Interpidity (foaled 19 February 1990) was a British-bred, French-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. In a racing career which lasted from April 1993 to November 1994 the

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 ...

ran twelve times and won four races. Unraced as a two-year-old, Intrepidity proved to be the outstanding three-year-old filly in Europe in 1993, winning the Prix Saint-Alary and the Prix Vermeille in France and The Oaks in England. She also finished fourth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, beaten 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 the end of the year she was voted European Champion Three-year-old Filly at the

Cartier Racing Awards The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races (40%) plus the votes cast by British racing journalists (30%) and readers of the ...

. Intrepidity was kept in training as a four-year-old, but failed to win, although she finished second in the Prix Ganay and the Prix Foy. She was then retired to stud where her record as a

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 ...

was disappointing.

Background

Intrepidity was a dark bay mare with a 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 two white feet bred in Britain by M. Ryan. She was sired by the thirteen time Champion sire Sadler's Wells. Intrepidity's dam, Intrepid Lady, was an American-bred daughter of

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

, and closely related on her dam's side to Bold Bidder. Apart from Intrepidity, Intrepid Lady's best foal was Acushla, a filly who twice won the

Phoenix Sprint Stakes The Phoenix Sprint Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is schedu ...

. Intrepidity was sent into training with André Fabre at Chantilly.

Racing career

1993: three-year-old season

Intrepidity began her racing career in the Prix Finlande, Listed race run over 1800 metres in April at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris. Ridden by

Thierry Jarnet Thierry Jarnet (born 24 March 1967) is a champion thoroughbred flat racing jockey in France who won the title four times between 1992–1995. Jarnet was first apprenticed to Patrick Rago at Maisons-Laffitte and then to Yann Porzier at Chanti ...

, she won by half a length from Alice Springs. The form of the race was boosted when the third horse, Madeleine's Dream, won the Group One

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 ...

on 16 May. A week later, Intrepidity was promoted to Group One class for the 2000 m Prix Saint-Alary. Starting the 4/5 favourite, the filly took the lead in the straight and went clear of her opponents before being eased down by Jarnet to win by a length from Dancienne. Michael Roberts took over from Jarnet when the filly was sent to England to contest the Oaks on 5 June. In a field of fourteen fillies, Intrepidity started 5/1 second favourite, behind the Barry Hills-trained Yawl (4/1) and just ahead of her stable companion Wemyss Bight. Intrepidity stumbled early in the race as she struggled to cope with the demanding course (according to Richard Edmondson in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' she resembled " Bambi on roller-skates") and was among the back-markers until the runners entered the straight. Switched to the outside, Intrepidity made rapid progress to take the lead inside the final furlong and win comfortably by three-quarters of a length from Royal Ballerina and Oakmead, with Wemyss Bight seven lengths back in fifth. The winning time of 2:34.19 set a new record for the race which still stands (as of 2012). Roberts, who had never sat on Intrepidity before riding her in the race, claimed that he had never been worried, saying that "once I got her running I knew I was going to win". Fabre called her "a top-class filly" and indicated that she would probably be rested until autumn. A month after her win at Epsom, the still-unbeaten Intrepidity started 11/10 favourite for the

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 ...

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 ...

, after her connections abandoned plans to run her 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 in the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) 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 ...

. Sheikh Mohammed had to pay a supplementary fee of £25,000 to run her in the race, as she had not been among the original entries. Racing on much softer ground she appeared outpaced in the closing stages and finished fourth behind Wemyss Bight, Royal Ballerina and Oakmead. Intrepidity and Wemyss Bight met for the third time in the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp in September, with Wemyss Bight starting favourite. Ridden once again by Thierry Jarnet, Intrepidity came from well back in the field to take the lead in the straight and held the late challenge of Wemyss Bight (who appeared to be an unlucky loser) to win by a head. Intrepidity and

Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

made up Sheikh Mohammed's entry for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October, and the pair were made 3.9/1 second favourite behind the Prix du Jockey Club winner Hernando (in France, horses in the same ownership are grouped together for betting purposes). Jarnet held the filly at the back of the twenty-three runner field before switching to the wide outside in the straight. Intrepidity overtook most of the runners in the final 200m but was unable to catch the leaders and was a fast-finishing fourth behind

Urban Sea Urban Sea (18 February 1989 – 2 March 2009) was an American bred Thoroughbred racemare best known for winning France's most prestigious race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in 1993 and for her importance as a world-class broodmare. She is one o ...

, White Muzzle and Opera House. On her final appearance of the season, Intrepidity was sent to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

for the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

at Santa Anita Park, but was never in contention and finished unplaced behind

Kotashaan Kotashaan (foaled May 4, 1988 in Orne, France) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in France and earned Champion honors in the United States. Background He was bred and raced by brothers Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, owners of the House ...

