Observatory (17 February 1997 – 12 December 2019) was a

thoroughbred race horse 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 con ...

. He won the

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...

at Ascot, and the

Prix d'Ispahan The Prix d'Ispahan is a Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car raci ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Background

Observatory was a chestnut horse bred in Kentucky by

Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms is a horse breeding farm, owned until his death on 12th January 2021 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.National Thoroughbred Racing Association"Juddmonte Farms, Inc.", profile. Retrieved October 16, 2007. Overview Ju ...

, the breeding operation of his owner

Khalid Abdulla Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

. He was one of the best horses sired by

Distant View Distant View (9 May 1991 – 12 June 2018) was an American-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He raced only as a three-year-old in 1994 when he won twice and finished second twice in seven races. In the spring of that year he w ...

who won the

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

in 1994.

Racing career

1999: two-year-old season

Observatory began his racing career by winning 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 ...

Yarmouth Racecourse Great Yarmouth racecourse is a horse racing course located a mile north of Great Yarmouth, owned by Arena Racing Company. The track takes the form of a narrow oblong of a mile and five furlongs round, with two long straights about five furlongs in ...

but when moved up in class he finished last of the four runners in the

Mill Reef Stakes The Mill Reef Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-olds. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled ...

. On his final appearance of the year he returned to Yarmouth and won a minor race over six furlongs in October.

2000: three-year-old season

Observatory began his second season by finishing second in a Listed race at

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 3 June and was then sent to

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 ...

for the Group Three Jersey Stakes over seven furlongs. He started at odds of 11/2 in a nineteen-runner field and won by one and a half lengths from Umistim. 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 ...

on 4 August he added a win in the Lennox Stakes, beating Three Points by one and half lengths but in the

Celebration Mile The Celebration Mile is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to t ...

at the same course later that month he was beaten into second by

Medicean The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

. On 23 September Observatory started a 14/1 outsider for the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...

started favourite in a field which also included Medicean, Best of the Bests (

Prix Guillaume d'Ornano The Prix Guillaume d'Ornano is a Conditions races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Deauville-La Touques Racecourse, Deauville o ...

), Indian Lodge (

Prix du Moulin The Prix du Moulin de Longchamp is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is sch ...

) and

Crimplene Crimplene is a texturised continuous fibre launched in 1959, produced by modifying Terylene. The patent was taken out by Mario Nava of Chesline and Crepes Ltd of Macclesfield, and sold to ICI Fibres. ICI licensed the product to various throwsters ...

. After placing the colt just behind the leaders, Kevin Darley produced the colt with a sustained run down the centre of the straight to take the lead inside the final furlong and win by half a length from Giant's Causeway.

2001: four-year-old season

On his first appearance as a four-year-old, Observatory was sent to France for the Group One Prix d'Ispahan over 1850 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 20 May. Starting the 11/10 favourite against four opponents he took the lead over 200 metres from the finish and held off a challenge from Hightori to win by a short head. At Royal Ascot in June he finished fourth behind

Fantastic Light Fantastic Light (foaled February 13, 1996) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and pensioned sire. He was foaled in the United States but was trained in England and Dubai during his racing career, which ran from August 1998 to his retirement fol ...

Kalanisi Kalanisi (foaled March 27, 1996 in Ireland) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won European Champion and American Champion honors in 2000. Background Bred and raced by H.H. Aga Khan IV, Kalanisi was out of the mare Kalamba, a daughter of Green ...

and Hightori in the

Prince of Wales's Stakes The Prince of Wales's Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 212 yards (2,004 met ...

. He did not race again and was retired to stud at the end of the season.

Stud career

Observatory was based for most of his career at the Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket. The best of his offspring were

Twice Over Twice Over (foaled 16 May 2005) is British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was a top-class middle-distance performer whose wins included the Eclipse Stakes, the International Stakes and two runnings of the Champion Stakes. Background Twice Over is ...

and

African Rose African Rose (foaled 8 May 2005) is a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was bred and owned by Khalid Abdullah and trained by Criquette Head-Maarek. As a juvenile in 2007 she showed very promising form, winn ...

. His death was reported on 12 December 2019.

Pedigree

*Observtory 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 Nashua, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{reflist 1997 racehorse births 2019 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 4-j