Green Desert (16 April 1983 – 9 September 2015) was an American-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 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 ...

Racing career

1985: two-year-old season

After finishing second on his racecourse debut, Green Desert won the July Stakes over six

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 ...

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 ...

. He then finished second to Nomination in the

Richmond Stakes The Richmond Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is sch ...

at Goodwood before dropping back to five furlongs to win the Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster Racecourse. On his final appearance of the season he finished fourth to Luqman in the

Mill Reef Stakes The Mill Reef Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-olds. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled ...

at Newbury.

1986: three-year-old season

Green Desert began his second season by winning the European Free Handicap over seven furlongs at Newmarket and then finished second to

Dancing Brave Dancing Brave (11 May 1983 – 2 August 1999) was an American-bred, British-trained thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career which lasted from the autumn of 1985 until October 1986, he ran ten times and won eight races. Dancing Brave was the ou ...

in the 2000 Guineas. He made no impact on heavy ground in the

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

and then finished second to Sure Blade in the

St James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs and 213 yards (1,603 metres). It is sched ...

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 ...

. When brought back to sprint distances Green Desert's form improved as he won the July Cup, finished third to

Last Tycoon Last Tycoon (9 May 1983 – 27 May 2006) was an Irish bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the Breeders' Cup Mile and as a leading sire in Australia. Background Last Tycoon was bred in Ireland by his owner Richard C. Strauss's Ki ...

in the William Hill Sprint Championship and won the

Haydock Sprint Cup The Sprint Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), an ...

. In his last two races he finished fourth in 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) ...

and last of nine when tried on dirt in the

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt Corrected grade for Santa Anita sprintover a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually s ...

Stud record

Standing at

Shadwell Stud Shadwell Racing is the Thoroughbred horse racing operations of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Introduced to Thoroughbred flat racing while a student in the United Kingdom, Sheikh Hamdan esta ...

, Green Desert was the sire of four Champion Sprinters and seventy-two individual Stakes winners. Green Desert was retired from stud duty in 2011 and 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 ...

at the Nunnery Stud on 9 September 2015 at the age of thirty-two.

Major winners

''c =

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 ...

, f =

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

, g =

gelding 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 ...

Sire of sires

Several of Green Desert's sons became successful breeding stallions and three had exceptional success: *Cape Cross sired

Ouija Board The ouija ( , ), also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the Latin alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no", occasionally "hello" and "goodbye", along with various symbols and grap ...

Sea The Stars Sea The Stars (foaled 6 April 2006) is a retired champion Irish Thoroughbred racehorse regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. He won the 2000 Guineas, the Derby, the Eclipse Stakes – the first colt to accomplish this trebl ...

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...

Behkabad Behkabad (foaled 21 March 2007) is a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. As a two-year-old in 2009 he was undefeated in three races including the Group races, Group 3 Prix des Chênes. In the following spring he lost his unbeat ...

Able One Able One (; foaled 1 November 2002) is a New Zealand-bred Hong Kong based Thoroughbred racehorse. In the season of 2009-2010, Able One win the HKG2 Chairman's Trophy, and he then followed up in the Champions Mile. Able One also is one of the nom ...

Seachange ''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howar ...

and

Awtaad Awtaad (foaled 1 February 2013) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed promise as a juvenile, winning a maiden race on his second racecourse appearance in October 2015. In the following spring he showed great improvement, winning the Mad ...

. *Invincible Spirit sired Kingman,

Moonlight Cloud Moonlight Cloud (foaled 5 March 2008) is a British– bred, French- trained Thoroughbred racehorse who has won the Prix Maurice de Gheest three times and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. In a famous race for the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in 2012, sh ...

Charm Spirit Charm Spirit (foaled 26 February 2011) is an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old he won one minor race but showed promise when finishing third in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère. In the following year he establish ...

Magna Grecia Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these re ...

Fleeting Spirit Fleeting Spirit is a retired, Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was trained in the United Kingdom during a racing career which lasted from 2007 to 2010. She was a specialist sprinter, running all of her races over five and six furlongs. Fle ...

Eqtidaar Eqtidaar (4 May 2015 – 26 April 2023) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed promise as two-year-old when he won a maiden race on his debut and then finished fourth in the Sirenia Stakes. In the following year he ...

, Mayson, Lawman, Nazeef,

Vale of York The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the northeast of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north–south transport corridor for Northern England. The Vale of York is often supposed to stretch from the R ...

, Hooray, Shalaa and Rosdhu Queen. *Oasis Dream sired

Midday Noon (or midday) is 12 12-hour clock, o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for 12-hour clock, meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for 12-hour clock, post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24 ...

Muhaarar Muhaarar (foaled 25 February 2012) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old he showed very good form, winning the Gimcrack Stakes and finishing third in both the July Stakes and the Middle Park Stakes. He began his three-year-old c ...

, Goldream,

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

, Aqlaam, Jwala,

Charming Thought Charming Thought (foaled 24 January 2012) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed his best form as a two-year-old in 2014. After finishing second on his debut he won two minor races and then recorded a 22/1 upset victory in the Middle Par ...

, Arcano, Prohibit and

Pretty Pollyanna Pretty Pollyanna (foaled 25 February 2016) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2018 she was one of the best fillies of her generation in Europe, winning the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes and the Prix Morny. Background Prett ...

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1983 racehorse births 2015 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family A4