The 2005 1000 Guineas Stakes was a

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

held at Newmarket Racecourse on Sunday 1 May 2005. It was the 192nd running of the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

. The winner was

Susan Magnier John Magnier (born 10 February 1948; also known as "The Boss") is an Irish business magnate. He is Ireland's leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside the horse-breeding industry. Magnier has also been a Senat ...

and Michael Tabor's Virginia Waters, an American-bred

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

trained by Aidan O'Brien at

Ballydoyle Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud, and both are owned by John Magnier, son in law to the racehorse trainer Vincent O'Brien. The current train ...

in County Tipperary and ridden by Kieren Fallon. Virginia Waters's victory was the first in the race for her owner and trainer and the fourth for Fallon after

Sleepytime Sleepytime (foaled 20 February 1994) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career which lasted from September 1996 to April 1998 she ran six times and won two races. In two races as a two-year-old she won one ra ...

(1997), Wince (1999) and Russian Rhythm (2003).

The contenders

The race attracted a field of twenty runners, sixteen trained in the United Kingdom and four in Ireland: there were no challengers from

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. The favourite was the Barry Hills-trained Maids Causeway who had won the

Sweet Solera Stakes The Sweet Solera Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is ...

and

Rockfel Stakes The Rockfel Stakes is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Filly, fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket Racecourse, New ...

in 2004. The four Irish challengers were headed by the

runner Virginia Waters, the winner of the

Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial Stakes The Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres ...

. The Godolphin stable were represented by Satin Kiss, who had won two minor races in England in 2004 before winning both the UAE 1000 Guineas and the UAE Oaks on dirt in Dubai in early 2005. The best of the British-trained runners appeared to be Karen's Caper and Cape Columbine, first and second in the Nell Gwyn Stakes, the

Masaka Stakes Masaka is a city in the Buganda Region of Uganda, west of Lake Victoria. The city is the headquarters of Masaka District. Location Masaka is approximately to the south-west of Kampala on the highway to Mbarara. The city is close to the Equato ...

winner Vista Bella and the undefeated, but relatively untested Shanghai Lily. Maids Causeway headed an open betting market at odds of 5/1 ahead of Karen's Caper and Shanghai Lily on 6/1, Satin Kiss (8/1) and Cape Columbine (10/1). Virginia Waters and Vista Bella came next on 12/1,

The race

Satin Kiss took the lead shortly after the start and set the pace from the 40/1 outsider Fen Shui, with Maids Causeway, Karen's Caper, Cap Columbine all in contention. Karen's Caper moved into the lead just after half distance but was overtaken by Maids Causeway a quarter of a mile from the finish, at which point Virginia Waters and Vista Bella began to make progress from the back of the field. Virginia Waters gained the advantage a furlong from the finish, despite hanging to the right, and went clear of her rivals in the closing stages to win by two and a half lengths from Maids Causeway. Vista Bella was half a length away in third ahead of Karen's Caper and Cape Columbine. Satin Kiss faded to finish seventeenth whilst Shanghai Lily came home nineteenth of the twenty runners. After the race, O'Brien said "Kieren gave her an unbelievable ride. He couldn't believe how much she had improved after she won at Leopardstown. It's great for all the lads, they've put in a lot of effort. You do your best every season – sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it's great when it does".

Race details

* Sponsor: ultimatepoker.com * First prize: £198,650 * Surface: Turf * Going: Good to Firm * Distance: 8 furlongs * Number of runners: 20 * Winner's time: 1:36.52

Full result

* Abbreviations: nse = nose; nk = neck; shd = head; hd = head; dist = distance; UR = unseated rider; DSQ = disqualified; PU = pulled up

Winner's details

Further details of the winner, Virginia Waters * Foaled: 15 February 2002 * Country: United States * Sire: Kingmambo; Dam: Legend Maker ( Sadler's Wells) * Owner: Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor * Breeder: Barnett Enterprises

References

{{1000 Guineas

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

2005

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

2000s in Suffolk