Chorist (foaled 11 February 1999) was a British

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

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. She was a consistent performer at eight to ten furlongs who improved through her four seasons on the track. After running unplaced on her only start as a two-year-old she won four races including the

Upavon Fillies' Stakes The Upavon Fillies' Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to mares and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Salisbury over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 201 yards (1 ...

as a three-year-old in 2002. She improved in the following year when she took the

Hoppings Stakes The Hoppings Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to mares and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Newcastle over a distance of 1 mile 2 furlongs and 42 yards (2,050 metres), and i ...

, Golden Daffodil Stakes and

Blandford Stakes The Blandford Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,01 ...

. At the age of five in 2004 she reached her peak with wins in the

Pipalong Stakes , - , class="jockey_colours_year_cell" colspan="3" style="border:1px solid black; border-top:2px solid black; border-bottom: none; background-color:#FECCE7;" , 2012 - waterlogged The Pipalong Stakes is a Listed fl ...

and Pretty Polly Stakes as well as finishing second in the

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 ...

. After her retirement from racing she became a successful broodmare.

Background

Chorist was a chestnut mare with a narrow white blaze 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 her left hind leg bred and owned by the Newmarket based

Cheveley Park Stud Cheveley Park Stud is a thoroughbred racehorse ownership and breeding operation in Newmarket, Suffolk, UK, which has bred and owned many notable horses. It is the oldest stud in Newmarket, the "capital" of British racing, with evidence of ...

. She was sent into training with

William Haggas William Haggas is a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer, based at Somerville Lodge stables in Newmarket, Suffolk. He is the son-in-law of the multiple champion jockey Lester Piggott. He was educated at Harrow and played cricket at Lord's ...

at Somerville Lodge stable in Newmarket. Her sire Pivotal was a top class sprinter who won the

King's Stand Stakes The King's Stand 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 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled t ...

and the

Nunthorpe Stakes The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is schedu ...

in 1996. He went on to become an "excellent" sire, getting the winners of more than a thousand races across a range of distances including

Sariska Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India. It stretches over an area of comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills. This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar ...

Somnus In Roman mythology, Somnus ("sleep") is the personification of sleep. His Greek counterpart is Hypnos. Somnus resided in the underworld. According to Virgil, Somnus was the brother of Death (Mors (mythology), Mors), and according to Ovid, Somnus ...

Farhh Farhh (foaled 4 March 2008) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. His early career was disrupted by injury and he made only one appearance in each of his first two seasons. As a four-year-old he established himself as a top-class performer without ...

Kyllachy Kyllachy (foaled 25 February 1998) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Named after a Scottish grouse moor, he was a specialist sprinter who was usually held up for a late run. His early form was promising but unremarkable as he won two ...

and

Immortal Verse Immortal Verse (foaled 1 May 2008) is an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. As a two-year-old she showed promise by winning on her debut and finishing second in the Prix d'Aumale. Her early form in 2011 was disappoi ...

. Chorist's dam Choir Mistress was unraced daughter of the

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 fu ...

runner-up Blessed Event and produced several other winners as a broodmare. Blessed Event was a daughter of the

Preis der Diana The Preis der Diana is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Düsseldorf over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take pl ...

winner Friedrichsruh.

Racing career

2001: two-year-old season

On her first and only appearance as a two-year-old Chorist contested 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 one mile at

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 ...

on 19 October. Starting at odds of 12/1 in a nineteen-runner field she was never in serious contention and finished eleventh, more than twenty-four

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 ...

behind the winner Macadamia.

2002: three-year-old season

On 25 April Chorist began her second season in a maiden at

Beverley Racecourse Beverley Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in the town of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Racing in Beverley can be documented as far back as over 300 years ago, and the founding of The Jockey Club i ...

when she threw off her jockey Michael Hills and

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on the way to the start. Despite her misbehaviour she recovered to win the race, taking the lead in the final strides to beat the favourite Thaqib by a neck. After running second in a handicap race at

Hamilton Park Racecourse Hamilton Park racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue in Hamilton, Scotland to the south of Glasgow. It is a flat racing venue, with a season which runs from May to September. The very first race to take place in Hamilton was in 1782 ...

in May Chorist was partnered by

Kieren Fallon Kieren Francis Fallon (born 22 February 1965 in Crusheen, County Clare, Ireland) is a retired Irish professional flat racing jockey and was British Champion Jockey six times. Career Stable jockey to Henry Cecil In ...

in a minor race at

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat r ...

on 6 June and her recorded her second victory as she led from the start and came home one and three quarter lengths ahead of Silence Is Golden. Sixteen days later the filly started 6/1 favourite under a weight of 119 pounds for the

Sandringham Handicap The Sandringham Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take pl ...

