Arctic Cosmos (foaled 31 January 2007) is an American-bred, British-trained racehorse and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

best known as the winner of the 2010

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

Background

Arctic Cosmos is a bay horse with a small white

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bred in Kentucky by Sheridan & Iadora Farm. He was from the first crop of foals sired by the

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winner

North Light North Light (foaled March 1, 2001) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse, and active sire, bred in Ireland but trained in the United Kingdom. He is best known as the winner of The Derby in 2004. He currently stands at the Adena Springs Stud ...

. As a yearling, Arctic Cosmos was bought for 47,000 guineas at Tattersalls

Blandford Bloodstock Blandford Bloodstock is one of the leading horse racing bloodstock agencies in Europe. In 2008, they purchased the St. Leger Stakes winner Arctic Cosmos and the Prix Morny (Gr 1) winner Dream Ahead Blandford Bloodstock is based in Newmarket, Su ...

and

John Gosden John Harry Martin Gosden (born 30 March 1951) is a British racehorse trainer. He has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Derby, the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse, and over 600 winners ...

for his wife

Rachel Hood Rachel Hood (born September 1953) is an English classic-winning thoroughbred racehorse owner. Biography Hood has owned numerous race horses, including St. Leger Stakes winner Arctic Cosmos, Cheshire Oaks winner Gertrude Bell and Nichols Cany ...

Racing career

2009: two-year-old season

As a two-year-old, ran twice, finishing fourth in

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

s at Kempton Park and

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 mee ...

in October.

2010: three-year-old season

Arctic Cosmos began his second season by winning a maiden on the Tapeta surface at

Wolverhampton Racecourse Wolverhampton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. The track was the first to be floodlit in Britain and often holds meetings in the evening. The track surface has been Tapeta since 2 ...

. He then ran in handicap races, finishing third at Newbury in May before winning over one and half miles at Kempton in June. He was then moved up sharply in class for the Group Two

King Edward VII Stakes The King Edward VII Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 met ...

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

in June in which he started a 14/1 outsider and finished second to Monterosso, with Buzzword (

German Derby The Deutsches Derby is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Hamburg-Horn over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to t ...

), At First Sight (runner-up in The Derby),

Green Moon Green Moon is a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Ireland and trained in Australia, and owned by Australian businessman Lloyd Williams. He won the 2012 Melbourne Cup, ridden by Brett Prebble and trained by Robert Hickmott. The horse was originally ...

and Bullet Train (

Lingfield Derby Trial The Derby Trial Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 133 yards () a ...

) among the other beaten horses. The colt then finished third behind Rebel Soldier and Dandino in the

Gordon Stakes The Gordon Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 218 yards (2,412 metres), and it i ...

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in lat ...

. At

Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy. History Doncas ...

On 11 September 2010, Arctic Cosmos started at odds of 12/1 for the 234th running of the St Leger Stakes. The field also included

Rewilding Rewilding may refer to: *Rewilding (conservation biology), the return of habitats to a natural state **Rewilding Europe, a programme to do so in Europe *** Pleistocene rewilding, a form of species reintroduction **Rewilding Institute, an organiz ...

, Snow Fairy, Dandino,

Joshua Tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

and the

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 ...

runner-up Midas Touch. Ridden by

William Buick William Buick (born 22 July 1988) is a Norwegian-British flat jockey. He shared the champion apprentice jockey title in 2008 with David Probert and won the Lester Award for Apprentice Jockey of the Year in 2007 and 2008. From 2010 to 2014 he w ...

, Arctic Cosmos tracked the leaders before taking the lead approaching the final furlong and stayed on well to win by one and three quarter lengths from Midas Touch, with the 40/1 outsider Corsica in third place. The colt sustained a serious leg injury when being prepared for the

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is Since its creation i ...

and was off the course for over a year.

Later career

Arctic Cosmos finally returned for two races in October 2011, finishing second to Quest For Peace (to whom he was conceding seven pounds) in the

Cumberland Lodge Stakes The Cumberland Lodge Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metr ...

at Ascot and then finishing fourth of sixteen to the French-trained filly Sarah Lynx in the Canadian International. The horse began his five-year-old season with a six length win in the Magnolia Stakes over ten furlongs at Kempton in 2012. His three subsequent races were extremely disappointing as he finished last in the

John Porter Stakes The John Porter Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs () a ...

, the Yorkshire Cup and the Godolphin Stakes.

Stud record

Arctic Cosmos was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion at the Old Road Stud in

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

at fee of €1,500.Racing Post
/ref>

Pedigree

References

{{St Leger Winners 2007 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-n St Leger winners