Easter Sun (10 April 1977 – ca. 1988) 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 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 ...

. In his first three seasons he showed good form in handicap races but appeared to be well below top class. In 1982, at the age of five, he showed remarkable improvement (16 pounds on

Timeform Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by t ...

ratings) and won the

Aston Park Stakes The Aston Park Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (). Up until 2014 it was ...

before recording his biggest win in the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2 ...

. He never won again but was placed in several good races before being retired at the end of the 1983 season. He made no impact as a breeding stallion in a brief stud career.

Background

Easter Sun was a "compact", "bonny". bay horse with a small 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 in the United Kingdom by Dayspring Co. Ltd. for his owner

Lady Beaverbrook Marcia Anastasia Aitken, Baroness Beaverbrook (''née'' Christoforides, previously Lady Dunn; 27 July 1909 – 28 October 1994) was a British philanthropist, an art collector, and racehorse owner. Early life and first marriage Born in Sutton, ...

. He was from the first crop of foals sired by

Bustino Bustino (foaled 1971) was a British Thoroughbred Champion racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from August 1973 until July 1975 he ran nine times and won five races. He was the best British three-year-old of 1974, when his wins includ ...

an outstanding middle-distance who won the

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

and the

as well as finishing second to Grundy in a famous race for the

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 ...

. He went on to sire many other successful racehorses including Height of Fashion,

Paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice ( monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...

and

Terimon Terimon (foaled 20 April 1986) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. His most successful year was 1991, when he won the International Stakes at York and was named European Champion Older Horse at the inaugural Cartier Racing Awards. He ...

. Easter Sun's dam Magical won two minor races from seven starts and was a distant, female-line descendant of the influential British broodmare Melody. Lady Beaverbrook sent Easter Sun into training with

Michael Jarvis Michael Jarvis (14 August 1938 – 20 September 2011) was a Thoroughbred horse trainer in England. Based in Newmarket, Jarvis trained numerous Group One winners including three winners of the British Haydock Sprint Cup. Jarvis's horses also ...

at Newmarket, Suffolk. He was ridden in most of his races by Jarvis's stable jockey

Bruce Raymond The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

Racing career

1979–1981: early career

Easter Sun ran three times in maiden races as a two-year-old in 1979 and although he failed to win he showed some promise when finishing third to

Bireme A bireme (, ) is an ancient oared warship (galley) with two superimposed rows of oars on each side. Biremes were long vessels built for military purposes and could achieve relatively high speed. They were invented well before the 6th century BC a ...

over seven

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 hor ...

s at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of British horserac ...

in October. As a three-year-old, Easter Sun developed into a useful handicap performer. After finishing unplaced on his seasonal debut he won over ten

furlongs 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 ho ...

at Newmarket in May, beating Nocino by three lengths. He failed to win in his remaining five races but was placed on three occasions including a narrow defeat in the Daniel Prenn Handicap when he was beaten a head by World Leader. Easter Sun began his third season in a handicap at Newmarket in May and won by four

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 ...

from Funny Spring. At

Epsom 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 ...

a month later he won the Daily Mirror Handicap, beating One Fleet Street by a head. He finished second in his next three races before ending his season by finishing fourth to Braughing in the

Cambridgeshire Handicap The Cambridgeshire Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlo ...

1982: five-year-old season

Although Easter Sun had spent most of his career racing over distances of around a mile and a quarter, his regular jockey Bruce Raymond had always believed that the horse would be better over a longer distance. On his first appearance of 1982 the horse was moved up in class and distance for the

, a weight-for-age contest over one mile five 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 ...

in May in which he faced by the established

Group race Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as, in Europe, the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'A ...

performers Prince Bee (winner of the

Gordon Stakes The Gordon Stakes is a Group races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Goodwood Racecourse, Goodwood over a distance ...

Great Voltigeur Stakes The Great Voltigeur Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 1 ...

and

Prix Niel The Prix Niel is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled ...

) and Critique (

Cumberland Lodge Stakes The Cumberland Lodge Stakes is a Group 3 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 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metr ...

). Racing on firm ground and receiving weight from his two principal opponents, he accelerated into the lead inside the final furlong and won by half a length from Critique with a gap of seven lengths back to Prince Bee in third. On 3 June Easter Sun made his first appearance in a Group race when he started a 20/1 outsider in an eight-runner field for the Group One Coronation Cup at Epsom.

Glint of Gold Glint of Gold (5 April 1978 – 1990) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A middle-distance specialist, he was noted for his toughness and consistency, winning ten races, finishing second six times and third once in a seventeen r ...

was made favourite ahead of the French challenger Lancastrian, whilst the other runners were Critique, Prince Bee, Castle Keep ( Doonside Cup),

Protection Racket A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

(

Irish St. Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...

) and Glint of Gold's pacemaker Show-A-Leg. After being restrained by Rymond in the early stages Easter Sun was switched to the outside in the straight, took the lead from Glint of Gold in the final furlong and won by half a length with Critique two and a half lengths back in third place. After the race Lady Beaverbrook said "Ive always had faith in Easter Sun, he shouldn't have been a handicapper at all. I told Michael Jarvis to have more confidence and that he was a group horse. I told ruce Raymondoff too. I told him that he is too placid and that he has to have more fire". Easter Sun then contested Britain's most prestigious weight-for-age race, the

at Ascot in July. He looked very well before the race but ran poorly and finished sixth of the nine runners behind

Kalaglow Kalaglow (1978–1994) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred race horse. In a career which lasted from August 1980 until October 1982 he ran fourteen times and won ten races. He is most notable for his performances in 1982 when he ...

. In the

Geoffrey Freer Stakes The Geoffrey Freer Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 1 mile, 5 furlongs and 61 yards (2,671 me ...

at Newbury in August he proved no match for the dual Ascot Gold Cup winner Ardross and was narrowly beaten for second place by Baffin. Later that month he was sent to France and finished unplaced in the

Grand Prix de Deauville The Grand Prix de Deauville is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,500 metres (about 1 mile and 4½ fur ...

after being hampered on the final turn.

1983: six-year-old season

Easter Sun ran five times but failed to win. He was equipped with blinkers after his first start, an unplaced finish in the

Jockey Club Stakes The Jockey Club Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres) on ...

. He showed better form when campaigned internationally finishing second to

Diamond Shoal Diamond Shoal (6 May 1979 – ca.1996) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed some promise as a two-year-old, winning two of his six races. In the following year he won only one minor race but was placed in several major rac ...

in the

Gran Premio di Milano The Gran Premio di Milano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June. The event ...

and third to Prima Voce in the Grand Prix Prince Rose. He pulled hard when running unplaced behind Khairpour in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes and finished third in his final race.

Assessment

The independent

organisation gave Easter Sun a rating of 90 in 1979 and described him as being "sure to win a race". Timeform rated him at 102 in 1980 and 106 in 1981. In 1982,his best year, he was rated 122 by Timeform, twelve pounds inferior to their Horse of the Year Ardross. In the official International Classification he was given a rating of 80, thirteen pounds behind Kalaglow, who has the highest-rated older horse. In 1983 he was given a Timeform rating of 120 d, the "d" indicating that he had deteriorated and was probably no longer capable of running up to his best form.

Stud record

Easter Sun was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion at the Haras d'Ayguemort in France. He sired no horses of any consequence, with the last of his recorded foals being born in 1988.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1977 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 3-j