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 ...

and finished second to the John Dunlop-trained Tashawak. On 19 July Chorist won her third race of the season rode her to a three length victory in a handicap race over ten furlongs at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

, but in a similar event 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 ...

two weeks later she finished sixth after being badly hampered three furlongs from the finish. At

Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October. History Racing at t ...

twelve days later the filly was stepped up in class for the

Listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Upavon Fillies' Stakes in which she was partnered by the veteran Irish jockey

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 ...

and was matched against older fillies and mares. Starting the 7/2 favourite in an eight-runner field she took the lead approaching the final furlong and kept on well in the closing stages to win by one and three quarter lengths from Fraulein (later to win the

E. P. Taylor Stakes The E. P. Taylor Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares held annually since 1956 in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is run on the E. P. Taylor turf course at a distance of miles. Originally run as ...

). In September Chorist was sent to Ireland and moved up to

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: *Group 3 element, chemical element classification *Group 3 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing *Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are d ...

class for the

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 which she led for most of the way before being overtaken inside the final furlong and beaten half a length by the

Ribblesdale Stakes The Ribblesdale Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metres), and it is ...

winner Irresistible Jewel. She ended her season in the Group 2

Sun Chariot Stakes The Sun Chariot Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

at Newmarket on 2 October when she briefly led three furlongs out before fading to finish eighth of the ten runners.

2003: four-year-old season

In 2003 Chorist began her season on 14 May 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 Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

when she was ridden by Eddery and finished second to

Zee Zee Top Zee Zee Top (foaled 21 April 1999) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She did not race until the autumn of her three-year-old season when she won a minor race on her debut and then finished second in the Severals Stakes. In the ...

in the Listed

Middleton Stakes The Middleton Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yar ...

, beaten a length by the winner. On 28 June the filly was partnered by Fallon in the Hoppings Stakes over ten furlongs at

Newcastle Racecourse Newcastle Racecourse is a horse racing course located at Gosforth Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, owned by Arena Racing Company. It stages both flat and National Hunt racing, with its biggest meeting being the Northumberland Plate held annu ...

and started favourite against six opponents headed by the

Fillies' Trial Stakes The Fillies' Trial Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs () at Newbury in May. History The ...

winner Monturani. After taking the lead two furlongs out Chorist held off the challenge of Monturani to win the Listed prize by a head. The

Golden Daffodil Stakes at

Chepstow Racecourse Chepstow Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing racecourse, course located just north of the town of Chepstow in Monmouthshire, Wales, near the southern end of the Wye Valley and close to the border with England. It is one of 16 racecourses op ...

on 25 July saw Chorist start the 9/4 second favourite behind Favourable Terms in four-runner field which was completed by Monturani and the 20/1 outsider Cuddles. Ridden by

Darryll Holland Darryll Paul Holland (born 14 June 1972 in Manchester, England) is a United Kingdom flat racing jockey who has ridden for trainers such as Luca Cumani, Geoff Wragg, and Mark Johnston. In 1991 he was the British Champion Apprentice and won the ...

, Chorist took the lead from the start and was never seriously challenged, coming home two and a half lengths clear of Favourable Terms. Chorist was moved up in class and distance for the Group 1

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 fu ...

over one and a half miles at York in August in which she disputed the lead for most of the way before fading in the last quarter mile and finishing last of the eight runners behind

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

. At the Curragh on 14 September Chorist was ridden by Holland when she ran for the second time in the Blandford Stakes and started the 11/8 favourite. She led from the start and drew away from her five opponents to win by four lengths from Dossier (

Platinum Stakes The Platinum Stakes is a Conditions races, Listed Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Cork Racecourse, Cork over a distance of 1 ...

) with the

Lancashire Oaks The Lancashire Oaks is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 175 yards (2, ...

winner Place Rouge a length and a half away in third place. On 11 October the filly started joint-favourite for the

Princess Royal Stakes The Princess Royal Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres) on the Rowley M ...

at Ascot but faded badly in the last quarter mile and came home third behind Itnab and Summitville, beaten eleven lengths by the winner.

2004: five-year-old season

Chorist returned as a five-year-old in the Listed

over one mile at

Pontefract Racecourse Pontefract Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. Layout The track is left-handed undulating course with a sharp bend into the home straight. Horses drawn low (i.e. on the inside of the ...

on 7 June and started odds-on favourite against six opponents. Ridden by Fallon, she soon went to the front and pulled well clear in the straight before being eased down to win by one and a quarter lengths from Ice Palace. Nineteen days after her victory at Pontefract, Chorist ran for the third time at the Curragh and started the 7/4 second favourite behind

Alexander Goldrun Alexander Goldrun (foaled 9 February 2001 in Ireland) is a retired Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse. Bred by Dermot Cantillon, she was raced by Mrs. Noel O'Callaghan for whom she compiled a race record of 10 wins, seven seconds, and six th ...

in the Pretty Polly Stakes, a race which had been elevated to Group 1 class for the first time. The other four runners were Soldera ( Valiant Stakes), Hanami (winner of the race in 2003), Livadiya (runner-up in the

Tattersalls Gold Cup The Tattersalls Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 110 yards (2,112 ...

