Kastoria (foaled 2 April 2001) is an Irish

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

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 ...

best known for her upset victory over

Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish litera ...

in the 2006

Irish St. Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...

. Bred and owned by

Aga Khan IV Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ha ...

and trained by

John Oxx John M. Oxx (born 14 July 1950) is a retired Irish trainer of thoroughbred racehorses. By the end of the 2009 season Oxx had trained 35 Group One winners over his career, including the winners of 11 Classic races. He is best known as the traine ...

she was a specialist stayer who competed in five different countries and won six of her thirteen races. Unraced at two or three years she began her racing career in 2005 when she won the

Galtres Stakes The Galtres Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 188 yards (2,385 metres ...

and finished second in the

Give Thanks Stakes The Give Thanks Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Cork Racecourse over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), ...

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 (2,9 ...

and

Prix de Royallieu The Prix de Royallieu is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,800 metres (about 1 mile and ...

. In the following year she won the

Vintage Crop Stakes The Vintage Crop Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Navan over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it is scheduled to take pl ...

Curragh Cup The Curragh Cup is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh Racecourse, Curragh over a d ...

and

Ballyroan Stakes The Ballyroan Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it is schedul ...

before recording her biggest win in the Irish St. Leger. She also finished second in the

Hong Kong Vase The Hong Kong Vase is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,400 metres (about miles or 12 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year ...

on her final racecourse appearance. As a broodmare she has produced some minor winners.

Background

Kastoria is a chestnut mare with a broad white blaze and white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

on her hind legs. bred in Ireland by her owner

. During her racing career she was trained at

Kilcullen Kilcullen (), formally Kilcullen Bridge, is a small town on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Its population of 3,473 at the 2011 census made it the 12th largest settlement in County Kildare and the fastest growi ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

and was ridden in ten of her thirteen races by

Mick Kinane Michael J. Kinane (born 22 June 1959, Killenaule, County Tipperary) is an Irish former flat racing jockey. He had a 34-year career, retiring on 8 December 2009. A prolific winner of the Irish, English and French Classic race ...

. She was sired by Selkirk an American-bred miler who won the

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 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 (1,609 metres), and it is s ...

in 1991. As a breeding stallion, his other successful offspring included

Wince Windows Embedded Compact, formerly Windows Embedded CE, Windows Powered and Windows CE, is an operating system subfamily developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows Embedded family of products. Unlike Windows Embedded Standard, which is base ...

Sublimity In aesthetics, the sublime (from the Latin '' sublīmis'') is the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness beyond all possibility ...

, Cityscape (

Dubai Duty Free Dubai Duty Free (DDF) is the company responsible for the duty-free operations at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport. Founded in December 1983, DDF recorded first-year sales of US$20 million and has grown into one ...

) and Thistle Bird ( Pretty Polly Stakes). Her dam Kassana showed considerable racing ability, winning 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 d ...

Prix Minerve The Prix Minerve is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,500 metres (about 1 mile and 4½ furlongs), and it is scheduled to t ...

as a three-year-old in 1997. She was a descendant of the Irish broodmare Kalkeen (foaled 1974), making her a close relative of several major winners including

Kahyasi Kahyasi (2 April 1985 – 2008) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. He won the first five races of his seven-race career, including the Epsom Derby and the Irish Derby as a three-year-old in 1988. Backg ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Key Change In music, modulation is the change from one tonality ( tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature (a key change). Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as ...

Racing career

2005: four-year-old season

Unusually for a modern racehorse, Kastoria did not appear on the track until the age of four, making her debut on 10 June 2005 2005 when she finished second in a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

over one mile and five

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 ...

Wexford Racecourse Wexford Racecourse is a horse racing venue in the town of Wexford, Ireland which stages National Hunt racing. The earliest record of racing in the area is in the 1870s. The course formerly staged Flat racing Horse racing is an equestria ...

. In a similar event at

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

three weeks later as she won by two

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 9/4. She was then stepped up in class for the Listed

Cork Racecourse Cork Racecourse, also known as Cork Racecourse Mallow, is a horse racing venue at Mallow, County Cork, Ireland which stages both National Hunt racing and Flat racing. It is located 35 km north of Cork and 64 km from Limerick The cours ...

on 1 August and finished second, beaten a short head by the

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

-trained Mona Lisa. Eighteen days after her run at Cork the filly was sent to England and started the 6/4 favourite against nine opponents in the Listed

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

. After tracking the leaders, she produced a sustained run in the straight, overtook the front-running Albahja inside the final furlong and won buy half a length. Kastoria was back in England in September for the

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in a ...

Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy. History Doncas ...

in which she was made 7/2 co-favourite alongside Punctilious and the French-trained mare Sweet Stream (winner of the 2004

Prix Vermeille The Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), an ...

