Musical Bliss (1986–2006) 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

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 ...

who won 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 ...

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 ...

in 1989. In a racing career lasting from July 1988 until August 1989, the

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

ran five times and won three races. In 1988, Musical Bliss won both her races including the

Rockfel Stakes The Rockfel 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 on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket Racecourse, New ...

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 ...

. On her first appearance as a three-year-old, she won the 1000 Guineas but ran poorly in her two other races and was retired from racing at the end of the year. Her record as a broodmare was mixed.

Background

Musical Bliss was a bay mare with a white blaze and 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 her left hind leg, bred in the United States by Sterlingbrook Farm. She was sired by The Minstrel, a Canadian-bred horse who won The Derby in 1977. As a breeding stallion, The Minstrel sired

Bakharoff Bakharoff (foaled 12 February 1983) was an American-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the highest-rated European two-year-old of 1985 when he won the William Hill Futurity and the Chesham Stakes as well as finishing s ...

, Minstrella,

Opening Verse Opening Verse (1986–2002) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in England and the United States. Background Bred in Kentucky, his sire was the 1977 Epsom and Irish Derby winner, The Minstrel. Out of the mare Shy Dawn, his damsire was ...

L'Emigrant L'Emigrant (26 April 1980 – ca. 1995) was an American-bred French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who was one of the best horses of his generation in Europe at two and three years of age. He won five of his twelve races and never ...

and

Palace Music Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

. Musical Bliss was sent 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 ...

to the

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sales where she was bought by

Sheikh Mohammed Sheikh Muhammad (1560–1650) was a Muslim saint-poet who is venerated by Hindus. Sheikh Muhammad or alternatively Sheikh Muhammed, Sheikh Mohammad, Sheikh Mohammed may also refer to (in chronological birth order): * Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wah ...

. The filly was sent to England to be trained by

Michael Stoute Sir Michael Ronald Stoute (born 22 October 1945) is a Barbadian British Thoroughbred horse trainer in flat racing. Career Stoute, whose father was the Chief of Police for Barbados, left the island in 1964 at the age of 19 to become an assis ...

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 ...

and was ridden in four of her five races by

Walter Swinburn Walter Robert John Swinburn (7 August 1961 – 12 December 2016) was a flat racing jockey and trainer who competed in Great Britain and internationally. Biography Swinburn was born in Oxford. He was the son of Wally Swinburn, who won the ...

Racing career

1988: two-year-old season

Musical Bliss made her first appearance in a six

furlong 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 ...

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 ...

at Ascot in July 1988. She started the 8/11 favourite and won by four

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 Command Performer. The filly was off the racecourse for almost three months before her second and final start of the year, when she was moved up in class to contest the

Group Three AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...

Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket. She started slowly, but took the lead inside the final furlong and won by two lengths from Jaljuli.

1989: three-year-old season

Musical Bliss made her first appearance as a three-year-old in the 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket on 4 May. She started at odds of 7/2 in a field of seven fillies, the smallest number of runners since 1904. The other leading contenders were the

Nell Gwyn Stakes The Nell Gwyn Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres) on the Rowley Mile at Ne ...

winner Ensconse, who started 7/4 favourite and the

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

winner

Pass The Peace Pass the Peace (30 April 1986 – 2010) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was one of the best two-year-old fillies of her generation in Britain and Ireland in 1988, when she won four races including ...

. Swinburn sent Musical Bliss into the lead from the start and set a steady pace before quickening inside the last quarter of a mile. In the closing stages she was challenged by her stable companion Kerrera, but held on to win by a length, with Aldbourne beating Ensconse in a photo-finish for third. The win gave Michael Stoute his first winner of the race, after training the runner-up on six occasions. A month later, Musical Bliss was moved up in distance and started 4/1 second favourite for the Gold Seal Oaks over one and a half miles at

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

. She was ridden by Michael Roberts, after Walter Swinburn elected to ride Stoute's other runner Aliysa, and his replacement

Greville Starkey Greville Michael Wilson Starkey (21 December 1939 – 14 April 2010) was an English jockey who rode almost 2,000 winners during a 33-year career on the flat. Starkey scaled the heights of his profession during his 33-year career in which ...

was claimed by his stable to ride a 40/1 outsider. Musical Bliss was never able to challenge the leaders and tired in the closing stages to finish seventh of the nine runners, more than ten lengths behind Aliysa, who won comfortably. The winner was subsequently disqualified after a post-race test revealed traces of a banned substance. On her only other racecourse appearance, Musical Bliss was matched against

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

s and older horses in the

Prix Jacques Le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile ...

Deauville Racecourse Hippodrome Deauville-La Touques is a race track for thoroughbred horse racing located in Deauville in the Calvados département, in the Normandy ''région'' of France. Originally called Hippodrome de la Touques, it was named for the Touques River t ...

. She was never a factor in the race and finished eighth of the ten runners behind

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Retirement

Musical Bliss was retired to become a broodmare for her owner's Darley Stud. She produced at least nine foals and four winners. The most successful of her progeny was the filly Muscadel, which won the

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Prix Liancourt at Longchamp in 1997. Musical Bliss died in 2006.

Stud record

* 1994 Muscadel (GB) : Bay filly, foaled 1 January, by Nashwan (USA) – won 2 races including LR Prix de Liancourt, Longchamp from 4 starts in France 1997 * 1998 Raneem (USA) : Bay colt, foaled 13 February, by Gone West (USA) – won 3 minor races in France and Dubai 2000–2003 * 2003 Festival Hall (USA) : Brown gelding, by Gone West (USA)

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Musical Bliss an "inferior" winner of the 1000 Guineas.

Pedigree

References

{{1000 Guineas winners 1986 racehorse births 2006 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in New Jersey Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 2-i 1000 Guineas winners