) and Ivowen. With Holland in the saddle, Chorist led from the start and held off a strong and persistent challenge from Alexander Goldrun in the last quarter mile to win by half a length, with a gap of six lengths back to Ivowen in third. William Haggas described the performance as "terrific" while Holland commented "the runner-up got up to me but I always knew I had her beat". On 31 July Chorist started favourite for the

Nassau Stakes The Nassau Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong a ...

at Goodwood but was beaten a short head and a neck by Favourable Terms and Silence Is Golden in a three-way

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

. In August the mare was sent to France for the first time and finished third to Whortleberry and

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

in the Group 1

Prix Jean Romanet The Prix Jean Romanet is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbred Filly, fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 met ...

over 2000 metres on very soft ground at

Deauville Racecourse Hippodrome Deauville-La Touques is a race track for thoroughbred horse racing located in Deauville in the Calvados département, in the Normandy ''région'' of France. Originally called Hippodrome de la Touques, it was named for the Touques River t ...

. On her final racecourse appearance Chorist was matched against male opposition in the

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 on 16 October and started a 20/1 outsider in an eleven-runner field. She produced arguably the best performance of her track career as she went to the front three furlongs out before being overtaken and beaten into second by

Haafhd Haafhd (foaled 18 February 2001) is a retired British Thoroughbred racehorse and active stallion, best known for winning the 2000 Guineas Stakes and Champion Stakes in 2004. Background Haafhd, a bright chestnut horse standing 15 2½ hands high ...

with

Azamour Azamour (8 March 2001 – 5 April 2014) was a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won four Group One races including the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and was Europe's Champion Older Horse in 2005. At his peak, he was rated the thir ...

Refuse To Bend Refuse To Bend (17 March 2000 – 10 February 2012) was a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Background Refuse To Bend was a bay horse with a white star and white socks on his hind legs bred by his owner the Swiss businessman Walter Haefner ...

Doyen Doyen and doyenne (from the French word ''doyen'', ''doyenne'' in the feminine grammatical gender) is the senior ambassador by length of service in a particular country. In the English language, the meaning of doyen (feminine form: doyenne) h ...

and Lucky Story finishing behind.

Breeding record

At the end of her racing career, Chorist returned to the Cheveley Park Stud to become a broodmare. She produced at least seven foals and four winners: *Kings Chorister, a chestnut colt (later gelded), foaled in 2006, sired by

King's Best Kings Best (24 January 1997 – 16 April 2019) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2000 Guineas Stakes. He was described by his trainer Michael Stoute as the best miler he'd ever trained. Background King's Best ...

. Won one race on the flat and six

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

races. *Church Melody, bay filly, 2007, by

Oasis Dream Oasis Dream (foaled 30 March 2000) is retired thoroughbred racehorse and active sire who was bred and trained in the United Kingdom. He was the highest-rated two-year-old in the 2002 European flat racing season and won the Cartier Racing Award f ...

. Unraced. *Figaro, chestnut colt (gelded), 2008, by

Medicean The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

. Won two flat races and one National Hunt races. *Gospel Choir, chestnut colt (gelded), 2009, by

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

. Won seven races including the

Jockey Club Stakes The Jockey Club Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres) on t ...

and Yorkshire Cup. *Sennockian Star, chestnut colt (gelded), 2010, by

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...

. Won fifteen races including the

City and Suburban Handicap The City and Suburban Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile 2 furlongs and 17 yards (2,027 metres) at Epsom in April duri ...

and

Doonside Cup The Doonside Cup is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ayr over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

. *Chapel Choir, grey filly, 2012, by

Dalakhani Dalakhani (16 February 2000 – 15 January 2021) was an Irish thoroughbred race horse owned and bred by Aga Khan IV and trained by Alain de Royer-Dupré. He was sired by Darshaan covering Daltawa (Miswaki) and was therefore half-brother to Daylam ...

. Failed to win in five races. *Sennockian Song, chestnut colt (gelded), 2013, by

New Approach New Approach (foaled 18 February 2005) is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active stallion. In a racing career which lasted from July 2007 to October 2008 he ran eleven times and won eight races. He was undefeated in five races as a tw ...

. Failed to win in twelve races.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1999 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 20-c