Dundeel, or It’s a Dundeel as he is known in Australia, is a champion New Zealand

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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. He is the fifth and most recent winner of the Australian Triple Crown.

Background

Dundeel is a bay colt trained by

Murray Baker Murray Baker (born 21 April 1946) is a New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse trainer and former New Zealand cricketer. Cricket Baker played in one List A and seventeen first-class matches for Central Districts and Northern Districts from 1966 to ...

and Andrew Forsman at Murray's Cambridge stables. When in Australia Dundeel was managed by son Bjorn Baker at his Warwick Farm stables. The story of his life is provided on hi
website
His sire

High Chaparral High Chaparral (1 March 1999 – 21 December 2014) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from September 2001 to October 2003, he ran 13 times and won 10 races. His win in the Racing Post Trophy made him one ...

won

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surre ...

in 2002 and 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 curre ...

in 2002 and 2003. As a stallion he is best known as the sire of

So You Think So You Think (foaled 10 November 2006) is a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse, now majority owned by Coolmore Stud of Ireland. So You Think came to prominence through winning the 2009 and 2010 Cox Plates, Australia's premier weight for ag ...

Racing career

Dundeel started his racing career with five straight wins culminating in the 2012

Spring Champion Stakes The Spring Champion Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at Set Weights over a distance of 2000 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in October. Prize money is A$2,000,000. History T ...

. He had previously added to his unbeaten record with another win in the Group 3

Gloaming Stakes The Gloaming Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race, for three-year-olds, at set weights, over a distance of 1800 metres, held annually at Rosehill Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in September. Total prize money for the ra ...

(1800m) also at Randwick in Sydney. In the autumn of 2013 he became the first horse to win the coveted Australian Triple Crown since

Octagonal In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t ...

in 1996. He won the first leg in the 2013

Randwick Guineas The Randwick Guineas is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run at set weights over a distance of 1600 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March as a part of the Sydney Autumn Carnival. ...

(1600m). This victory was followed up by a comfortable 6.8 length win in the 2013

Rosehill Guineas The Rosehill Guineas is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at set weights run over a distance of 2000 metres at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia annually in March. Total prize money for t ...

(2000m). He completed the Australian Triple Crown in style with a 6 length win in the

Australian Derby Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

(2400m) and in doing so he also became the first ever to do so since the first leg moved from the

Canterbury Guineas The Randwick Guineas is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run at set weights over a distance of 1600 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March as a part of the Sydney Autumn Carnival. ...

in 2006. He also becomes the first horse to win a clean sweep of the four major

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 ...

three-year-old races run in Sydney, having previously won the 2012

(2000m), an Australian Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at

Set Weights Set Weights (SW) is a condition for a Thoroughbred horse race. Horses carry a weight based on their age and sex. In a mixed-sex race, fillies and mares will usually carry less than colts, geldings and horses. Additional weight, or penalties, can als ...

, raced at the

Randwick Racecourse Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney racegoers as headquarter ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

with prize money of A$400,000. His fantastic three-year-old season was recognised in receiving the 2013 NSW Champion Horse of the Year. Dundeel continued to develop as a four-year-old and created history in becoming the first horse to beat the previously unbeaten

Atlantic Jewel Atlantic Jewel (26 September 2008 – 20 August 2020) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by champion sire Fastnet Rock, and raced by Coolmore, Atlantic Jewel was trained by Melbourne's Mark Kavanagh. She won 10 of her 11 starts, i ...

in the

2013

Underwood Stakes The Underwood Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race, run over 1800 metres under weight-for-age conditions, held at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late September each year. Total prize money for the ra ...

(1800m) at Caulfield in Melbourne and then proceeded to win the richest race to ever be run on a Sydney track in the $4M Queen Elizabeth Stakes. In reflecting on It's a Dundeel's career, his trainer Murray Baker, and champion jockey James McDonald, who has partnered him in all but one start, both describe Dundeel as the best horse they have ever trained and ridden respectively. Mick Kent, trainer of the

runner-up Philippi, described Dundeel as “the best horse in Australia - as good as the mare (

Black Caviar Black Caviar (foaled 18 August 2006) is a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was undefeated in 25 races, including 15 Group Ones, an Australian record. She was the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 WTRR World Champion Sprinter. Black C ...

)”.

's breeder Rick Jamieson has described Dundeel as a champion and "the best three-year-old we have seen for a while." His victory in the 2014 Queen Elizabeth Stakes earned him a Timeform rating of 129 at the conclusion of his racing career, which ranks him as the 21st equal highest rated Australian racehorse since the 1950s.

Stud career

On 21 April 2014, two days after his victory in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, it was announced that It's a Dundeel was to be retired to

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay ba ...

. This was met with mixed reactions as his trainer Murray Baker was of the opinion that the best was yet to come from the champion colt and others were surprised that his stud fee was so modest given his achievements.
Dundeel
stands at

Arrowfield Stud Arrowfield Stud is a thoroughbred stud farm comprising 2,500 acres in the fertile Segenhoe Valley, near Scone in the Upper Hunter Valley. Established in 1985, Arrowfield Stud is the largest Australian owned thoroughbred stud and currently stands ...

, the largest

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n owned

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 ...

farm.

Notable stock

''c = colt, 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, mak ...

Pedigree

References