Ramruma (foaled 17 February 1996) is a retired
Thoroughbred racehorse who was bred in the United States, but trained in the United Kingdom during a racing career which lasted from September 1998 until September 2000. In 1999, Ramruma won five of her six races including three
Group One
Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...
races:
The Oaks and the
Irish Oaks against other three-year-old fillies and the
Yorkshire Oaks
The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 fu ...
in which she also defeated older fillies and mares. Her performances led to Ramruma being named
European Champion Two-Year-Old Filly at the
Cartier Racing Awards The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races (40%) plus the votes cast by British racing journalists (30%) and readers of the ...
. She was retired after failing to win in three starts as a four-year-old in 2000.
Background
Ramruma, a small,
lightly-built
chestnut filly with a white
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
, was bred at the
Kentucky branch of her owner,
Fahd bin Salman
Fahd bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن سلمان آل سعود, Fahd bin Salman Āl Su‘ūd; 1955 – 25 July 2001) was a Saudi royal, businessman, and thoroughbred racer.
Early life and education
Prince Fahd was born in Riyadh in 1955. H ...
's Newgate Stud,
sired by
Diesis
In classical music from Western culture, a diesis ( , plural dieses ( , "difference"; Greek: δίεσις "leak" or "escape"Benson, Dave (2006). ''Music: A Mathematical Offering'', p.171. . Based on the technique of playing the aulos, where p ...
out of the mare Princess of Man. Diesis won the rare double of the
Middle Park Stakes and the
Dewhurst Stakes in 1982, before becoming an "excellent" sire, producing the winners of at least 25 Group One races including
Halling, Diminuendo and Elmaamul. Princess of Man was a successful racemare winning the
Musidora Stakes
The Musidora Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () at ...
in 1978. In addition to Ramruma she was the dam of the
Lingfield Oaks Trial
The Oaks Trial Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 133 yards () at Lingfield Pa ...
winner Ausherra.
The filly was sent into training with
Henry Cecil at the Warren Place stable at
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 ...
.
"Ramruma" was the
pet name of
Fahd bin Salman
Fahd bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن سلمان آل سعود, Fahd bin Salman Āl Su‘ūd; 1955 – 25 July 2001) was a Saudi royal, businessman, and thoroughbred racer.
Early life and education
Prince Fahd was born in Riyadh in 1955. H ...
's youngest daughter Reema.
Racing career
1998: two-year-old season
Ramruma's career began with two runs in one mile
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 ...
s in the autumn of 1998. At
Sandown in September, she ran third to the odds-on Social Scene, staying on steadily in the last two
furlongs and looking as though she would be "better for the race".
Three weeks later Ramruma was made
11/8 favourite for a similar event at
Nottingham. She disappointed her backers, however, appearing to lack pace at a crucial stage and never getting on terms with the outsider Magda, who led from the start and won by three lengths.
1999: three-year-old season
Spring
On her three-year-old debut, Ramruma was matched against colts in a one and a half mile maiden race at the Craven meeting at
Newmarket. Ramruma showed the first signs of her true ability, taking the lead two furlongs out and pulling well clear to win by three and a half lengths from the future
Singapore Derby
The Singapore Derby is a thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid July at the Singapore Turf Club. Contested on turf over a left-handed course, the domestic Group 1 race is run over a distance 1,800 metres (9 furlongs) and is open to four-year ...
winner All The Way, despite being eased down in the closing stages. In May she was moved up to
Listed class for the
Lingfield Oaks Trial
The Oaks Trial Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 133 yards () at Lingfield Pa ...
for which she was made odds-on favourite.
Kieren Fallon sent the filly into the lead three furlongs out, and she ran on strongly to go clear in the final furlong and win by one and a half lengths. The ''
Racing Post
''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...
'' called the performance "unspectacular"
but the bookmakers responded by cutting her odds for the Oaks to 3/1.
Summer
Following her trial win, Ramruma was sent to
Epsom for the
Oaks, in which she started the 3/1 second favourite behind the
Godolphin filly
Zahrat Dubai
Zahrat Dubai (foaled 29 February 1996) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. After running unplaced in her only race as a juvenile she wintered in Dubai and returned to Britain to record an impressive victory in the Musidora Stake ...
, winner of the
Musidora Stakes
The Musidora Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () at ...
. Fallon settled the filly just behind the leaders before moving her up to take the lead two furlongs out. Ramruma accelerated clear of her the field and was never in danger of defeat,
staying on strongly to win by three lengths from the outsider Noushkey, with Zahrat Dubai a further five lengths back in third.
