Eva Luna (IRE) (28 February 1992 – after 2010) was an Irish-bred
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 ...
. At the age of two in 1994 she was one of the best horses of her generation in Ireland when she won her first five races including the
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 ...
,
Railway Stakes and
Phoenix Stakes
The Phoenix Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is sch ...
. Her winning run came to an end when she finished third in the
Moyglare Stud Stakes
The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled ...
, and in 1993 she failed to recapture her juvenile form. After her retirement from racing she became a broodmare and produced a few minor winners. The last of her recorded offspring was foaled in 2010.
Background
Eva Luna was a bay mare bred in Ireland by David Shubotham. She began her racing career in the ownership of Catherine Shubotham and was trained by
Jim Bolger
James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997.
Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...
at Coolcullen,
County Carlow
County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...
. She was ridden in all of her races by her trainer's son-in-law
Kevin Manning.
She was probably the best horse sired by
Double Schwartz, a sprinter who won the
Prix de l'Abbaye
The Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged two years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,000 metres (about 5 furlongs) ...
,
Diadem Stakes
A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty.
Overview
The word derives from the Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω ''diadéō'', "I ...
,
Temple Stakes
The Temple Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled ...
and
Palace House Stakes
The Palace House Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres) on the Rowle ...
as a five-year-old in 1986.
Eva Luna's dam Guess Again was a German-bred mare who showed modest racing ability, winning one minor race and placing ten times from seventeen starts.
She was a granddaughter of Fanghorn (foaled 1966) who finished third in the
Poule d'Essai des Pouliches
The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at ...
. As a broodmare Fanghorn produced
Double Form (sire of Double Schwartz) and was the female-line ancestor of
Soldier of Fortune.
Two high-class fillies named ''Eva Luna'' were foaled in 1992. The other Eva Luna was an American-bred mare who won the
Park Hill Stakes
The Park Hill Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards (2,9 ...
and went on to produce 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 d ...
winner
Brian Boru
Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domi ...
. The two horses may be distinguished by their national suffixes: Eva Luna (IRE) and Eva Luna (USA).
Racing career
1994: two-year-old season
Eva Luna made her racecourse debut in a
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 ...
over
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 hors ...
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 ...
on 16 April in which she started at odds of
7/4 and won from ten opponents. Two weeks later, she followed up in a minor race at
Naas Racecourse
Naas Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, approximately 18 miles from Dublin. The course stages both Flat racing and National Hunt racing and in 2010 fifteen race meetings were held there.
The Naas Races Company w ...
over the same distance, winning by three quarters of a
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 Corso at odds of 2/5.
The filly was then moved up in class and distance for the Listed Silver Flash Stakes over six furlongs at Leopardstown on 8 June in which she started second favourite behind the
Dermot Weld
Dermot K. Weld (born 29 July 1948), a former jockey is one of Ireland's most successful racehorse trainers. He holds the record for the most winners trained in Ireland (2,578 set in August 2000).
Weld maintains his stable, Rosewell House, in C ...
-trained Sharp Point. After matching strides with the favourite in the first half mile before gaining the advantage and keeping on well to win by half a length. 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 ...
eighteen days later Eva Luna was stepped up again for the
Group 3 Group 3 may refer to:
*Group 3 element, chemical element classification
*Group 3 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing
* Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing
* Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are ...
Railway Stakes in which she was matched against two male opponents, namely Helmsman (runner-up in 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 Jahid. She disputed the lead in the early stages before breaking clear of her rivals in the last quarter mile and winning by three and a half lengths.
The Group 1 Phoenix Stakes on 7 August appeared likely to be dominated by British-trained challengers with the
Prix Robert Papin
The Prix Robert Papin is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is scheduled to tak ...
winner General Monash starting favourite ahead of Fallow (
July Stakes
The July Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it ...
) and Mind Games (
Norfolk Stakes). Eva Luna was next in the betting on 6/1 alongside her stablemate Desert Style whilst the other five runners included Sharp Pont and the
Woodcote Stakes
The Woodcote Stakes is a conditions flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 6 furlongs and 3 yards (1,210 metres) at Epsom Downs ...
winner Silca Blanka. The filly was up with the leaders from the start before opening up a clear advantage approaching the final furlong and won by a length and a half from Sharp Point with three and a half lengths back to Desert Style in third. On her final appearance of the season, Eva Luna was stepped up in distance and started favourite for the
Moyglare Stud Stakes
The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled ...
over seven furlongs at the Curragh but was beaten into third place behind the 20/1 outsider
Belle Genius and the French-trained Tereshkova.
At the end of the year Eva Luna was sold privately and entered the ownership of
Mrs A J F O'Reilly.
1995: three-year-old season
On her first run of 1995 Eva Luna started favourite for the
Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial Stakes on 15 April but after reaching third place in the straight she began to struggle and came home fourth behind Khaytada. After a two-month break the filly was matched against colts and older horses in the
King's Stand Stakes
The King's Stand 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 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled t ...
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 ...
. She made little impact as she started slowly and finished last of the ten runners.
Breeding record
Eva Luna was retired from racing to become a broodmare for her owner's stud. She produced at least twelve foals and three minor winners between 1997 and 2010:
*Burma Tiger, a bay colt, (later
gelded
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 ...
), foaled in 1997, sired by
Indian Ridge
Indian Ridge (22 March 1985 – 17 October 2006) was an Irish-bred British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed promising but unexceptional form as a two-year-old in 1987 when he won twice from four starts in minor races. He established ...
. Won one race.
*Feet of Fire, bay colt, 1998, by
Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...
. Failed to win in seven races.
*Evasif, colt (gelded), 1999, by
Danehill
*Robert Emmet, bay colt, 2000, by Sadler's Wells. Unraced.
*National Swagger, bay filly, 2002, by
Giant's Causeway
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...
. Won one race.
*Sealez, bay colt, 2003, by
Fasliyev. Failed to win in three races.
*Strut the Stage, bay colt (gelded), 2004, by Lil's Boy. Failed to win in 24 races.
*Evita Evita, bay filly, 2005, by
Acclamation
An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts.
Voting Voice vot ...
. Failed to win in two races.
*Key Light, bay filly, 2007, by Acclamation. Won two races. Dam of Beacon (
Flying Childers Stakes
The Flying Childers Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 5 furlongs and 3 yards (1,008 metres), and it is sched ...
).
*Keep It Real, bay colt (gelded), 2008, by Chevalier.
*Caonach, bay filly, 2009, by Moss Vale. Failed to win in four races.
*Write To Me, bay filly, 2010, by
Iffraaj. Failed to win three races.
Pedigree
*Eva Luna was
inbred
Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...
3 × 3 to Fanghorn, meaning that this mare appears twice in the third generation of her pedigree.
References
{{Reflist
1992 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in Ireland
Racehorses trained in Ireland
Thoroughbred family 14-c