Caucasus (14 May 1972 – after 1991) was an American-bred

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 c ...

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 ...

who won major races on both sides of the Atlantic. As a young horse he was sent to race in Ireland where he won four of his five races as a three-year-old in 1975 including the

Ulster Derby The Ulster Derby is a flat handicap horse race in Northern Ireland open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Down Royal over a distance of 1 mile 4 furlongs and 150 yards (2,551 metres), and it is scheduled to take ...

and

Irish St. Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...

. He then returned to America where he had considerable success in the next two years, winning five races including the

Sunset Handicap The Sunset Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the third week of July at Hollywood Park Racetrack in inglewood, California. The Grade III event is open to horses, age three and up, willing to race one and one-half ...

Manhattan Handicap The Manhattan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York. Currently offering a purse of $1,000,000, the Grade I Manh ...

, Arcadia Handicap and San Luis Rey Handicap. He had some success as a breeding stallion.

Background

Caucasus was a bay 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 a white

sock 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 ...

on his right hind leg bred in Kentucky by his owner Jane Engelhard's Cragwood Estates. He was sent to race in Europe and entered training with Vincent 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 ...

. He was from the first crop of foals sired by Nijinsky, a Canadian horse who won the Triple Crown in 1970. During his racing career Nijinsky had been trained by O'Brien and owned by Jane Engelhard's husband

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(1917–1971). Caucasus's dam Quill was a top-class racehorse who was named

American Champion two-year-old filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

in 1958 before going on to win the Acorn Stakes and

Mother Goose Stakes The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt in late June or early July, the race currently offers a purse of $300,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a mi ...

in the following year. As a broodmare, her other descendants have included

Run the Gantlet Run the Gantlet (1968–1986) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and noted sire. Background He was out of the mare First Feather, whom owner Paul Mellon had purchased as a yearling at a then record price of $90,000 for a fi ...

and

Awesome Feather Awesome Feather (March 15, 20082 March 2023) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She was bred and raced by Fred and Jane Brei's Jacks Or Better Farm Inc. and trained by Stanley Gold. Her ...

Racing career

1975: three-year-old season

Caucasus made a successful racecourse debut in a

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 ...

over ten

furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

at Phoenix Park Racecourse and followed up in a handicap over one and a half miles 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 ...

. In June he was sent to Northern Ireland for the Ulster Derby at Down Royal and won his third consecutive start. In August he was sent to England for the

March Stakes The March Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it is scheduled t ...

(a trial for the St Leger Stakes) over fourteen furlongs at

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 ...

. He started odds-on favourite but after being retrained towards the rear of the field he failed to overhaul Whip It Quick and finished second, beaten half a

length 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 Interna ...

by the winner. On 20 September Caucasus equipped with blinkers when he was moved up in class for the Group 1 Irish St. Leger over fourteen furlongs at the Curragh. Ridden by

Lester Piggott Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest f ...

he started the 3/1 second favourite behind Nuthatch (winner of the Nijinsky Stakes) while the other eleven runners included Shantallah ( Chester Vase), Music Ville (fourth in the

Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it is s ...

), Sir Daniel and

Quiet Fling Quiet Fling (foaled 1972) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After finishing second on his only start as a two-year-old he developed into a high-class stayer in the following year when he won two handicap rac ...

. Caucasus took the lead soon after the start and maintained his advantage into the straight where Quiet Fling emerged as his only serious challenger. Quiet Fling went to the front approaching the final furlong but Caucasus rallied to regain the lead and drew away in the closing stages to win by two lengths. At the end of the season the independent Timeform organisation gave Caucasus a rating of 127, making him ten pounds inferior to their Horse of the Year Grundy.

1976: four-year-old season

Before the start of the 1976 season Caucasus was sold and returned to the United States to be trained by

Charles E. Whittingham Charles Edward Whittingham (April 13, 1913 – April 20, 1999) was an American Thoroughbred race horse trainer who is one of the most acclaimed trainers in U.S. racing history. Early career Born in Chula Vista, California, Whittingham began w ...

. He was mainly campaigned in California, with six of his eight races taking place at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

. In May he was beaten in two

allowance race Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon ...

s but then won the South Bay Handicap and finished second to Dahlia in the

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Hollywood Invitational Handicap. He returned to the track in July to finish third to King Pellinore the Grade I American Handicap and then won the Grade I

, reversing the form with King Pellinore. After a two-month break he was shipped to the East coast for two races at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

. He won the Grade II

but then ran unplaced in the Man o' War Stakes ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described Caucasus as "Hollywood Park's best grass horse in 1976".

1977: five-year-old season

Caucasus showed his best form of 1977 at Santa Anita Park in March when he followed up a win in the Grade III Arcadia Handicap with a victory in the Grade I San Luis Rey Handicap eleven days later. He failed to win again that year but posted some solid efforts in defeat, finishing second in the Hollywood Invitational and third in both the San Juan Capistrano Handicap and the

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000. ...

Stud record

At the end of his racing career Caucasus was retired to become a breeding stallion at

Windfields Farm Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Origin The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated w ...

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 ...

. The best of his offspring were probably the fillies Videogenic winner of the 1986

Santa Ana Handicap The Santa Ana Handicap is a Thoroughbred horse race run at annually Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California during the third week of March. The race is open to fillies and mares, age four and up, willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the tu ...

and Lake Country who was named

Canadian Champion Older Female Horse The Canadian Champion Older Female Horse is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honour created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top Thoroughbred Filly four years of ag ...

in 1985.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1972 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 5-g Irish Classic Race winners