Lavinia Fontana (foaled 12 April 1989) was an Irish-bred

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 ...

. She was a durable sprinter who raced in five countries and won nine of her 36 races between April 1991 and November 1995. Competing mainly in minor races early in her career she won once in 1991 and three times in the following year. She was moved up in class as four-year-old and recorded major victories in both the

Prix du Petit Couvert The Prix du Petit Couvert is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,000 metres (about 5 furlongs), and it is schedu ...

in France and the Premio Umbria in Italy. In the following year she showed her best form in autumn, producing a career-best performance to take 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), and ...

in England and winning the

Premio Chiusura The Premio Chiusura is a Listed flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged two years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October or early No ...

in Italy. She was less successful as a six-year-old, but did add a second win in the Premio Chiusura before being retired from racing. As a broodmare she produced two minor winners from six foals.

Background

Lavinia Fontana was a chestnut mare with a small 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 ...

bred in Ireland by Denis Brosnan. She was owned during her racing career by the

art dealer An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationshi ...

Cyril Humphris who named the filly was named after an

Italian painter Following is a list of Italian painters (in alphabetical order) who are notable for their art. A *Niccolò dell'Abbate (1509/12–1571) *Giuseppe Abbati (1836–1868) *Angiolo Achini (1850–1930) *Pietro Adami (c. 1730) *Livio Agresti (1508 ...

. She was initially sent into training with Con Collins 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 f ...

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, ...

. She was one of the best horses sired by

Sharpo Sharpo (1977–1994) was the champion United Kingdom, British Thoroughbred sprinter of 1982. He won seven races and more than £230,000 in prize money during a career which was restricted by his marked preference for soft ground. He develope ...

, a sprinter whose wins included three consecutive runnings of the William Hill Sprint Championship. His other offspring included College Chapel (winner of the

Prix Maurice de Gheest The Prix Maurice de Gheest is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,300 metres (about 6½ furlongs), and it is sched ...

), Penny Drops (

Sandown Mile The Sandown Mile is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Sandown Park in late April. Histor ...

), Sharp Prod (

Moët & Chandon Rennen The Zukunfts-Rennen is a Group 3 flat horse race in Germany open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late August or early Septe ...

), Gorse (

Holsten-Trophy The Flieger Trophy is a Group 3 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Hamburg-Horn over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June or July. ...

), Port Lucaya (

Premio Vittorio di Capua The Premio Vittorio di Capua is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September or Oct ...

), Sharpical (

Tote Gold Trophy The Betfair Hurdle is a Premier Handicap National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ fur ...

) and Dark 'n Sharp (

Red Rum Handicap Chase The Red Rum Handicap Chase is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Mildmay course at Aintree over a distance of abo ...

). Lavinia Fontana's dam Belle Origine was a Kentucky-bred mare who never raced, but was descended from Easy Lass, the dam of

Coaltown Coaltown (1945–1965) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse of whom ''The New York Times'' said "was probably the most underrated Thoroughbred of the 20th Century." Coaltown was nicknamed "The Goose" by the stable empl ...

and

Wistful Wistful (foaled in 1946 in Kentucky) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racemare. The daughter of Sun Again and granddaughter of Sun Teddy is best remembered for wins in the Kentucky Oaks, the Coaching Club American Oaks, the Black-Eyed Susa ...

Racing career

1991 & 1992: early career

In 1991 Lavinia Fontana finished unplaced in minor races at April and May at the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse -- usually referred to as simply the Curragh -- is one of Ireland's most important Thoroughbred racecourses. It is situated on the Curragh plain in County Kildare, between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. History T ...

before contesting 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 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 ...

Naas Racecourse Naas Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, approximately 18 miles from Dublin. The course stages both Flat racing and National Hunt racing and in 2010 fifteen race meetings were held there. The Naas Races Company w ...

on 6 July. Ridden by P V Gilson she started the 5/4 favourite and won by a head from the

Dermot Weld Dermot K. Weld (born 29 July 1948), a former jockey is one of Ireland's most successful racehorse trainers. He holds the record for the most winners trained in Ireland (2,578 set in August 2000). Weld maintains his stable, Rosewell House, in C ...

