Fleet (1964 – after 1979), known in the United States as Fleet II, was 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 ...
racehorse and
broodmare who won the
classic
A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...
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 (1,60 ...
in 1967. In a racing career lasting from June 1966 until July 1967, the
filly contested nine races (including one occasion on which she refused to start) and won five times. As a two-year-old in 1966, Fleet won two of her three races including the
Cheveley Park Stakes
The Cheveley Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it ...
and was the highest rated filly of her age in Britain. In the following year she won three races over a distance of one mile including the 1000 Guineas and the
Coronation Stakes
The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is schedul ...
. When tried over longer distances she finished fourth in
The Oaks and
Eclipse Stakes. She was retired to stud where she had some success as a broodmare in Britain and the United States.
Background
Fleet was a bay mare bred in
County Limerick
"Remember Limerick"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province
, subd ...
, Ireland by Peter FitzGerald. Her sire, Immortality, a British-bred half brother to the
Whitney Stakes
The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...
winner Cohoes, was sent to stud without ever having competed in a race. Shortly after siring Fleet he was sold and exported to Argentina. Fleet's dam, Review, was an outstanding broodmare: her other progeny included
Pourparler (1000 Guineas), Democratie (
Prix de la Forêt
The Prix de la Forêt is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it i ...
) and Display (Cheveley Park Stakes, Coronation Stakes). Review was a difficult and temperamental mare, who was often sent to be covered by Immortality as he was based near FitzGerald's stud.
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 ...
, Fleet was sent to the sales at
Newmarket, where she was sold for 11,000
guineas
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
to Robert Boucher, a fruit and
hop grower from
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
whose best-known horse had been the
Washington, D.C. International
The Baltimore Washington International Turf Cup is an American Grade III invitational horse race run over one mile. Inaugurated in 1952, it was raced at Laurel Park Racecourse on the turf in Laurel, Maryland, at a distance of miles (12 furlong ...
winner
Wilwyn
{{Infobox racehorse
, horsename = Wilwyn
, image =
, caption =
, sire = Pink Flower
, grandsire = Oleander
, dam = Saracen
, damsire = Donatello
, sex = Stallion
, foaled = 1948
, country = Great Britain
, colour = Bay
, breeder = ...
. Boucher sent the filly into training with
Noel Murless
Sir Charles Francis Noel Murless (24 March 19109 May 1987) was an English racehorse trainer who one of the most successful of the twentieth century. Murless began his career as a trainer in 1935 at Hambleton Lodge in Yorkshire before moving to H ...
at his Warren Place stable at Newmarket.
Racing career
1966: two-year-old season
Fleet began her racing career at
Sandown Park
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 rac ...
in June, when she finished second to Social Bee in a race over five
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.
In July she was moved up in class and distance or the six
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 ...
Princess Margaret Stakes
The Princess Margaret Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to tak ...
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 a ...
. Ridden by
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
she started the
4/6 favourite and won from Gift Token and Negotiator.
Piggott again took the ride when Fleet ran in the Cheveley Park Stakes, Britain's most prestigious race for two-year-old fillies 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. She was restrained by Piggott in the early stages before taking the lead inside the final furlong and won going away by one and a half
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 ...
at odds of 5/2, beating
Pia, a filly who had previously won the
Cherry Hinton Stakes
The Duchess of Cambridge Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), ...
and
Lowther Stakes
The Lowther Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at York over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ...
.
In the Free Handicap, an official rating of the best British and Irish juveniles, Fleet was the highest-place filly with a rating of 122
pounds, eleven pounds below the top-rated colt
Bold Lad.
1967: three-year-old season
Fleet was scheduled to begin her three-year-old season in the Classic Trial over one mile at
Thirsk Racecourse
Thirsk Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, England. The course is a left handed oval of about 1 mile 2 furlongs with a 3 furlong finishing straight and a 6 furlong chute. The present course opened ...
in April but she refused to line up for the start (starting stalls were not used at the Yorkshire course) and took no real part in the race, although she did eventually complete the course.
At Newmarket she started at odds of 11/2 in a field of sixteen for the 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile course. The French-trained filly Fix The Date, winner of the
Prix Imprudence
The Prix Imprudence is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs) at Maisons-Laffitt ...
, started 11/10 favourite for a race which was run in cold, wet and windy conditions. Ridden by the Australian jockey
George Moore she won a closely contested finish by half a length from St Pauli Girl, just ahead of Lacquer and Pia. The win followed the success of
Royal Palace, trained by Murless and ridden by Moore, in the 2000 Guineas, giving the trainer and jockey a double which was not repeated for 38 years.
Despite doubts about her stamina, Fleet was allowed to take her place
in the
Oaks at
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
a month later and started favourite in a field of twelve. She looked to be travelling strongly early in the straight, but tired in the closing stages to finish fourth behind Pia, St Pauli Girl and Ludham. The filly returned to one mile for the Coronation Stakes at
Royal Ascot and won at odds of 5/2 from Royal Saint and Whirled, giving Moore the 2000th victory of his career. Fleet was well-fancied for the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown in July, a race in which she was matched against
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 ...
s and older horses for the first time. She finished fourth behind her stable companion
Busted. On her final start she won the Michael Sobell Stakes over one mile at Ascot.
The successes of Fleet, Busted and Royal Palace enabled Murless to become
British flat racing Champion Trainer
The Champion Trainer of flat racing in Great Britain is the trainer whose horses have won the most prize money during a season. The list below shows the Champion Trainer for each year since 1896. The Championship was originally run from November ...
with record earnings of £256,899.
Retirement
Fleet was retired to her owners stud, but after a year she was sold and exported to the United States. She remained in North America until 1973 when she returned to England. The best of her foals was the Florida-bred filly Heloise (sired by
Dr. Fager) who won the
Diana Handicap
The Diana Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race. Named for the mythological goddess Diana, the race is run each year at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inaugurated in 1939, it is open to fillies and mares age three and ...
in 1975.
Assessment and honours
In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Fleet an "average" winner of the 1000 Guineas.
Pedigree
References
{{1000 Guineas winners
1964 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in Ireland
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 4-p
1000 Guineas winners