Fair Salinia (18 March 1975 – 31 March 2004) 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

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 ...

best known for winning the classic Oaks Stakes in 1978. In a racing career which lasted from September 1977 until September 1978 she won four of her eight races. As a two-year-old in 1977 she won on her debut before finishing second in the Cheveley Park Stakes. As a three-year-old she finished second in the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

before being moved up in distance and winning the Oaks,

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 ...

and

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 ...

. She was retired to stud at the end of the season and had some influence as a broodmare. She died in 2004 at the age of twenty-nine.

Background

Fair Salinia was a bay mare 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 ...

and white socks on her hind legs bred in Ireland by Major John de Brugh's Oldtown Stud. She was sired by Petingo, the leading English two-year-old of 1967 when he was rated the best horse in Europe by the independent Timeform organisation. His other progeny included the 1979 Derby winner

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

. Fair Salinia's dam, Fair Arabella was an American-bred mare who was a half-sister to the Prix du Moulin winner Faraway Son and the

Prix d'Harcourt The Prix d'Harcourt is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Longchamp in Apr ...

winner Liloy. As a descendant of the broodmare Judy O'Grady, Fair Arabella came from the same branch of Thoroughbred family 16-c which also produced

Green Dancer Green Dancer (14 April 1972 – 5 December 2000) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion. A son of the British Tiple Crown winner Nijinsky, he won the French 2000 Guineas in 1975. Background A son of the Englis ...

, Solemia, Authorized, Dream Well and

Makfi Makfi (foaled 4 March 2007) is a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 2010 he won the 2000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois. Background Makfi's sire is Irish 2,000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Dubawi. ...

. 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 ...

, Fair Salinia was offered for sale and bought by Sven Hanson for 13,000 guineas. Hanson later explained had not intended to spend more than 7,000 guineas and was looking to buy only colts, but decided to bid for the filly as she was "the spitting image of Liloy". The filly, who was named in honour of the Hanson family's interests in the salt business, was sent into training with

Michael Stoute Sir Michael Ronald Stoute (born 22 October 1945) is a Barbadian British Thoroughbred horse trainer in flat racing. Career Stoute, whose father was the Chief of Police for Barbados, left the island in 1964 at the age of 19 to become an assis ...

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 ...

Racing career

1977: two-year-old season

Fair Salinia made her racecourse debut in early September 1977 when she contested the Gancia Stakes over seven

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 ...

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 ...

for which started a 20/1 outsider. The race was open to both colts and fillies but was restricted to horses that had not run before 3 August. Fair Salinia took the lead on the turn into the straight, went clear of the field approaching the final furlong and won by two lengths from the colt Tom Noel. At the end of the month the filly was moved up sharply in class for the

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

Cheveley Park Stakes over six furlongs at

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

. She appeared outpaced for most of the race but stayed on strongly in the closing stages to finish third behind Sookera and Petty Purse. Following inquiry by the racecourse stewards she was promoted to second after Petty Purse was disqualified for causing interference.

1978: three-year-old season

Fair Salinia ran disappointingly on her three-year-old debut, finishing fourth behind Shapina in the Fred Darling Stakes. She then contested the classic 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile course at Newmarket in which she produced a much better performance, finishing strongly to take second place in a field of sixteen fillies, a length behind

Enstone Spark Enstone Spark (foaled 6 June 1975) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. She is best known for winning the classic 1000 Guineas in 1978. Racing career Trained by Barry Hills, at age two, Enstone Spark won the 1977 Lowther Stakes at York Ra ...

. A month later, Fair Salinia was moved up in distance for the 200th running of the Oaks Stakes 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 ...

. Some observers doubted that she would stay the distance, as most of her family had excelled as milers. Ridden by Greville Starkey, she started at odds of 8/1 in a field of fifteen fillies, with the French-trained

Dancing Maid Dancing Maid (29 April 1975 – 1982) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. After winning one of her two races as a two-year-old she emerged as one of the best fillies in Europe in 1978, winning the Prix Vanteaux, Poule d'Essai ...

starting favourite after having won 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 ...

. Fair Salinia had a good position throughout the race and tracked Dancing Maid when the French filly went to the front a quarter of a mile from the finish. Under a strong ride from Starkey, Fair Salinia moved alongside the favourite and went gained the advantage in the final stride to win by a short head. Stoute was winning the race for the first time, whilst Starkey completed a notable double, having won 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 ...