-trained Evocative. Lavinia Fontana spent 1992 in Ireland, running mainly in minor sprint races. After finishing unplaced in her first three starts she finished second in a handicap race over five furlongs at

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

on 23 August and then recorded her first success of the year over the same course and distance three days later. She then ran three times in handicaps over six furlongs at the Curragh finishing third on 3 September, winning two weeks later before producing her best performance up to that time on 10 October when she won by eight

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 Felsen on yielding ground. On her final appearance of the season the filly was moved up in class and distance for the Listed Garnet Stakes at Naas and finished second to the

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...

-trained Nordic Pageant having briefly taken the lead in the final furlong. In October 1992 the filly was entered in the Goffs sale but was withdrawn before the auction.

1993: four-year-old season

Lavinia Fontana began her third season by finishing third in a minor stakes race 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 ...

in March and then showed improved form to finish second to Asema in the

Athasi Stakes The Athasi Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres) at the Curragh in earl ...

at the Curragh in April. In the following month she contested her first

Group race Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as, in Europe, the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'A ...

and finished sixth of the fourteen runners behind College Chapel in the

Greenlands Stakes The Greenlands Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is schedul ...

at the Curragh. After a break of three months she returned to the track and finished unplaced behind the colt Bradawn Breever in handicaps at the Curragh on 21 August and 18 September. On 2 October in the Listed Waterford Testimonial Stakes she came out second best to Bradawn Breever, beaten a head after sustained struggle in the final furlong. The filly was sent overseas for the first time when she contested the Group Three Prix du Petit Couvert over 1000 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 24 October. Ridden by

Frankie Dettori Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...

she took the lead 200 metres and won by two and a half lengths from the three-year-old filly Palacegate Episode with Zieten (winner of the

Middle Park Stakes The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is s ...

) a further two and a half lengths back in third. Lavinia Fontana was then sent to Italy for the Group Two Premio Umbria over 1200 metres at

Capannelle Racecourse Capannelle Racecourse ( it, Ippodromo delle Capannelle) is a horse racing venue in Rome, Italy. The course was constructed in 1881, and it was rebuilt in 1926 to a design by Paolo Vietti-Violi. It was recently the venue of two Group 1 flat rac ...

in Rome on 21 November. Racing on heavy ground and ridden by Alan Munro she took the lead approaching the last 200 metres and went clear of the field to win by two lengths from Branston Abby.

1994: five-year-old season

Before the start of the 1994 season Lavinia Fontana was transferred to England and joined the stable of John Dunlop at

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. On her first appearance for her new trainer she finished fourth to College Chapel in the Greenlands Stakes and then made a promising British debut when she finished second to the outstanding racemare

Lochsong Lochsong (26 April 1988 – 27 May 2014) was a bay Thoroughbred filly who twice won the Cartier Award as Top European Sprinter and was voted 1993 European Horse of the Year. Background Lochsong was a bay mare bred by her owner, Jeff Smith's Li ...

in the

Temple Stakes The Temple Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

Sandown Park Racecourse Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing ...

on 24 May. In July she started a 33/1 outsider for the

July Cup The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres ...

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 ...

and finished last of the nine runners behind Owington before being sent to France for the

and producing a much better effort on softer ground as she finished third behind Dolphin Street and Catrail. On 3 September Lavinia Fontana was one of eight horses to contest the Sprint Cup over six furlongs at

Haydock Park Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Merseyside, North West England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the racecourse is set in an area of parkland bounded by the towns of Haydock to the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield ...

and was ridden for the first time by

Jason Weaver Jason Michael Weaver (born July 18, 1979) is an American actor and singer best known for his roles as Marcus Henderson on The WB sitcom ''Smart Guy,'' Jerome Turrell on the short-lived sitcom '' Thea'' from 1993 to 1994, and the pre-teenaged ...

. In a race run in driving rain she started the 11/2 fourth choice in the betting behind Owington, Unblest ( Champagne Stakes) and Zieten. The other four runners were

Piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

, Stack Rock (

Hopeful Stakes The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has ...

