Covert Love (foaled 14 April 2012) is an Irish-bred, British-trained

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 ...

. After being sold relatively cheaply as a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

she showed some promise when finishing fifth in her only start as a two-year-old in 2014. In the following year she made rapid improvement, winning two minor races before winning 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 ...

and then stepping up to

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

class to take 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 ...

. She added a second Group 1 win in autumn when she won the

Prix de l'Opéra The Prix de l'Opéra is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and i ...

in France. She was retired from racing in 2016 and was exported to become a broodmare in Japan.

Background

Covert Love is a bay mare with a white blaze and three white

socks 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 ...

bred in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

by Sommerville Bloodstock. As a

in October 2013 she was sent to the Goffs Orby sale and was bought for €26,000 by the bloodstock agent Hugo Merry. Merry was one of the partners in Sommerville Bloodstock and was also a member of the Fomo Syndicate which owned the filly throughout her racing career. She was sent into training with Hugo Palmer at

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...

. Covert Love was from one of the last crops of foals sired by

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 ...

whose wins included the St. James's Palace Stakes,

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 (2,012 ...

Prince of Wales's Stakes The Prince of Wales's Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 212 yards (2,004 met ...

and

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot o ...

. As a breeding stallion his other offspring included Valyra, Dolniya ( Sheema Classic) and Zarkandar. Covert Love's dam Wing Stealth showed no racing ability, failing to win in nine starts, but was a half-sister to the dam of

Grey Swallow Grey Swallow (19 February 2001 – 25 August 2021) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from July 2003 until October 2006 he competed in five countries and won six of his fifteen races. He was unbeaten in ...

and a descendant of the American broodmare Stolen Hour (foaled 1953) who was the ancestor of numerous major winners including

El Gran Senor El Gran Senor (21 April 1981 – 18 October 2006) was a champion American-bred Thoroughbred race horse, foaled at Windfields Farm (Maryland). He was the best horse of his generation in Europe at both two and three years of age, ahead of an o ...

Try My Best Try My Best (1975–1993) was an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A son of Northern Dancer, he won the Dewhurst Stakes in 1978 and was the top-rated two-year-old in Britain and Ireland that year. Background Try M ...

Spinning World Spinning World (foaled 1993 in Kentucky, United States) is a French thoroughbred racehorse who was one of the top European milers during the 1990s. After winning the 1996 Irish 2,000 Guineas at The Curragh in Ireland, the first French horse eve ...

Jazil Jazil (February 11, 2003 – October 11, 2014) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2006, Jazil dead-heated for fourth place in the Kentucky Derby but then won the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown. Connections Ja ...

, Peeping Fawn,

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 ...

and

Rags to Riches Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popula ...

Racing career

2014: two-year-old season

Covert Love made her track debut in a maiden race over one mile on the synthetic

polytrack The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common track ...

surface at

Lingfield Park Racecourse Lingfield Park Racecourse (commonly referred to as Lingfield) is a horse racing course at Lingfield in Surrey, United Kingdom. It is owned by the ARC Racing and Leisure Group, formerly Arena Leisure Plc. Lingfield is best known as a winte ...

on 21 October in which she was ridden by Noel Garbutt. She started a 33/1 outsider and finished fifth of the twelve runners behind the

John Gosden John Harry Martin Gosden (born 30 March 1951) is a British racehorse trainer. He has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Derby, the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse, and over 600 winners ...

-trained Taysh.

2015: three-year-old season

Spring

On 6 May 2015, Covert Love began her second season in a maiden over ten furlongs on the synthetic track at

Chelmsford City Racecourse Chelmsford City racecourse, originally known as Great Leighs Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Great Leighs near Chelmsford, Essex, England. When it opened in April 2008, it was the first entirely new racecourse in the ...

and started the 9/4 favourite against twelve opponents. Ridden by

William Buick William Buick (born 22 July 1988) is a Norwegian-British flat jockey. He shared the champion apprentice jockey title in 2008 with David Probert and won the Lester Award for Apprentice Jockey of the Year in 2007 and 2008. From 2010 to 2014 he w ...

she started slowly but recovered to take the lead inside the final

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 ...

and won "going away" by one and a quarter

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 ...

. The filly had her first run on turf of 30 May when she was assigned a weight of 128 pounds in a handicap over ten and a half furlongs 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 ...

. With Martin Harley in the saddle she raced in second place before taking the lead two furlongs out and won by one and a half lengths from Tazffin.

