Mac's Imp (12 February 1988 – 1996) 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 ...

. As a two-year-old in 1990 he was one of the most successful colts of his generation in Europe, winning six of his eight races including the

Coventry Stakes The Coventry Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ...

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 schedul ...

and Phoenix Stakes. He failed to reproduce his juvenile form in two starts as a three-year-old and was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion. He had modest success as a sire of winners but was

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 ...

in 1995 and died a year later.

Background

Mac's Imp was a bay horse with a white

sock 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 his left hind leg bred in Kentucky by Brereton C Jones & Rodney P Carothers. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

he was consigned by Jones to the

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

September Yearling Sale where he was bought for $25,000 by the British racehorse trainer Bill O'Gorman. During his racing career he was owned by Tamdown Ltd (Michael McDonnell and Tom Mohan) and trained by O'Gorman at

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...

. O'Gorman had built his reputation by training precociously fast two-year-olds, including

Superpower A superpower is a state with a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural s ...

and the 1984 British Horse of the Year

Provideo Provideo (4 January 1982 – 7 September 2000) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1984 he set a 20th-century record for a British-trained two-year-old when he won sixteen of his twenty-four races. His most important wins were ...

. Mac's Imp was ridden in all but one of his races by Alan Munro. He was sired by Imp Society, who won thirteen of his twenty-five races including the Oaklawn Handicap and

Razorback Handicap The Razorback Handicap is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for four-year-olds and older at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in February at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The event c ...

. His dam Flaming Reason showed more modest racing ability, winning four minor events in a four-year track career. She was descended from Flaring Top (foaled 1947) an influential American broodmare who was the ancestor of many major winners including Nijinsky and

The Minstrel The Minstrel (11 March 1974 – 3 September 1990) was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred in Ontario, he was sold as a yearling and exported to Europe, where he was campaigned in Ireland and the United Kingd ...

Racing career

1990: two-year-old season

Mac's Imp made his racecourse debut 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 five furlongs at

Nottingham Racecourse Nottingham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated at Colwick Park, close to the River Trent and about 3 km east of the city centre. Characteristics There are actually ...

on 1 May in which he started the 4/9 favourite but finished second to Poet's Cove (later to win the

Molecomb Stakes The Molecomb Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ...

). He reappeared only four days later in a similar event at Newmarket and recorded his first success as he led from the start and won "comfortably" by five

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 ...

. On 23 May he was moved up to six furlongs for a minor event at

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in lat ...

and won "easily" by eight lengths from three opponents. Three weeks later at Newbury he added a victory in the Kingsclere Stake, beating three opponents at odds of 4/6. Five days at his success at Newbury, Mac's Imp was moved up in class and started the 2/1 favourite against twelve opponents for the Group 3 Coventry Stakes at

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 ...

. He led from the start and kept on well in the final furlong to win by two lengths from Generous. In the following month at Newmarket, Mac's Imp started favourite for the

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

but after leading for most of the way he was overtaken approaching the final furlong and beaten into second place by Mujtahid. In the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood on 1 August the colt contested the Group 2 Richmond Stakes and started the 2/1 favourite ahead of six opponents including Time Gentleman ( Railway Stakes) and Sylva Honda (

Woodcote Stakes The Woodcote Stakes is a conditions flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 6 furlongs and 3 yards (1,210 metres) at Epsom Downs ...

). After being briefly led by Mujadil, he went to the front after two furlongs and won by a length from Distinctly North, with three lengths back to Sylva Honda in third. Eleven days after his win at Goodwood, Macs Imp was sent to Ireland and faced Distinctly North again in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes 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 ...

, where the other fancied runners included Capricciosa, On Tiptoes (

Queen Mary Stakes The Queen Mary Stakes is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Filly, fillies. It is run at Ascot Racecourse, Ascot over a distance o ...

) and Gypsy Fiddler (

Windsor Castle Stakes The Windsor Castle Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,003 metres) at Ascot as part of the Royal As ...

). Starting the even money favourite, Mac's Imp prevailed by a neck from Distinctly North with a gap of three lengths back to the other eleven runners.

1991: three-year-old season

Mac's Imp began his second campaign in a minor race over six furlongs at Thirsk Racecourse on 20 April. He started the 6/4 favourite but ran poorly and finished last of the eight runners, beaten almost twenty lengths by the winner Norton Challenger. Cash Asmussen took over from Munro when the colt was dropped to five furlongs for a race at Kempton in May. The change in jockey brought no improvement as Mac's Imp showed some "early speed" before fading to finish last of the six runners.

Stud record

Mac's Imp was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion. After three years he was removed from stud duties and was

in July 1995. He died a year later at the age of eight. During his brief stud career he sired many minor winners as well as a few better class performers including 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 ...

winner March Star.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1988 racehorse births 1996 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 8-f