1994: four-year-old season

Intrepidity made her four-year-old debut in the Group One Prix Ganay at Longchamp on 1 May, and started favourite against a field which included Urban Sea,

Ezzoud Ezzoud (6 May 1989 – August 1998), was a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Ireland and trained in the United Kingdom during a racing career which lasted from 1991 to 1994. He is best known for winning consecutive runnings of the International St ...

and

Bob's Return Bob's Return (1990–2008), was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from June 1992 until September 1994, he ran fifteen times and won five races. He recorded his most important success w ...

. Intrepidity was last of the eight runners entering the straight before finishing strongly to finish second to Marildo. In June, Intrepidity returned to the scene of her Oaks victory and started favourite for the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

, but was never able to challenge the leaders and finished last of the eleven runners behind her stable companion

Apple Tree An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

. After a break of three months, Intrepidity returned in the Prix Foy at Longchamp in September. In a race in which André Fabre trained four of the five runners, she finished second to Richard of York, with Apple Tree and Hernando third and fourth. Intrepidity was part of a four-strong Sheikh Mohammed entry (with Richard of York, Carnegie and King's Theatre) which started favourite for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Intrepidity was ridden closer to the lead than usual, and turned into the straight in third place, but weakened in the closing stages and finished thirteenth of the twenty runners behind Carnegie. On her final start, Intrepidity made a second bid for the Breeders' Cup Turf and ran much better than she had in 1993. At

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

on 5 November she started a 47/1 outsider but finished strongly to take fourth place behind Tikkanen,

Hatoof Hatoof (born January 26, 1989 in Versailles, Kentucky) is a Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who competed internationally out of a base in Chantilly, France under trainer Criquette Head for owner Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Racing at a ...

and Paradise Creek.

Assessment and honours

The independent Timeform organisation gave Intrepidity a rating of 124. In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Intrepidity an "average" winner of the Oaks. In the

for 1993, Intrepidity was voted European Champion Three-year-old Filly.

Stud record

Intrepidity was retired to become a broodmare for Sheikh Mohammed's

Darley Stud Darley Stud is located at Dalham Hall, the global breeding operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. It is on the outskirts of Newmarket, Suffolk, the internati ...

. Although she was sent to many leading stallions including

Mr. Prospector Mr. Prospector (January 28, 1970 – June 1, 1999) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who became an outstanding breeding stallion and notable sire of sires. A sprinter whose career was cut short by repeated injuries, he won seven of his 14 starts, i ...

, Gone West and

Rainbow Quest ''Rainbow Quest'' (1965–66) was a U.S. television series devoted to folk music and hosted by Pete Seeger. It was videotaped in black-and-white and featured musicians playing in traditional American music genres such as traditional folk music, ...

she did not produce any top class racehorses. Her most successful runner was Deodatus, sired by Darshaan, who won several races in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. *1996 MUGHAMERR (GB), bay or brown filly, foaled 8 March, by Mr. Prospector (USA) – placed once from 9 starts in France and England, dam of winners in Japan *1997 CLASSIQUE, bay filly by Rainbow Quest (USA) – unraced *1998 DEODATUS (USA), bay colt, foaled 28 April, by Darshaan (GB) – won 7 races in Dubai 2001–2006 *2001 IMPERIALISM (IRE), bay colt, foaled 22 February, by Seeking The Gold (USA) – never ran, died in 2004 *2002 BARONIAL (GB), bay colt, foaled 7 March, by King's Best (USA) – exported to Czech Republic *2003 BATTLE READY (IRE), bay colt, 27 March, by Mark Of Esteem (IRE) – exported to Japan *2004 Bay colt by King's Best (USA) *2005 Barren to Dubai Destination (USA) *2006 Barren to Cape Cross (IRE) *2007 WILD GEESE (IRE), Brown gelding, foaled 28 February, by Cape Cross (IRE) – won a hurdle and 2 steeplechases and placed 11 times on the flat and under National Hunt rules 2010–2014 *2008 Bay colt by Byron (GB) *2009 Barren to Dubawi (IRE) *2010 LONE ASCENT (IRE), grey filly by Dalakhani (IRE) – unraced *2011 DASTARDLY (IRE), bay colt, foaled 13 May, by Invincible Spirit (IRE) – ran 6 times in France 2014, finishing 2nd once in a minor race in the Provinces Put out of stud in October 2011

Pedigree

References

{{Cartier Champion Three-year-old Filly 1990 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 3-n Epsom Oaks winners