Bolkonski (foaled 1972) was an Irish-bred, British-trained
Thoroughbred 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 ...
. Originally trained in Italy, the colt moved to England for the 1975 season where he recorded an upset victory over
Grundy in the
classic 2000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...
at
Newmarket Racecourse. He went on to win two other major British races over one mile, the
St James's Palace Stakes at
Ascot and the
Sussex Stakes at
Goodwood. At the end of the season he was retired to stud where he had limited success as a sire of winners.
Background
Bolkonski was a small but powerfully-built chestnut horse with a white
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
and white
socks on his hind feet, bred in Ireland by the Woodpark Stud. He was sired by Balidar, a British sprinter whose most important success came in France in 1970 when he won the
Prix de l'Abbaye at
Longchamp Racecourse. Apart from Bolkonski the most important of his offspring was the influential broodmare Balidaress. Bolkonski's dam Perennial won one minor race, but was a descendant of the broodmare Calluna, the ancestor of the St Leger winner
Athens Wood
Athens Wood (foaled 1968 in Ireland) was a Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning a British Classic, the St. Leger Stakes.
Background
Athens Wood was bred by Kilcarn Stud near Navan in County Meath, Irelandbr>His sire was Celtic Ash, ...
and the
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner
Tony Bin
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
.
As a
yearling, Bolkonski was offered for sale at Newmarket in December 1973. He was bought for 7,000
guineas by the Newmarket Bloodstock Agency, acting on behalf of the Italian lawyer Carlo d'Alessio.
The colt was sent to race in Italy where he was trained by Sergio Cumani.
Racing career
1974: two-year-old season
In 1974 Bolkonski was one of the best two-year-old colts in Italy. In October he won the
Group Two
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* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
Premio Tevere at the
Capannelle Racecourse at Rome by eight
lengths
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...
. At the end of the season the colt was transferred to England where he joined the Marriott stable of
Henry Cecil at
Newmarket, Suffolk
Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...
.
1975: three-year-old season
On his first appearance for his new trainer, Bolkonski was entered in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket on 15 April. He finished second by four lengths, when attempting to concede four pounds to the No Alimony. Two weeks later Bolkonski ran in the 2000 Guineas over Newmarket's Rowley Mile course, where he was ridden by the Italian jockey
Gianfranco Dettori. In a race which was delayed because of a protest by
striking
Strike may refer to:
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*Strike (surname)
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*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
stable lads he started at odds of
33/1 in a field of twenty-four runners. The closing stages of the race devolved into a prolonged struggle between Bolkonski and the favourite
Grundy, with the outsider prevailing by half a length.
Grundy went on to win
The Derby and the
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. Bolkonski's win made d'Alessio the first Italian to own the winner of a British classic since Edoardo Ginistrelli won the Derby and
Oaks with
Signorinetta
Signorinetta (1905–1928) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, broodmare. In a racing career which lasted from 1907 to 1908 she ran thirteen times and won three races. Although most of her career was undistin ...
in 1908.
It was also the first of 25 British classic winners for Henry Cecil, who had previously won the 1973
Irish 1,000 Guineas with
Cloonagh.
In June, Bolkonski was sent to
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 ...
to contest the St James's Palace Stakes (then a Group Two race). Ridden as usual by Dettori, he started at odds of 4/5
and won from Royal Manacle. At
Goodwood Racecourse in July he was matched against older horses and
fillies for the first time in the Group One Sussex Stakes. He became extremely agitated before the race after being alarmed by a loose horse in the paddock but was nevertheless made favourite at odds of 1/2.
He took the lead three
furlongs from the finish and held on to win a three-way
photo finish from
Rose Bowl and the leading sprinter
Lianga.
On his only subsequent appearance, Bolkonski ran very poorly when fourth of the five runners behind Rose Bowl in the
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 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 (1,609 metres), and it is s ...
at Ascot. Plans to move him up in distance for the ten furlong
Champion Stakes
The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...
at Newmarket in October were abandoned after a poor performance in a training gallop and the colt was retired from racing at the end of the season.
Assessment
In 1975 the independent
Timeform organisation awarded Bolkonski a rating of 134, three pounds behind the top-rated Grundy a colt he had defeated on their only meeting.
In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the
Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Bolkonski an "average" winner of the 2000 Guineas.
Stud career
Bolkonski was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion at the Haras du Val Henry in
Normandy. He had little success as a sire of winners, the best of his progeny being Glifahda, a filly who won several races over sprint distances including the
Prix de Seine-et-Oise
The Prix de Seine-et-Oise is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it i ...
,
Prix de Saint-Georges
The Prix de Saint-Georges is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1,000 metres (about 5 furlongs) at Longchamp ...
and
Prix du Gros Chêne
The Prix du Gros Chêne is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,000 metres (about 5 furlongs), and it is scheduled t ...
. He was also the sire of Restless Girl, who produced the
Prix de Diane winner
Resless Kara.
Pedigree
References
{{2000 Guineas Winners
1972 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in Ireland
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 19-b
2000 Guineas winners