Summer

On her next appearance, Covert Love was stepped up in class for the Hoppings Stakes 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 ...

in which she was matched against older fillies and mares. She was sent to the front from the start by her rider Graham Gibbons and held off a challenge from the four-year-old favourite Talmada to win by a length. The filly was then moved up to the highest level when she was sent to Ireland to contest the

Irish Oaks 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 ...

on 18 July. 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 i ...

winner Curvy started favourite ahead of Words (

Munster Oaks The Munster Oaks is a Group races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred Filly, fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Cork Racecourse, Cork over a dis ...

) and Jack Naylor (

Silver Flash Stakes The Silver Flash Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take ...

) with Covert Love next in the betting on 7/1 alongside Together Forever. The other British-trained challengers in the nine-runner field were the

Ballymacoll Stud Stakes The Agnes Keyser Fillies' Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies aged three years. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 197 yards (1,991 metre ...

winner Speedy Boarding and the

-trained Gretchen. Together Forever went to the front soon after the start and opened up a big lead with Covert Love settled in second place by her Irish jockey

Pat Smullen Patrick Joseph Smullen (22 May 1977 – 15 September 2020), was an Irish jockey who won the Irish flat racing Champion Jockey title nine times. In a career running from 1992 to 2018 he rode 1,845 winners in Ireland and 47 in Britain. Amongst his ...

(who rode her in all of her subsequent starts). Covert Love stayed on in the straight as the leader faltered, took the lead a furlong out and won by one and three quarter lengths and a head from Jack Naylor and Curvy. Smullen commented "We were very confident the filly would stay. Her stamina was unbelievable. She was in serious form... and there's more improvement in her". Hugo Palmer, who was winning his first classic race said "I’m to be married next Saturday so this is the last time I can ever say this is the best day of my life. I’m terrified I’ll wake up and find myself still in my bed in Newmarket. I couldn’t be more excited". On 20 August Covert Love started 15/8 favourite against ten opponents including Jack Naylor and Curvy in 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 ...

at York. She went to the front a furlong out, but in a blanket finish she was overtaken and beaten a neck by

Pleascach Pleascach (foaled 6 February 2012) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse whose wins included the Irish 1000 Guineas and the Yorkshire Oaks. Bred and trained by Jim Bolger she showed promise in two starts as a two-year-old in 2015, finishing fourth ...

with Sea Calisi and Curvy just behind.

Autumn

On 4 October Covert Love was sent to France for the Prix de l'Opéra over 2000 metres at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

and started the 4/1 joint-favourite alongside her fellow British raider Jazzi Top (

Prix de la Nonette The Prix de la Nonette is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to ...

). The other eleven runners included the Group 1 winners Queen's Jewel (

Prix Saint-Alary The Prix Saint-Alary is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred Filly, fillies. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse, Longchamp ove ...

We Are In Modern English, ''we'' is a plural, first-person pronoun. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''we'' has six distinct shapes for five word forms: * ''we'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''us'' and ': the accusative (objectiv ...

(winner of the race in 2014), Star of Seville, Diamondsandrubies ( Pretty Polly Stakes) and Odeliz (

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 ...

). Covert Love took the lead soon after the start and maintained her advantage into the straight where Jazzi Top emerged as her only serious challenger. Jazzi Top took the lead in the last 200 metres but Covert Love rallied "tenaciously" to regain the advantage and win by a head. After the race Palmer said "I'm lost for words. My god, she tries. What a ride, what a jockey. Three times I thought she was done in the straight but she found, found, found. I can't say much more!" Thirteen days after her win in France, Covert Love started favourite against eleven opponents in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at

Ascot Racecourse 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 tracking the leaders she stayed on in the straight without looking likely to win and finished fourth behind

Simple Verse Simple Verse (foaled 5 March 2012) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. Unraced as a juvenile, the filly quickly established herself as a top-class stayer by winning the St Leger Stakes. The previous filly to win the St Leger Stakes was User Fri ...

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

and Beautiful Romance. The unplaced horses included

Arabian Queen Arabian Queen (foaled 23 February 2012) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed good form as a juvenile, winning two races including the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes. In the following year she won the Princess Elizabet ...

, Sea Calisi,

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

, Speedy Boarding and

Madame Chiang Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling, ; March 5, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame Chiang, was a Chinese political figure who was First Lady of the Republic of China, the wife of Generalissimo an ...

2015: four-year-old season

Covert Love remained in training in 2015 but never made it back to the racecourse owing to injury. Her retirement was announced in June with Palmer explaining "Covert Love has picked up an injury, a strained ligament. It's the sort of injury that if she was a gelding you would say, well, she's going to be off for the year and who knows we might win the Melbourne Cup in 2017 or something like that, but with a Classic-winning broodmare prospect that's not the sort of thing you do because it's too high a risk". In the following month she was sold to Northern Farm and was exported to become a broodmare in Japan.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2012 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 8-f Irish Classic Race winners