Cliffs of Moher (12 March 2014 – 6 November 2018), called The Cliffsofmoher when racing in Australia, was an Irish

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. As a three-year-old he won the

Dee Stakes The Dee Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 70 yards () at Chester in Ma ...

and finished second in the 2017 Epsom Derby. Cliffs of Moher was euthanised after breaking his shoulder in the running of the

2018 Melbourne Cup The 2018 Melbourne Cup (known commercially as 2018 Lexus Melbourne Cup) was the 158th running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race was run over on 6 November 2018 at Flemington Racecourse in Melbour ...

Flemington Racecourse Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is the world's richest handicap and the world's richest 3200-metre horse race. The racecou ...

on 6 November 2018.

Background

Cliffs of Moher was a bay colt bred in Ireland by the Wave Syndicate, a breeding company associated with the Coolmore Stud organisation. The colt was sent into training with Aidan 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 ...

. Like many Coolmore horses, the official details of his ownership changed from race to race: He had 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 he was described as being owned by a partnership of M. Jooste, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Susan Magnier. He 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 Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

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 of 1 ...

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 eight times so far. His other progeny include Cape Blanco, Frankel, Golden Lilac,

Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate A ...

, New Approach, Rip Van Winkle, Found, Minding and Ruler of the World. Cliffs of Moher was the first foal produced by his dam Wave who showed modest racing ability, winning one minor race from four starts. Wave's dam, Queen Cleopatra, finished third in both the

Irish 1,000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas 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 (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

and the Prix de Diane and was a full-sister to

Henrythenavigator Henrythenavigator (foaled February 28, 2005) is an American-bred and Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He won the 2000 Guineas, the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the St. James's Palace Stakes and the Sussex Stakes in 2008. After he finished second i ...

Racing career

2016: two-year-old season

Cliffs of Moher made his racecourse debut in a seven furlong

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 ...

Cork Racecourse Cork Racecourse, also known as Cork Racecourse Mallow, is a horse racing venue at Mallow, County Cork, Ireland which stages both National Hunt racing and Flat racing. It is located 35 km north of Cork and 64 km from Limerick The cours ...

on 15 October in which he was ridden by his trainer's son

Donnacha O'Brien Donnacha O'Brien (born 22 July 1998) is an Irish racehorse trainer and former jockey who competed in Flat racing. O'Brien is the son of multiple champion trainer Aidan O'Brien and brother of jockey and trainer Joseph O'Brien. Donnacha O'Brien ...

. Starting at odds of 4/1 in a fourteen-runner field he kept on well in the closing stages without ever looking likely to win and came home fifth, more than nine

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 Spanish Tenor. Two weeks later in a similar event 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 ...

the colt was ridden by

Seamie Heffernan James Anthony "Seamie" Heffernan (born 17 July 1972) is an Irish flat racing jockey who rides mainly for horse racing trainer Aidan O'Brien. From a family with no racing connections Heffernan was introduced to the sport when he took a summer ho ...

and started 7/2 third choice in the betting behind his stablemate Orderofthegarter. Despite sweating up before the race he went to the front soon after the start and was never headed thereafter, winning "easily" by five and a half lengths from Orderofthegarter.

2017: three-year-old season

On his first appearance as a three-year-old, Cliffs of Moher was sent to England to contest the Dee Stakes (a trial race for The Derby) over ten and a half furlongs at

Chester Racecourse Chester Racecourse, also known as the Roodee, is a racecourse located in Chester, England. The horse racing venue is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the "oldest racecourse still in operation". Horse racing in Chester dates ...

on 12 May. He was ridden by Ryan Moore and started the 4/5 favourite against seven opponents headed by the

Michael Stoute Sir Michael Ronald Stoute (born 22 October 1945) is a Barbadian British Thoroughbred horse trainer in flat racing. Career Stoute, whose father was the Chief of Police for Barbados, left the island in 1964 at the age of 19 to become an assis ...

-trained Mirage Dancer. He was amongst the leaders from the start, took the lead a furlong out and won by one and a half lengths from the Godolphin representative Bay of Poets. On 3 June Cliffs of Moher was one of six Ballydoyle runners in an eighteen-runner field for the 238th running of the Epsom Derby and started the 5/1 second favourite after being selected by the stable's top jockey Ryan Moore. After being restrained towards the rear of the field, he made rapid progress on the outside in the straight. He overtook the favourite Cracksman inside the last furlong, but was caught in the final strides by the outsider Wings of Eagles and beaten three-quarters of a length into second place. The colt was then dropped in distance and matched against older horses in the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

over ten furlongs at

Sandown Park Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing ...

on 8 July. He was made the 7/4 favourite, but lost his chance after being badly hampered and finished fourth behind

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

who won by a nose from

Barney Roy Barney Roy (foaled 29 January 2014) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning his only race as a juvenile in 2016 he emerged as a top-class performer in the following year. He won the Greenham Stakes and finished second in the 2000 Guin ...

. 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 ...

in August the colt started at odds of 9/2 in the International Stakes. In a change of tactics he led from the start but was overtaken in the straight and finished fourth behind Ulysses,

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

and Barney Roy.

2018: four-year-old season

Cliffs of Moher was renamed The Cliffsofmoher when sent to race in Australia in October 2018, to avoid confusion with another horse already running in Australia. The Cliffsofmoher broke down during the

, reportedly breaking his right shoulder, and was subsequently put down.

Pedigree

References

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Cliffs Of Moher'' {{Authority control 2014 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 9-c 2018 racehorse deaths Horses who died from racing injuries