Mastercraftsman (19 February 2006 – 13 August 2021) was a

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

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. The four-time Group One-winning colt was trained by

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

and was ridden by

Johnny Murtagh Johnny Murtagh (born 14 May 1970) is an Irish flat racing trainer and former jockey from Bohermeen, near Navan, Kells, County Meath. As a jockey he won many of the major flat races in Europe, including all the Irish Classi ...

in all of his wins. He was out of mare Starlight Dreams and by top stallion

Danehill Dancer Danehill Dancer was a bay horse bred by L. K. and K. McCreery and foaled on 20 January 1993. He was sired by Danehill, who won the Haydock Sprint Cup in 1989. Danehill Dancer's dam is Mira Adonde, a daughter of Sharpen Up. Mira Adonde was tra ...

Racing career

2008: two-year-old season

Mastercraftsman's career began in a six-furlong maiden 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 ...

in May 2008, where he won by half a length. He won two more races over 6 furlongs at the

, the group 2 Railway stakes and group 1

Phoenix stakes The Phoenix Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is sc ...

. His second group 1 win came when stepped up in trip to 7 furlongs in the

National Stakes The Vincent O'Brien National Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metr ...

. It was not until his first race outside

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

that he was defeated. He was beaten into fourth place by the

Freddy Head Freddy Head (born 19 June 1947, in Neuilly, France) is a retired champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing and currently a horse trainer. Known also as "Freddie", his grandfather was a jockey as was his father Alec Head who also became a succes ...

trained Naaqoos in the

Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère The Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère, formerly the Grand Critérium, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1, ...

Maisons-Laffitte Maisons-Laffitte () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the northern Île-de-France region of France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of northwestern Paris, from its centre. In 2018, it had a population of 23,611. Maisons-Laf ...

in France. Nevertheless, wins in three important

conditions races Conditions races are horse races in which the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the ...

earned Mastercraftsman 2008 European Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors.

2009: three-year-old season

Mastercraftsman's first race of 2009 was the English

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year ...

ridden by

Pat Smullen Patrick Joseph Smullen (22 May 1977 – 15 September 2020), was an Irish jockey who won the Irish flat racing Champion Jockey title nine times. In a career running from 1992 to 2018 he rode 1,845 winners in Ireland and 47 in Britain. Amongst h ...

. The race was won 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 trebl ...

with Mastercraftsman finishing in 5th place and behind Aidan O'Brien's other runner

Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their liquor and falls aslee ...

. Success came in the Irish version of the

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

with Mastercraftsman starting favourite and going on to win by 4 and a half lengths. A few weeks later he returned to England to win the St. James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. Mastercraftsman contested the

International Stakes The International Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards (2, ...

and

Irish Champion Stakes The Irish Champion Stakes ( Irish: Curadh-Dhuais na hÉireann) is a Group 1 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 2 furlongs (2,01 ...

finishing in 2nd and 3rd place respectively behind winner

. He easily won the Group 3 Diamond Stakes as odds on favourite before a trip to the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

. He was favourite to win his last race the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile but could only manage 4th place behind the Kentucky Cup Classic winner

Furthest Land Furthest Land (foaled 2005 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Catherine Wills, Furthest Land is the first registered foal from the unraced mare, Flagrant, a daughter of Rahy. He was a former claimer for $35,000 who, unde ...

Stud career

Mastercaftsman was retired to stand at

Coolmore Stud Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is headquarters of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champions. The operat ...

in 2010. He died from a suspected heart attack at Coolmore on 13 August 2021.

Notable stock

''c = colt, f = filly, g = gelding''

External links

Mastercraftsman's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{reflist

External links

– ''Mastercraftsman'' 2006 racehorse births 2021 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Cartier Award winners Irish Classic Race winners Thoroughbred family 21-a