Darci Brahma (Danehill-Grand Echezeaux; foaled 21 September 2002) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

thoroughbred

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

foaled in 2002 at Pencarrow Stud near

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in New Zealand. He was auctioned at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ltd Yearling Sales in January 2004 and acquired by a syndicate of ten investors for the sum of NZ$1.1 million.

2004–2005 season

Sent to trainer Mark Walker of Te Akau Racing Stables near

Matamata Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which takes ...

for his early education, Darci Brahma quickly established a reputation as a potential star in the making winning his first race (January 2005) on debut, following that up with a strong win in the Listed Ford Fairview Slipper Stakes at Matamata in February and then running 2nd to Mi Jubilee in the Group One Ellerslie Sires Produce Stakes at Ellerslie in March. Darci Brahma was sent to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in June 2005 where he contested two races at Eagle Farm,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, finishing a creditable 4th over 1400 metres in the Queensland Sire Produce Stakes and then winning the Group One

T J Smith Thomas John Smith (3 September 1916 – 2 September 1998) was a leading trainer of thoroughbred racehorses based in Sydney, New South Wales. Inducted into the Australian Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in 2001 and elevated to Legend status in 2 ...

over 1600 metres producing a withering run from last on the turn to win by a length. These performances were sufficient to see Darci Brahma awarded the New Zealand Two Year Old of the Year Award for the 2004–05 racing season

2005–2006 season

After being turned out for a well earned rest, Darci Brahma resumed racing as a Three Year old in the 2005–06 season when ridden by Michael Walker he downed Dr Green in the Group 2

Hawke's Bay Guineas The Hawke's Bay Guineas is a major Thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand for three-year-old horses. In 2003 the stake was boosted to $100,000 and the race was moved to the first Saturday in October, meaning that it is run on the same day as the S ...

over 1400 metres in an Australasian record time of 1:19.97, following this up with further wins in the Group 2 Wellington Guineas (1500 metres) in October and the Group One

New Zealand 2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas is a Group One set-weight Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of 1600 metres at Riccarton Park in Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch New Zealand cup week The New Zealand 2000 Guineas is he ...

(1600 metres) at Riccarton in November, winning this event by four lengths. After a spell, Darci Brahma tackled the older horses for the first time in the Group One Waikato Sprint at

Te Rapa Te Rapa is a mixed light industrial, large-scale retail and semi-rural suburb to the northwest of central Hamilton, New Zealand that is built on a flat area that was previously the bed of an ancient river, the forerunner to the present Waikato ...

in February 2006 where he was beaten into 2nd place by proven Weight For Age galloper Kristov. Three weeks later Darci Brahma turned the tables on Kristov by winning the Group One

Otaki-Maori Weight for Age The Otaki-Maori Weight For Age Stakes is a group 1 flat horse race held at Otaki racecourse in New Zealand, racing under the name El Cheapo Cars WFA Classic. History The race is held annually in February and is run under weight for age (WFA) ...

(1600 metres). He then travelled to Australia where he finished a creditable 2nd to

Apache Cat Apache Cat (foaled 2002) is an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who had 43 starts for 19 wins (including eight Group One (G1) victories) and was placed on another 11 occasions from for just under $4.6 million in prize money. He was born and b ...

in the Group One

Australian Guineas The Australian Guineas is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run at set weights, over a distance of 1600 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbourne, Australia in March during the VRC Autumn Racing Carni ...

at Flemington, 4th in the Group 2

Phar Lap Stakes The Phar Lap Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, at set weights, over a distance of 1500 metres, held annually at Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March. Total prize money is A$250,0 ...

at Rosehill and at his first attempt over distance finished 8th in the Group One

Rosehill Guineas The Rosehill Guineas is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at set weights run over a distance of 2000 metres at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia annually in March. Total prize money for t ...

(2000 metres) at Rosehill. Brought back to New Zealand to ready him for racing as a four-year-old, Darci Brahma was awarded the title of Three Year Old of The Year Award at the Mercedes Thoroughbred Awards evening in September 2006.

2006–2007 season

Darci Brahma started his 4 year old career in the first two races of the Hawkes Bay Triple Crown, finishing second to eventual Horse Of The Year

Seachange ''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howar ...

in both races. His only other start in that campaign was a sixth in the

Toorak Handicap The Toorak Handicap is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run as an open handicap race, over a distance of 1,600 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. Currently, the prizemoney is A$1,000,000. History The ...

at Caulfield. Resuming in the summer, Opie Bosson rode Darci Brahma won the Group 1

Telegraph Handicap The Telegraph Handicap is a Group One New Zealand horse race contested by the Wellington Racing Club at Trentham Racecourse in Upper Hutt, during the Wellington Cup carnival in January. The Telegraph Handicap, raced over 1200 metres, and the R ...

Trentham Racecourse Trentham Racecourse is the main thoroughbred horse racecourse for the Wellington city area in New Zealand. It is located in the suburb of Trentham in Upper Hutt, next to Trentham Military Camp. The races are conducted by the Wellington Racing Cl ...

followed by the Group 1

Waikato Sprint The Waikato Sprint currently run as the BCD Group Sprint is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run at Te Rapa Racecourse in Hamilton in early February. It is currently held on the same day as the Group 1 Herbie Dykes Stakes. The list of winner ...

, giving the stallion a total of five Group 1 wins.

Retirement

Days after his Waikato Draught Sprint win Darci Brahma injured himself in a workout and was announced retired.

Stud career

Darci Brahma stands as a stallion at The Oaks stud in Cambridge for a

stud fee A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species (stallion, bull, rooster, etc.) usually imply that the animal is intact—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offsp ...

of $15,000. Darci Brahma has currently sired 10 individual

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 ...

winners. 2021/22 hong kong horse Amazing star die on 2021 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint，and SKY DARCI die on hong kong gold cup

Notable progeny

''c =

, f =

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

'', g =

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

References

{{reflist Racehorses trained in New Zealand Racehorses bred in New Zealand 2002 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 16 New Zealand Thoroughbred sires