan. United States Sold to American, Allen Paulson, one of the preem ...
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The Minstrel
The Minstrel (11 March 1974 – 3 September 1990) was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred in Ontario, he was sold as a yearling and exported to Europe, where he was campaigned in Ireland and the United Kingdom. As a two-year-old The Minstrel was unbeaten in three races, including the Dewhurst Stakes, but lost two of his first three starts in 1977. He was then moved up in distance and won his remaining three races: the Epsom Derby, the Irish Derby and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. These performances led to The Minstrel becoming horse of the year in the UK and later being inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. The Minstrel spent his stud career in the United States, where he had considerable success as a sire of winners. Background The Minstrel was a "stocky" chestnut colt with a white blaze, four white stockings and a gentle disposition, foaled at E. P. Taylor's Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The ...
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Opening Verse Handicap
The Opening Verse Stakes is an American Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Churchill Downs. A race on turf over a distance of one mile, it is open to horses of either sex age three and older. The race is named for Opening Verse, winner of the 1991 Breeders' Cup Mile at Churchill Downs, and was run as the Opening Verse Handicap from inception through 2008. Historical notes The inaugural running of the Opening Verse took place on June 12, 2004, and was won by Senor Swinger. Owned by prominent Californians Robert and Beverly Lewis, Robert & Beverly Lewis and trained by National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Bob Baffert, Senior Swinger returned to win the race for a second time on June 18, 2005. In 2013 and again in 2020, weather conditions were such that for safety reasons the race was switched from the turf course to the dirt track. Records Speed record: * 1:34.10 @ 1 mile: Crafty Daddy (2020) * 1:40.41 @ 11/16 miles ...
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York Racecourse
York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It attracts around 350,000 racegoers per year and stages three of the UK's List of British flat horse races#Group 1, 36 annual Group One, Group 1 races – the Juddmonte International Stakes, the Nunthorpe Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks. Location The course is located in the south-west of the city, next to the former Terry's, Terry's of York factory, The Chocolate Works. It is situated on an expanse of ground which has been known since pre-medieval times as the Knavesmire, from the Old English, Anglo-Saxon ''"knave"'' meaning a man of low standing, and ''"mire"'' meaning a swampy pasture for cattle. For this reason, the racecourse is still sometimes referred to as ''"The Knavesmire"''. The Knavesmire was originally common pasture, belonging t ...
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Redcar Racecourse
Redcar Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England. The racecourse was opened in 1872. History Racing began at Redcar on the sands at Redcar beach in the early 18th century. The final meeting here was in 1870. In 1872, Redcar Racecourse as it stands today was opened with a Grandstand erected in 1876. Between 1913 and 1923, Redcar F.C. was based at the racecourse. During the First World War and the Second World War the racecourse was used as both an airfield and an army camp. In 1945 after the Second World War, Major Leslie Petch OBE managed the racecourse and revamped the neglected course. Redcar was the first racecourse in the UK to have both a timing clock and furlong posts. Under Petch's stewardship, a new grandstand was erected in 1964. This stand is still at the racecourse today. Following his retirement, the Zetland family took control of the racecourse. Lord Zetland introduced the Two-Year-Old Trophy race. N ...
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Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of Horse racing in the United Kingdom, British horseracing and is home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations, including Tattersalls, the National Horseracing Museum and the National Stud. Newmarket hosts two of the country's five British Classic Races, Classic Races – the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas, and numerous other Group races. In total, it hosts 9 of British racing's List of British flat horse races#Group 1, 36 annual Group One, Group 1 races. History Racing in Newmarket was recorded in the time of James VI and I, James I. The racecourse itself was founded in 1636. Around 1665, Charles II of England, Charles II inaugurated the Newmarket Town Plate and in 1671 became the fi ...
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Longchamp Racecourse
The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tracks and a famous hill that provides a real challenge to competing thoroughbreds. It has several racetracks varying from 1,000 to 4,000 metres in length, with 46 different starting posts. The course is home to more than half of the group one races held in France, and it has a capacity of 50,000. The highlight of the calendar is the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Held on the first weekend in October, the event attracts the best horses from around the world. History The first race run at Longchamp was on Sunday, April 27, 1857, in front of a massive crowd. The Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugénie were present, having sailed down the Seine River on their private yacht to watch the third race. Until 1930, many Parisians came to the track ...
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Grand Critérium
Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand Concourse (other), several places * Grand County (other), several places * Grand Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone * Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, a parkway system in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States * Le Grand, California, census-designated place * Grand Staircase, a place in the US. Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Grand'' (Erin McKeown album), 2003 * ''Grand'' (Matt and Kim album), 2009 * ''Grand'' (magazine), a lifestyle magazine related to related to grandparents * ''Grand'' (TV series), American sitcom, 1990 * Grand piano, musical instrument * Grand Production, Serbian record label company * The Grand Tour, a new British automobile show Oth ...
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Sea Bird II
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene. In general, seabirds live longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they invest a great deal of time in their young. Most species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen birds to millions. Many species are famous for undertaking long annual migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some cases. They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even feed on each other. Seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely. Seabirds and ...
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French Champion Two-Year-Old Colt
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Fortnite French places Arts and media * The French (band), a British rock band * "French" (episode), a live-action episode of ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' * ''Française'' (film), 2008 * French Stewart (born 1964), American actor Other uses * French (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * French (tunic), a particular type of military jacket or tunic used in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union * French's, an American brand of mustard condiment * French catheter scale, a unit of measurement of diameter * French Defence, a chess opening * French kiss, a type of kiss involving the tongue See also * France (other) * Franch, a surname * French ...
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Mare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old. The word can also be used for other female equine animals, particularly mules and zebras, but a female donkey is usually called a "jenny". A broodmare is a mare used for breeding. A horse's female parent is known as its dam. Reproductive cycle Mares carry their young (called foals) for approximately 11 months from conception to birth. (Average range 320–370 days.)Ensminger, M. E. ''Horses and Horsemanship: Animal Agriculture Series.'' Sixth Edition. Interstate Publishers, 1990. p. 156 Usually just one young is born; twins are rare. When a domesticated mare foals, she nurses the foal for at least four to six months before it is weaned, though mares in the wild may allow a foal to nurse for up to a year. The estrous cycle ...
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Irish Derby
The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July. It is Ireland's equivalent of the Epsom Derby, and it is currently held three weeks after the English race. History The earliest version of the Irish Derby was an event called the O'Darby Stakes. This was established in 1817, but it was discontinued after 1824. A subsequent race titled the Curragh Derby was inaugurated in 1848, but this was again short-lived. The modern Irish Derby was created by the 3rd Earl of Howth, the 3rd Marquess of Drogheda and the 3rd Earl of Charlemont. It was first run in 1866, and it was initially contested over 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 3 yards. It was extended by 9 yards in 1869, and cut to its presen ...
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Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey on the first Saturday of June each year, over a distance of one mile, four furlongs and 6 yards (2,420 metres). It was first run in 1780. It is Britain's richest flat horse race, and the most prestigious of the five Classics. It is sometimes referred to as the "Blue Riband" of the turf. The race serves as the middle leg of the historically significant Triple Crown of British horse racing, preceded by the 2000 Guineas and followed by the St Leger, although the feat of winning all three is rarely attempted in the modern era due to changing priorities in racing and breeding, and the demands it places on horses. The name "Derby" (deriving from the sponsorship of the Earl of Derby) has been borrowed many times, notably by the Kentucky D ...
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