Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
racehorse and sire. As a two-year-old he was beaten by
Golden Fleece
In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where ...
on his debut but went on to win the Beresford Stakes. In the following year he won four Group One races: the
French Derby
The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over ...
,
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 ...
, Benson & Hedges Gold Cup and Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes. He was rated the best middle-distance horse in Europe in 1982 by Timeform. He was retired to stud at the end of his three-year-old season and became a successful sire of winners.
Background
Assert was a bay horse with a white blaze and three
socks
A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...
bred in Ireland by the Moyglare Stud. He was from the first crop of foals sired by Be My Guest, an American-bred stallion who won the
Waterford Crystal Mile
The Celebration Mile is a Group 2 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 it is scheduled to t ...
when trained in Ireland by
Vincent O'Brien
Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish race horse trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in a worldwide poll hosted by the ''Racing Post''. In ...
Luth Enchantee
Luth Enchantee (foaled 1980) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who was named the best horse in Europe over one mile in 1983. Her early career was undistinguished, as she won one minor event in her first eight races. In the summe ...
. Assert's dam Irish Bird, was a half-sister of Irish Ball, a colt who finished third in the Epsom Derby before winning 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 ...
in 1971. A year before foaling Assert, Irish Bird had produced Bikala, who won the Prix du Jockey-Club 1981. Another of her foals was
Eurobird
Eurobird was a series of satellites owned and operated by Eutelsat. The Eurobird satellites provided broadcasting and telecommunication services primarily to the Western and Central European region from orbital positions of 9, 25.5 and 33 degrees ...
yearling
Yearling may refer to:
*Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old
*''The Yearling
''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...
Assert was sent to the ales in France and was bought for 160,000 francs (approximately £16,000) and entered the ownership of
Robert Sangster
Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004)
. He was trained throughout his racing career by David O'Brien.
Racing career
1981: two-year-old season
Assert made his racecourse debut in a maiden race over one mile at Leopardstown Racecourse in September. He showed his inexperience (ran "very green") but finished second behind the impressive winner
Golden Fleece
In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where ...
. Three weeks later he was (theoretically at least) moved up in class for the Group Three Beresford Stakes over a mile at the
Curragh
The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...
. Ridden by Christy Roche, he took the lead early in the straight and won easily by four lengths from the odds-on favourite Longleat. On his final appearance of the year, Assert was sent to England for the Group One
William Hill Futurity
The Vertem Futurity Trophy is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) ...
at Doncaster Racecourse. He started third favourite but finished eighth of the thirteen runners behind Count Pahlen.
1982: three-year-old season
Assert began his three-year-old season in the Nijinsky Stakes over ten furlongs in May in which he again finished second to Golden Fleece. Two weeks later, Assert was moved up in distance for the Gallinule Stakes over one and a half miles at the Curragh and recorded a wide-margin victory over Rivellino.
Golden Fleece was Sangster's representative in the Epsom Derby and so Assert was sent to contest the French equivalent, the Prix du Jockey Club over 2400m at
Chantilly Racecourse
Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris.
Chantilly Racecourse is located in the country's main ...
four days later. Starting the 2.2/1 favourite he took the lead from Real Shadai in the straight and pulled clear to win by three lengths. He was the first foreign trained-horse to win the race since its inception in 1836. Three weeks later, Assert started 4/7 favourite for the Irish Derby at the Curragh, with the American-bred, British-trained
Silver Hawk
''Silver Hawk'' is a 2004 Hong Kong-Chinese superhero film directed by Jingle Ma and starring Michelle Yeoh, Richie Jen, Luke Goss, Brandon Chang, Adrian Cooper Lastra and Michael White. Yeoh plays the title character, a masked comic book s ...
appearing to provide his only serious opposition. Assert took the lead and quickly went clear of the field to win very easily from Silver Hawk by a margin officially recorded as eight lengths (Timeform made it ten lengths). Assert became the first horse to win both the Prix du Jockey Club and Irish Derby.