Shirley Heights Shirley Heights (1 March 1975 – 17 March 1997) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and winner of the Derby in 1978. The colt had previously won the Royal Lodge Stakes and the Dante Stakes, and he went on to win the Irish Derby before his ra ...

three days earlier. At the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse -- usually referred to as simply the Curragh -- is one of Ireland's most important Thoroughbred racecourses. It is situated on the Curragh plain in County Kildare, between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. History T ...

on 15 July, Fair Salinia started 3/1 favourite for the Irish Oaks. She turned into the straight in fifth place and made steady headway to move into second place behind the John Oxx-trained filly Sorbus a furlong from the finish. She could make no further progress, however, and finished second, beaten a length by Sorbus who had hung to the left in the closing stages, with the Ribblesdale Stakes winner Relfo close behind in third place. Following an objection by Starkey and an inquiry by the local stewards Sorbus was disqualified for causing interference to the runner-up in the final furlong and the race was awarded to Fair Salinia. Timeform felt that Fair Salinia was lucky to be awarded the race, whilst Oxx, who lodged an unsuccessful appeal against the verdict later referred to "that infamous day". Fair Salina and Sorbus met again in the Yorkshire Oaks 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 August. Relfo started favourite at odds of 7/4 ahead of Sorbus (4/1) with Fair Salinia third choice in the betting on 5/1. In a change of tactics, Starkey sent the filly into the lead six furlongs from the finish and sent her clear of the field early in the straight. She appeared to be tiring in the closing stages but held on to win by one and a half lengths from Sorbus, with Be Sweet in third. In the following month, Fair Salinia was sent to France to contest the Prix Vermeille over 2400 metres at Longchamp Racecourse on 17 September in which she was opposed by Dancing Maid and Relfo. Starting at odds of 13/1 she led from the start and set a very strong pace but was overtaken in the straight and finished fifth, three and a half lengths behind the winner Dancing Maid.

Assessment

As a two-year-old, Fair Salinia was given a rating of 114 by Timeform, eleven pounds below their top-rated two-year-old filly Cherry Hinton. In the Free Handicap, a rating of the best two-year-olds to race in Britain, she was allotted a weight of 120 pounds, seven pounds behind Cherry Hinton, making her the fourth highest-rated filly of her generation. In the following year, she was given a rating of 125 by Timeform, four pounds behind their top-rated three-year-old filly

Swiss Maid Swiss Maid (13 February 1975 – after 1992) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare, who was rated the best three-year-old filly in Europe in 1978. Unraced as a two-year-old, she won only one of her first eight races in 1978 and ap ...

. She was rated eleven pounds behind the same filly in the official International Classification. In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Fair Salinia an "average" winner of the Oaks.

Breeding record

Fair Salinia was retired from racing to become a broodmare at her owners stud. She produced at least eleven foals and six winners. *Warren Hill (bay colt, foaled in 1980, sired by Nonoalco) *Fair Habit (bay filly, 1981, by

Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

), failed to win in three races *Legend of Arabia (bay filly, 1983, by Great Nephew), unraced, dam of Nomadic (

Morgiana Hurdle The Morgiana Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles and half a furlong ...

) *Horn Dance (bay colt, 1986, by

), won one race *Impact (brown colt, 1988, by

Green Desert ''Green Desert'' is the twenty-seventh major release and the fifteenth studio album by electronic artists Tangerine Dream. The music was recorded in Berlin in 1973, during a period when Peter Baumann had temporarily left Germany to tour Nepal an ...

), won one race *Perfect Circle (brown filly, 1989, by

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

), won two races including the

Sceptre Stakes The Sceptre Stakes is a Group races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to Filly, fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster Racecourse ...

*Perfect Vintage (bay gelding, 1990, by

), won four races including the

Prix Quincey The Prix Quincey is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take ...

*Crespo (bay colt, 1992, by

Kris The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...

), won one race *On Fair Stage (bay filly, 1993, by Sadler's Wells), won two races, dam of French Opera (

Game Spirit Chase The Game Spirit Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong ( ...

Celebration Chase The Celebration Chase is a Grade One National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 1 mile 7½ furlongs (1 mile, 7 fur ...

), and Reliable Man ( Prix du Jockey Club) *Rivelino (bay filly, 1995, by

), failed to win in four races *Tall Order (bay colt, 1998, by

), failed to win in two races On the morning of 31 March 2004, Fair Salinia was unable to get to her feet in her stable at Hanson's Haras de Vieux Pont. Her condition did not improve and she was

euthanized Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...

that evening.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1975 racehorse births 2004 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 16-c Epsom Oaks winners