Fordham (30 March 1975 – after 1987) was an American-bred, Irish-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 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 ...
. As three-year-old in 1978 he won two minor races before recording his first important victory in the
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 ...
. In the following year he showed little worthwhile form in his first three starts but then had his biggest success when taking the
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 ...
Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes on his final racecourse appearance. After his retirement from racing, he became a breeding stallion in Ireland before being exported to South Africa where he had some success as a sire of winners.
Background
Fordham was an "attractive" bay horse bred in Kentucky by the Irish-based Lyonstown Stud. The colt was sent to race in Europe where he entered training with
Vincent O'Brien
Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish horse racing, race horse horse trainer, trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in ...
at
Ballydoyle
Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud, and both are owned by John Magnier, son in law to the racehorse trainer Vincent O'Brien. The current train ...
. During his racing career he carried the green and blue colours of the British businessman
Robert Sangster
Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004)
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
before becoming a successful breeding stallion in the United States. His best-known offspring was
Forego
Forego (April 30, 1970 – August 27, 1997) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won eight Eclipse Awards including Horse of the Year, Champion Handicap Horse and Champion Sprinter.
Background
Foaled at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky ...
, the three-time
American Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...
, whilst his European runners included
Thatch
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...
and
Sadeem
Sadeem (foaled 1983) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A specialist stayer, he won consecutive runnings of the Ascot Gold Cup in 1988 and 1989. His other victories included the Sagaro Stakes, Goodwood Cup ...
. Fordham was the first foal produced by Bold Enchantress who won one minor race in Ireland as a two-year-old in 1972. She was a daughter of
Princessnesian
Princessnesian (foaled in 1964 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.
Background
Princessnesian was a bay mare bred and raced by William Haggin Perry.
Racing career
In 1968 the four-year-old mare became only the third female to wi ...
and a granddaughter of Alanesian, making her a close relative of many good winners including Boldnesian,
Asiatic Boy
{{Infobox racehorse
, horsename = Asiatic Boy
, image = 2007 winner Asiatic Boy with his owner His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum.jpg
, caption = 2007 UAE triple crown winner Asiatic Boy with his owner Sheikh Mohammed bin Khal ...
Cryptoclearance
Cryptoclearance (April 9, 1984 in Kentucky – September 24, 2009) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Florida Derby in 1987 and the Hawthorne Gold Cup in 1988 and 1999.
Racing career
Trained by future Hall of Fame trainer S ...
and
Revidere
Revidere (foaled in 1973 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that was voted the 1976 Eclipse Award as the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.Her sire was Reviewer, who is best known as the sire of champion filly Ruffian. Her d ...
.
Racing career
1978: three-year-old season
Fordham was unraced as a two-year-old and did not appear on a racecourse until June 1978 when he won a minor race over one mile at
Leopardstown
Leopardstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is ...
. He was then moved up in distance and assigned top weight for a handicap race over ten furlongs at the same track in which he finished second by a head to the filly Endeavorer. The colt was then dropped back to nine furlongs and won a minor event at Leopardstown in July. In September the colt was sent to England and stepped up in class and distance 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 ...
Cumberland Lodge Stakes over one and a half miles 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 and ...
and started at odds of 4/1 against a field which included 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 ...
winner Idle Waters. Ridden by
Pat Eddery
Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...
he took the lead five furlongs from the finish, went clear of the field in the straight, and stayed on to win 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 ...
from Idle Waters who dead-heated for second with the four-year-old Town and Country.
At the end of the year Fordham was given a rating of 116 by the independent
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 ...
organisation, making him 22 pounds inferior to his stablemate
Alleged
In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions.
who was Timeform's Horse of the Year, and 15 pounds behind their best three-year-old colt Ile de Bourbon. In the official International Classification he was rated 14 pounds behind Ile de Bourbon, who was the top-rated three-year-old.
1979: four-year-old season
Fordham struggled for form in his first three races of 1979. He finished unplaced over ten furlongs on his first two starts he finished fourth behind the five-year-old Orchestra in the Whitehall Stakes over nine furlongs at
Phoenix Park Racecourse
Phoenix Park Racecourse is a former horse racing venue in Ireland. It was located in the townlands of Ashtown and Castleknock in the civil parish of Castleknock on the northern edge of the Phoenix Park in Dublin. The course was founded by JHH ...
in early September. On 22 September Fordham, equipped with blinkers, was one of six horses to contest the fourth running of the Group 1 Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes over ten furlongs at Leopardstown. He was partnered by
Tommy Carberry
Tommy Carberry (15 September 1941 – 12 July 2017) was a Irish jockey who rode mostly in National Hunt races. He was Irish jump racing Champion Jockey four times. He is best known for winning the 1975 Grand National on L'Escargot. He rode a to ...
, a jockey best known for his successes under
National Hunt
In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...
rules. The three-year-old
Dickens Hill
Dickens Hill is a fictional prison in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. The prison is part of a storyline that first aired between 1988 and 1989. The storyline centres on the popular character Den Watts and was filmed on location at Dartmoor P ...
started odds-on favourite ahead of the British colt Two of Diamonds ( Dee Stakes) and Orchestra with Fordham next in the betting on 14/1 alongside Icelandic (
John Porter Stakes
The John Porter Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs () a ...
). Fordham went to the front soon after the start, opened up a clear lead on the final turn and kept on well in the straight to hold off the late run of Two of Diamonds to win by three-quarters of a length. He never raced again and was retired to stud at the end of the year.
Timeform gave Fordham a slightly improved rating of 117 for his performances in 1979 twenty pounds behind their Horse of the Year
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 ...
. The International Classification saw him again rated 14 pounds behind Ile de Bourbon, who was the highest-rated older horse.
Stud record
Fordham began his career as a breeding stallion at the
Coolmore Stud
Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is headquarters of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champions. The operat ...
in 1980. He was exported to South Africa in 1982 and his last foals were born in 1988. The best of his offspring was probably the mare Kiss of Peace who four times at Grade 1 level in South Africa.