Mirska (1909 – after 1913) was 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 c ...

racehorse that won the 1909

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

. Raced only three times in her lifetime, her only win occurred in the Oaks. Despite being a daughter of two English

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 ...

winners, Mirska was not favoured to win the Oaks and won the race at 33-1 odds against the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

winner and favourite

Tagalie Tagalie (1909–1920) was British Thoroughbred racehorse. She was one of only six fillies to win The Derby, and was also the second of only four greys to have won the race. She achieved this feat as a three-year-old in 1912, a year in whic ...

. She made no impact as a broodmare in France.

Background

Mirska was bred by Douglas Baird. Mirska's sire St. Frusquin was an outstanding racehorse who won the

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 at ...

and the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

in 1896. As a stallion he was

Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who r ...

on two occasions and sired the

winners Rosedrop (1910

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

), Flair (1906

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

) and Quintessence (1903 1000 Guineas). Mirska's dam,

Musa Musa may refer to: Places *Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province *Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran *Musa, Kerman, Iran * Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaijan ...

, won the Oaks in 1899 for her owner Douglas Baird. After Baird's death in April 1909, Musa was bought by Jean Prat (c. 1848 – 1940), a French turfman, for 4,000 guineas. Musa and her nursing foal Mirska were sent to Prat's Lessard- le-Chêne stud in Saint-Julien-le-Faucon, France in 1909. Mirska's half-brother Montmartin was a sire in France and her full-brother Feramorz was a sire in New Zealand. Mirska was a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

filly with a narrow white

strip Strip or Stripping may refer to: Places * Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya * Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Namibia to ...

and four white socks. She was trained at Newmarket by Tom Jennings, Jr.

Racing career

Mirska ran only three times in her racing career. As a two-year-old she was twice third and her only known race as a three-year-old was the Oaks. She was retired from racing immediately after the Oaks. Mirska

1911: two-year-old season

Mirska was sent from France to Britain in 1911. Scratched from the Coventry Stakes in June, her first engagement was in the Clearwell Stakes run at Newmarket on 10 October. Though noted to be "attractively-bred" by the press, she was not looked on favorably by the racing public despite her excellent pedigree. Ridden by the French jockey Georges Stern, she finished third in the race behind J. B. Joel colt Absurd and Khedive III. She was again third in the Maiden 2-year-old race at the Second October meeting at Newmarket won by Tidal Wave. In November, she was scratched for her last engagement, the Rangemore Plate.

The 1912 Epsom Oaks

On 5 June at

Epsom Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...

Mirska, ridden by

Joe Childs Joseph Childs (1884–1958) was a French-born, British-based flat racing jockey. He won fifteen British Classics in a 35-year career, the last ten years of which were spent as jockey to King George V. He was known for riding a slow, waiting ra ...

started a 33/1 outsider in a fourteen-runner field for the 134th running of the

Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2 ...

. The overwhelming favourite was

, who had won the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

and defeated male opposition to win the

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 Surrey o ...

. Racing on heavy ground Mirska overtook the weakening Tagalie in the straight and drew away to win by three

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 ...

Retirement

Mirska was retired from racing immediately after her Oaks victory. She returned to Prat's stud in France and was covered by

Rock Sand Rock Sand (1900–1914) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from the spring of 1902 until October 1904 he ran twenty times and won sixteen races. He was a leading British two-year-old of his generation, w ...

at the Haras de Villebon in 1913. There is no record of the Rock Sand foal racing or if Mirska was rebred.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1909 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 20-c Epsom Oaks winners