), Blyton Lad ( Rous Stakes) and Tabook. In a change of tactics the mare went to the front after two furlongs and set the pace before accelerating clear of the field in the final furlong. She won "comfortably" by three and a half lengths from Piccolo with the favourite Owington half a length away in third. Lavinia Fontana made four more appearances in the late autumn of 1994. In October she finished seventh to Lochsong in the

Prix de l'Abbaye The Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged two years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse, L ...

over 1000 metres at Longchamp and then ran unplaced behind

Bigstone Bigstone (8 February 1990 – 2002) was an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a three-year-old he became the only French-trained horse to win both of Britain's most important all-aged mile races, the Sussex Stakes and ...

in the

Prix de la Forêt The Prix de la Forêt is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is ...

over 1400 metres at the same track. On 9 November she was sent to Italy again for the Group Three

over 1400 metres on heavy ground at the

San Siro Racecourse The Hippodrome of San Siro ( it, Ippodromo di San Siro) is a horse racing venue in Milan, Italy, which takes its name from the neighborhood of the same name in which it is located. History Designed in 1913 to replace the then-used Trotter in V ...

in Milan. Ridden by Giovanni Forte she led from the start and won "very easily" by two and a quarter lengths from the four-year-old colt Taufan Black. The mare ended her season by attempting to repeat her 1993 success in the Premio Umbria but finished unplaced behind the

Peter Chapple-Hyam Peter Chapple-Hyam (born 2 April 1963 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He trained Dr Devious to win The Derby in 1992 and repeated the feat with Authorized in 2007. He managed two Group One wins ...

-trained Thousla Rock.

1995: six-year-old season

As a six-year-old, Lavinia Fontana did not appear until June, when she finished second to Les Boyer in the

Premio Emilio Turati The Premio Carlo Vittadini is a Group 3 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late May or early Ju ...

over 1600 metres in Milan. She was then off the course until August when she finished sixth to

Cherokee Rose ''Rosa laevigata'', the Cherokee rose, is a white, fragrant rose native to southern China and Taiwan south to Laos and Vietnam, and invasive in the United States. Description It is an evergreen climbing shrub, scrambling over other shrubs and ...

in the Prix Maurice de Gheest and was then sent to Germany where she finished second to

Hever Golf Rose Hever Golf Rose (22 February 1991 – September 1999) was a thoroughbred racehorse who was bred and trained in the United Kingdom, and campaigned throughout Europe in a career that lasted from 1993 to 1998. She was a specialist sprinter, showing ...

in the

Goldene Peitsche The Goldene Peitsche is a Group 3 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late August o ...

. In September she attempted to repeat her 1994 success in the Haydock Sprint Cup but finished last of the six runners behind Cherokee Rose and on 1 October she ran fifth behind Hever Golf Rose in the Prix de l'Abbaye. On 4 Milan the mare ran for the second time in the Premio Chiusura and was again partnered by Giovanni Forte. After tracking the leaders she took the lead 200 metres from the finish and stayed on well to win by half a length from Imprevedibile. On her final racecourse appearance Lavinia Fontana finished sixth behind Beat of Drums in the Premio Umbria on 19 November.

Breeding record

Lavinia Fontana was retired from racing to become a broodmare. She produced at least six foals and two minor winners between 1998 and 2007: *Oreana, a bay filly, foaled in 1998, sired by

Anabaa Anabaa (1992 – 2009) was an American-bred champion Thoroughbred racehorse who was trained in France during a racing career which lasted from September 1995 to October 1996. Anabaa failed to win until the age of four, but in 1996 he won his ...

. Won one race in England. *Esgrima, filly, 1999, by

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

. Failed to win in two races. *La Tintoretta, bay filly, 2000, by

Desert Prince Desert Prince (foaled 14 March 1995) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After winning one of his four starts as a two-year-old in 1997, he improved to become one of the best milers and the highest-rated horse o ...

. Won one race in Ireland. *Epitimos Proedros, bay colt, 2005, by

Red Ransom Red Ransom (foaled 1987 in Virginia, died 2009) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In his 2006 book ''Designing Speed in the Racehorse'', author Ken McLean wrote that Red Ransom "was a sensationally fast juvenile." Bred by Paul Mellon and r ...

. Unraced. *Crimson Mist, bay colt (later gelded), 2006, by Red Ransom. Failed to win in three races. *Rodrigo Fontana, colt (later gelded), 2007, by Red Ransom. Failed to win in two races.

Pedigree

*Lavinia Fontana was

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

4 × 4 to Native Dancer, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of her pedigree.

References

{{Reflist 1989 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 7-e