Clemmie (foaled 14 February 2015) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2017 she was beaten in her first two races but then won the

Grangecon Stud Stakes The Balanchine Stakes, also known as the Airlie Stud Stakes, is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), a ...

Duchess of Cambridge Stakes The Duchess of Cambridge Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), an ...

and Cheveley Park Stakes, ending the year as the highest-rated juvenile filly in Europe. She failed to win in six starts in the following year and was retired at the end of the season.

Background

Clemmie is a bay filly with a white blaze and three white socks bred in Ireland by Liberty Bloodstock, a breeding company associated with the Coolmore Stud organisation. The filly was sent into training with Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle and has been ridden in most of her races by Ryan Moore. Like many Coolmore horses, the official details of her ownership have changed from race to race: she has sometimes been listed as being the property of

Susan Magnier John Magnier (born 10 February 1948; also known as "The Boss") is an Irish business magnate. He is Ireland's leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside the horse-breeding industry. Magnier has also been a Senat ...

, while on other occasions she has been described as being owned by a partnership of Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Susan Magnier. The filly was named after Clementine Churchill. She was sired 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 ...

, who won the Derby, Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2001. Galileo is now one of the world's leading stallions and has been champion sire of Great Britain and Ireland nine times so far. His other progeny include Cape Blanco, Frankel, Golden Lilac, Nathaniel, New Approach, Rip Van Winkle, Found, Minding and Ruler of the World. Clemmie's dam Meow showed good form as a juvenile in 2010, finishing second in the Queen Mary Stakes and winning the Listed

. Meow was a daughter of the outstanding filly Airwave and closely related to the leading sprinter Jwala. Meow herself had previously produced Clemmie's full-brother Churchill.

Racing career

2017: two-year-old season

Clemmie was ridden in all five of her races as a two-year-old by Ryan Moore. On her racecourse debut she started at odds of 5/1 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 six furlongs at the Racecourse on 27 May in which he came from well off the pace to finish a close third behind Gasta and Now You're Talking. Despite her defeat she was stepped up in class and sent to England for the Group 3 Albany Stakes at

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 came home seventh of the twenty runners behind the French filly Different League. On 2 July at the Curragh, Clemmie started 6/4 favourite for the Grangecon Stud Stakes and recorded her first success, taking the lead approaching the final furlong and drawing away to win by two and three quarter lengths from her stablemate Butterscotch. Twelve days after her win at the Curragh, Clemmie was sent to England for the second time and started 11/8 favourite for the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse. After tracking the leaders she went to the front a furlong and drew away in closing stages to win by one and three-quarter lengths from the Chesham Stakes runner-up Nyaleti. After the race Ryan Moore said "She's just progressed with every run. I thought she did that very easily. I'd say she is the best filly we've seen out this year." On 30 September Clemmie returned to Newmarket for the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes and was made the 15/8 favourite. Her ten opponents included Different League, Now You're Talking, Threading ( Lowther Stakes), Madeline (

Rose Bowl Stakes The Rose Bowl Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years only. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ...

) and Eirene (

St Hugh's Stakes The St Hugh's Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 5 furlongs and 34 yards (1,037 metres), and it is schedule ...

). Clemmie was always going well and went to the front approaching the final furlong. Different League emerged as her only serious challenger but Clemmie drew away from the French challenger in the closing stages to win by one and three quarter lengths. Ryan Moore commented She's very, very high-class and travelled beautifully throughout. It was a messy enough sort of race, but she always had herself in the right position, she was very comfortable and always felt in control". In the official European Classification for 2017, Clemmie was rated the best two-year-old filly of the season, seven pounds behind the top colt U S Navy Flag.

2018: three-year-old season

Clemmie had a slight training setback in spring which prevented her from running in the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

. The filly returned from an eight-month absence to contest the Irish 1,000 Guineas over one mile at the Curragh on 27 May. Ridden by Seamie Heffernan she started the 13/2 fourth choice in the betting but never looked likely to win and came home ninth of the thirteen runners behind

Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri ( Latinized from α Centauri and often abbreviated Alpha Cen or α Cen) is a triple star system in the constellation of Centaurus. It consists of 3 stars: Alpha Centauri A (officially Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centaur ...

. In the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot in June she started 4/1 second favourite but again proved no match for Alpha Centauri and finished fifth. In July she faced Alpha Centauri yet again in the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket and finished third, beaten five and a half lengths by the winner. In the Matron Stakes at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

in September she started a 20/1 outsider and finished a close third behind Laurens and Alpha Centauri. In October she finished unplaced behind Laurens in the

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 her final run, Clemmie was sent to

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

for the Breeders' Cup Mile on 3 November. She finished sixth of the fourteen runners, beaten two and a half lengths by the winner

Expert Eye Expert Eye (foaled 31 January 2015) is a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the most promising two-year-olds of his generation in 2017 when he won the Vintage Stakes but disappointed on his final start in the Dewhurst Stakes. In ...

Pedigree

*Clemmie is inbred 3 × 4 to Northern Dancer, meaning that this stallion appears in both the third and fourth generations of her pedigree.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Clemmie'' 2015 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 19-a