Assert was then matched against older horses for the first time in Britain's most prestigious
weight-for-age
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022
Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race.
History
The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rous ...
race, the
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot o ...
over one and a half miles at
Ascot Racecourse
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 a ...
on 24 July. He started the 10/11 favourite ahead of his half-brother Bikala who had beaten a strong field in the
Prix Ganay
The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at Long ...
on his previous start. The other main contenders were
Kalaglow
Kalaglow (1978–1994) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred race horse. In a career which lasted from August 1980 until October 1982 he ran fourteen times and won ten races. He is most notable for his performances in 1982 when he ...
Glint of Gold
Glint of Gold (5 April 1978 – 1990) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A middle-distance specialist, he was noted for his toughness and consistency, winning ten races, finishing second six times and third once in a seventeen r ...
. Assert went past Bikala on the turn into the straight and held off a strong challenge from Glint of Gold, but was caught inside the final furlong and beaten a neck by Kalaglow. On 17 August Assert was ridden by
Pat Eddery
Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...
in the eleventh running of the
Benson and Hedges Gold Cup Benson may refer to:
Animals
* Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain
Places Geography
Canada
*Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality
*Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet
United Kingdom
*Benson, Oxfordshire ...
over ten and a half furlongs at
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 in prize money offered per meeting. It attracts around 350 ...
. Starting the 4/5 favourite against six British-trained opponents, he took the lead from the start and pulled clear in the straight vo win easily by six lengths from Norwick. A month later, Assert started the 1/4 favourite for the Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes over ten furlongs. With Roche back in the saddle, he went eight lengths clear in the straight before being eased down to win by three lengths from Kind of Hush. Timeform described the race as being "little more than an exercise gallop" for the winner. On 3 October, Assert started 5/2 favourite for the
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...
on very soft ground at
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 ...
. He was well-positioned turning into the straight but dropped away in the closing stage and finished eleventh of the seventeen runners behind
Akiyda
Akiyda (foaled 21 April 1979) was a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning France's mot prestigious race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1982. After winning her only race as a two-year-old she ...
.
Assessment
In 1981, Assert was given a rating of 113 by the independent Timeform organisation, nineteen pounds below their top-rated two-year-old colt Wind and Wuthering. In the official International Classification he was rated thirteen pounds behind the top-rated Green Forest. In the following season he was rated the second-best three-year-old in Europe (and the joint-second-best horse of any age) behind Golden Fleece. Timeform rated him on 134, a pound ahead of Golden Fleece and level with Ardross and Green Forest as the best horse of the year. He was also named the year's best middle-distance horse by Timeform.
Stud record
At the end of his three-year-old season, Assert was syndicated with an estimated value of $25,000,000 and sent to North America to become a breeding stallion at the Windfield Farm in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. He sired many good winners, including Dancehall (
Grand Prix de Paris
The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and i ...
), Lecroix (
Union-Rennen
The Union-Rennen is a Group 2 flat horse race in Germany open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Cologne over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.
History
The e ...
Santa Anita Oaks
Santa Anita Oaks is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to three-year-old fillies willing to race 8.5 furlongs ( miles) on the dirt. The race is a Grade II even ...
Deutsches 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 ...
), Betty Lobelia (
Miss Grillo Stakes
The Miss Grillo Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds filles over a distance of miles on the turf track scheduled annually in late September at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event currently offers a pur ...
Cesarewitch Handicap
The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres ...
Hollywood Turf Cup
The Hollywood Turf Cup is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old or older over a distance of one and one-half miles (12 furlongs) on the turf track scheduled annually in late November at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, Calif ...
).
Assert died in Sicily on 14 September 1995, aged 16.'Assert Horse Pedigree' Pedigree Query, undated. Retrieved 22 July 2022
Pedigree
* Assert was inbred 4 × 4 to Nearco, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.