). She took the lead in the straight but was overtaken in the closing stages and beaten into second by Sweet Stream. On her final appearance of the season she was sent to France for the

over 2500 metres at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

on 1 October in which she finished second to the favoured Oiseau Rare.

2006: five-year-old season

Kastoria's first run of 2006 saw her made odds-on favourite, ahead of the

Mooresbridge Stakes The Mooresbridge Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) at the Curragh in ...

winner Cairdeas in the Listed Vintage Crop Stakes at

Navan Racecourse Navan Racecourse is a horse racing venue at Proudstown near Navan, County Meath, Ireland, approximately 48 kilometres from Dublin. The course stages Flat racing but is best known for National Hunt racing. Navan Racecourse is owned by Horse Racing ...

on 30 April. After racing in fifth place she made steady progress in the straight, went to the front with a furlong and a half left to run and won by a length from her stablemate Virginia Woolf. In May she started favourite for the Yorkshire Cup but finished fourth of the seven runners behind the five-year-old

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 ...

Percussionist. On 1 July the mare started 9/4 favourite for the Curragh Cup ahead of

Collier Hill Collier Hill (foaled 26 March 1998) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by the prominent American sportsman George W. Strawbridge, Jr. who was involved in both steeplechase and flat racing and who raced in Europe and the United State ...

and Mkuzi, a seven-year-old gelding who had won the race for the last two years. After being restrained by Kinane at the rear of the seven-runner field she stayed on strongly in the straight took the lead inside the final furlong and held off the late challenge of Collier Hill to win by a head. After a break of almost seven weeks, Kastoria returned in the Listed

over one and a half miles at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

. Starting the 4/5 favourite she raced in second behind the British-trained Foreign Affairs (winner of the

Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3,219 ...

) before taking the lead a furlong out and drawing away to win by three lengths. John Oxx commented "She's a lovely mare and I wish we could have one of her every year. She dosses a bit in front but hopefully she will step up again from this". The Group 1 Irish St. Leger 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 ...

on 16 September saw the 2005 winner

start the 2/7 favourite with Kastoria next in the betting on 6/1. The other six runners included Percussionist, The Whistling Teal (

St Simon Stakes The St. Simon Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and ...

Chester Cup The Chester Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2 miles, 2 furlongs and 147 yards () at Chester in ...

) and Fracas (

Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial The Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) a ...

). Kinane settled the mare in fourth place behind Percussionist, Yeats and Fracas in the early stages before making a forward move entering the straight by which point Yeats had gone to the front. Kastoria moved up alongside the favourite approaching the final furlong and got the better of Yeats to win by half a length. The pair finished ten lengths clear of the other runners, who were headed by The Whistling Teal. After the race Oxx said "I thought we would run Yeats close as her homework has been terrific lately. She's the type of filly who always has a bit in the tank and needs a good horse to take her along. She's had a very good season and just seems to have improved a bit. She keeps pulling out a bit more when she's got a target to follow. She loves to have a target to attack at the end and when she gets to the front she pricks her ears and doesn't do a lot". In October Kastoria was sent to Canada where she started favourite for the Pattison Canadian International at

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

but finished eighth of the ten runners behind Collier Hill. For her final racecourse appearance, the mare was shipped to Hong Kong to contest the

Sha Tin Racecourse Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin District, Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club. Penfold Park is encircled by the track, and the Hon ...

on 10 December. After being badly hampered and dropping back to last place entering the straight she produced a very strong finish and appeared to be an unlucky loser as she failed by a nose to overhaul Collier Hill.

Breeding record

Kastoria was retired from racing to become a broodmare for the Aga Khan's stud. She produced five foals and two winners: *Kastania, a bay filly, foaled in 2008, sired by

Gone West Gone West (March 10, 1984 – September 7, 2009) was an American Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse. Bred by William O. Reed, he was a son of the influential sire Mr. Prospector. His dam, Secrettame, was a daughter of 1973 United States Tripl ...

. Won one race. *Kastovia, chestnut filly, 2009, by

Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...

. Unraced. *Karlidi, bay colt (later

gelded 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, making th ...

), 2010,

Smart Strike Smart Strike (foaled May 21, 1992 in Ontario – died March 25, 2015) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. The son of the Champion sire, Mr. Prospector, and out of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame mare Classy 'n Smart, Smart Strike is a ...

. Failed to win in nine races. *Kassim, bay colt, 2012, by

Shamardal Shamardal (27 March 2002 – 16 April 2020) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in the United Kingdom and in France and was voted the 2004 European Champion Two-Year-Old. Background Bred at Watercress Farm in Paris, Kentucky, Shamardal w ...

. Won two races. *Kossian, chestnut colt (gelded), 2013, by

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 treble ...

In November 2013 Katoria was offered for sale at Goffs and bought for €100,000 by Kirsten Rausing's Lanwades Stud.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2001 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 5-e Irish Classic Race winners