Questing (foaled 2009) is a British-bred Thoroughbred filly. After beginning her career in England she was transferred to the United States where she won the

Coaching Club American Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...

and

Alabama Stakes The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...

. In the

Eclipse Awards The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

for 2012 she was voted

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

Background

Questing is a bay filly with a small white star bred in the United Kingdom by Sheikh Mohammed's

Darley Stud Darley Stud is located at Dalham Hall, the global breeding operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. It is on the outskirts of Newmarket, Suffolk, the interna ...

. She was from the first crop of foals sired by the Kentucky Derby runner-up

Hard Spun Hard Spun (foaled May 10, 2004 near Malvern, Pennsylvania) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse that finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Background Hard Spun is a bay horse with a white star standing 16.2 hands high. He is from one of ...

Her dam, the Seeking the Gold mare Chercheuse is a descendant of the champion racehorse and broodmare

Vagrancy Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

. Chercheuse was a good racehorse, but below top class, winning five times in France including two

Listed races Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as, in Europe, the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l' ...

. Questing was originally sent into training with

John Gosden John Harry Martin Gosden (born 30 March 1951) is a British racehorse trainer. He has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Derby, the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse, and over 600 winne ...

at Newmarket, Suffolk.

Racing career

2011: two-year-old season

Questing began her racing career by winning a maiden race over seven furlongs at

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat ...

in June. When moved up in class she finished third in the Group Three Prestige Stakes at Goodwood in August and second in the Group Three Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket in September. She made her US debut in the 2011 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, where she finished fifth behind My Miss Aurelia.

2012: three-year-old season

For the 2011 season, Questing was transferred to the United States to be trained by

Kiaran McLaughlin Kiaran P. McLaughlin (born November 15, 1960, in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer best known for training 2006 Horse of the Year Invasor. Background McLaughlin was born in an area of the country where horse r ...

. She began racing on grass and finished unplaced in her first two races. In June, she was switched to the dirt for an

allowance race Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargo ...

at Belmont Park, where she recorded her first win in America. In the following month, she was moved up in class for the Grade I

over nine furlongs at

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actu ...

. Ridden by 19-year-old Irad Ortiz, she took the lead after half a mile, went clear of her rivals, and won by four and a quarter lengths from Zo Impressive and

Black-Eyed Susan Stakes The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of miles on the dirt annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The event currently offers a ...

winner In Lingerie. In the Alabama Stakes at the same course a month later, she led from the start to beat In Lingerie by nine lengths. In her next race, she was beaten a head when conceding seven pounds to My Miss Aurelia in the

Cotillion Stakes The Cotillion Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Parx Racing and Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. It is run in late September or early October as a prelude to the annual Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. ...

Parx Parx Casino and Racing (formerly Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino) is a thoroughbred horse racing venue and the largest casino gaming complex in Pennsylvania. Parx is located in Bensalem Township in Bucks County, northeast of the city of P ...

in September. On her final start of the season, Questing struggled from the start of the

Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States ...

and was pulled up by Ortiz in the backstretch.

References

{{reflist 2009 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 13-c