Compton Admiral (foaled 11 January 1996) 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
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
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 ...
best known for his upset win over a strong field in the 1999
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 ...
. He showed promising form as a two-year-old in 1998, winning one of his four races and finishing second in both the
Chesham Stakes
The Chesham Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take plac ...
and the
Solario Stakes
The Solario Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take plac ...
. In the following year he won the
Craven Stakes
The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres ...
on his debut but ran poorly in both the
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 ...
and
The Derby before winning the Eclipse at odds of
20/1. His later career was severely restricted by injury and he was retired to stud in 2001. He made no impact as a sire of winners.
Background
Compton Admiral 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 ...
bred by Hascombe & Valiants Studs, a breeding organisation run by
Philip Oppenheimer
Sir Philip Jack Oppenheimer (29 October 1911 – 8 October 1995) was a British diamond dealer and racehorse owner.
Philip Oppenheimer was born on 29 October 1911, the son of Otto Oppenheimer. He was educated at Harrow School and Jesus College, ...
a member of the family that controlled the
De Beers Mining Company. He was one of the best horses sired by
Suave Dancer an American-bred horse which won the
Prix du Jockey Club
The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a ...
,
Irish Champion Stakes
The Irish Champion Stakes ( Irish: Curadh-Dhuais na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,01 ...
and
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...
in 1989. Compton Admiral was the second foal produced by Sumoto, a mare who won two races and went on to produce 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 ...
winner
Summoner. In October, Compton Admiral was sent to the
Tattersalls
Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Founding
It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. T ...
Sales at
Newmarket where he was bought for 21,000
guineas
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...
by the Swedish businessman Erik Penser. The colt was sent for training with Gerard Butler at
Blewbury
Blewbury is a village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs section of the North Wessex Downs about south of Didcot, south of Oxford and west of London. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it ...
.
Racing career
1998: two-year-old season
Compton Admiral's first race was a six
furlong
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 ...
maiden
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
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 ...
on 5 June in which he was ridden by
Frankie Dettori
Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...
. After starting poorly, he recovered to take the lead approaching the final furlong but was overtaken in the closing stages and 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 Muqtarib, a colt who went on to win the
Richmond Stakes
The Richmond Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is sch ...
. Two weeks later, Compton Admiral was moved up in class and distance for the Listed Chesham Stakes over even furlongs 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 ...
. After failing to obtain a clear run a furlong out, he finished strongly but failed by a head to catch Rhapodist. The colt was dropped back to maiden company at Ascot in July and recorded his first success as he was ridden by
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 ...
to a one length win over the odds-on favourite Killer Instinct. Compton Admiral' last race of the season was the
Group Three Solario Stakes at
Sandown Park Racecourse
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 24 August. He started the 13/8 favourite against seven opponents but was beaten one and a quarter lengths into second by Raise A Grand.
1999: three-year-old season
0
Compton Admiral began his second season on 15 April at Newmarket when he was ridden by Dettori in the Craven Stakes, a major trial race for the 2000 Guineas. He started at odds of 13/2, with the
Dewhurst Stakes
The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), ...
winner Mujahid being made the 2/5 favourite in a field of seven runners. Dettori restrained the colt at the back of the field before making progress in the last quarter mile. He took the lead a furlong from the finish and won by a length from Brancaster with Mujahid running poorly in fifth. Sixteen days later Compton Admiral started at odds of 10/1 in the 2000 Guineas, which was run over the July course at Newmarket as the traditional Rowley Mile course was being redeveloped. Ridden by Eddery, the colt was never in contention and finished thirteenth of the sixteen runners behind
Island Sands.
In June, Compton Admiral was moved up in distance to contest the 220th running of 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 ...
over one and a half miles at
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs.
The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...
. Starting as a 25/1 outsider, he made little impact, finishing eighth of the sixteen runners, eight lengths behind the winner
Oath
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...
. Four weeks after his run at Epsom, the colt was matched against older horses for the first time in the Group One Eclipse Stakes over ten furlongs at Sandown. He started the 20/1 outsider of the eight runners in a strong field which included
Fantastic Light
Fantastic Light (foaled February 13, 1996) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and pensioned sire (horse), sire. He was foaled in the United States but was trained in England and Dubai during his racing career, which ran from August 1998 to his ...
,
Xaar
Xaar (foaled 1995) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for his performances as a two-year-old in 1997. In his juvenile season, he won four of his five races, including the Prix de Cabourg and Prix de la Salamandre in ...
,
Chester House
Chester House (February 1, 1995 – June 28, 2003) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In his racing career, he ran in both Europe and North America, winning six races, most notably the Arlington Million as a five-year-old ...
and the French-trained favourite
Croco Rouge Croco is a common abbreviation of Crocodile (disambiguation).
Croco may refer to
* the River Croco
The River Croco () is a small river in Cheshire in England. It starts as lowland field drainage west of Congleton, flows along the south edge ...
. Ridden for the first time 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 ...
, Compton Admiral was towards the rear of the field in the early stages before moving up to track the leader Xaar in the straight. Holland lost his grip on the colt's reins approaching the final furlong but recovered to overtake Xaar 75
yards
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...
from the finish and won by a neck, with Fantastic Light half a length away in third. On 17 August started at odds of 10/1 for the
International Stakes
The International Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards (2, ...
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 which he was again ridden by Holland. He finished fifth of the twelve runners behind
Royal Anthem
The anthem for a person, office or rank is music played on formal or ceremonial occasions in the presence of the person, office-holder, or rank-holder, especially by a military band. The head of state in many countries is honored with a prescribe ...
, Greek Dance, Chester House and Almushtarak. Compton Admiral then sustained a chipped bone in his knee which ruled him out for the rest of the year.
2001: five-year-old season
After undergoing surgery for his knee injury Compton Admiral had further training setbacks and missed the whole of the 2000 season before returning as a five-year-old in 2001. On his reappearance he finished third behind Dramatic Quest and Man o' Mystery in a race over ten furlongs 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 30 May. The horse was being prepared for an attempt to win the Eclipse Stakes for a second time when he sustained a tendon injury which ended his racing career. Commenting on the news of the horse's injury, Butler said: "We have waited a year and a half for this and two days before the race it all comes to nothing. It's absolutely shattering".
Stud record
Compton Admiral was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion at his owner's stud. He appears to have attracted very little public support, being mainly engaged in covering mares owned by Penser. He sired several minor winners, but nothing of top class.
Pedigree
References
{{reflist
1996 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 7-a