The ground for the Irish Oaks at
The Curragh a month later was significantly firmer, but the opposition was not particularly strong and Ramruma was made 4/9 favourite. Fallon sent Ramruma into the lead entering the straight and she soon went well clear of the field. She was eased down towards the finish but still crossed the line seven lengths in front. Fallon described her as being "stronger and better" than before while Cecil described her as "a very good filly" who was "improving all the time". Both the
St Leger and the
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe were suggested as possible targets, with the bookmakers offering her at 4/1 and 16/1 for the races respectively.
After Fallon was sacked from his job as Cecil's stable jockey, the veteran
Pat Eddery took over the ride on Ramruma for the
Yorkshire Oaks
The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 fu ...
at York in August. The early pace was slow and Eddery sent Ramruma to the front after three furlongs. She led the field into the straight where was strongly challenged but ran on "very gamely" to win by one and a quarter lengths from the
Lancashire Oaks winner Ela Athena with the
Princess Royal Stakes winner Silver Rhapsody in third.
Autumn
Ramruma's stamina was an obvious strength, with all her wins coming over one and a half miles, and it was decided to test her against the colts in the
St Leger over a mile and three-quarters at
Doncaster in September. The male opposition did not appear to be particularly strong, and Ramruma was made odds-on favourite ahead of the
King Edward VII Stakes winner
Mutafaweq
Mutafaweq (foaled 21 February 1996 in Kentucky) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who raced successfully in England, Germany, and Canada.
Background
Mutafaweq was a bay horse with no white markings bred in Kentucky by Muirfield Ventures & Jayeff B St ...
. Ramruma raced prominently and took the lead three furlongs out to the delight of the crowd but she was soon challenged and headed by Mutafaweq. The filly rallied "valiantly"
on the run to the line but was unable to get back on terms with the colt and finished second, beaten two lengths.
2000: four-year-old season
Ramruma was made favourite for her four-year-old debut in the
Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket in May. After racing prominently she weakened badly in the closing stages and finished lame. She returned from the race with a muscle injury
which kept her off the racecourse for more than three months.
In August Ramruma returned to attempt a second win in the Yorkshire Oaks. She was opposed by her stable companion, the 2000 Oaks winner Love Divine as well as the Irish Oaks winner
Petrushka.The meeting of the three outstanding fillies was highly anticipated as one of the "races of the season". Ramruma attempted to lead all the way but was overtaken by the two three-year-olds in the straight and finished third, beaten three and a quarter lengths. Cecil was satisfied with her performance and Fahd Salman's racing manager, Anthony Penfold suggested the
Breeders' Cup as an end of season target.
On her final start, Ramruma was dropped down to Listed class for the Harvest Stakes at Ascot in September 2000. She was made odds-on favourite, but failed to recapture her old form, finishing four and a half lengths third behind Riyafa. Her retirement was announced later that month. Fahd Salman said of Ramruma, "She's done me very proud and will always be my favourite filly."
Assessment
At the 1999
Cartier Racing Awards The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races (40%) plus the votes cast by British racing journalists (30%) and readers of the ...
Ramruma was named
European Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. In the International Classification for 1999 she was given a rating of 119, five pounds below the American filly
Silverbulletday.
The independent
Timeform organisation gave Ramruma a rating of 123.
Stud career
Fahd Salman died in July 2001,
and in December 2003 Ramruma was sent to the December
Tattersalls sales as part of the final dispersal of her late owner's horses. Where she was bought for 2,100,000, a European record for a broodmare,
by
John Magnier for the
Coolmore Stud.
Ramruma was bred to leading stallions including
Rainbow Quest
''Rainbow Quest'' (1965–66) was a U.S. television series devoted to folk music and hosted by Pete Seeger. It was videotaped in black-and-white and featured musicians playing in traditional American music genres such as traditional folk music, ...
and
Machiavellian
Machiavellianism or Machiavellian may refer to:
Politics
*Machiavellianism (politics), the supposed political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli
*Political realism
Psychology
*Machiavellianism (psychology), a personality trait centered on cold an ...
. Her best foal has been Flying Cross (by
Sadler's Wells), who won two races and finished third in the
Irish St. Leger
The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...
.
*2003 Weather Report (GB) : Bay filly, foaled 1 March, by Rainbow Quest (USA) – unraced, dam of winner Wavelet (GB) (2012, by Archipenko
)
*2004 Catherine Linton (IRE) : Bay filly, foaled 28 February, by Machiavellian (USA) – unplaced in four races in Ireland 2006
*2005 Fine Design (IRE) : Bay filly, foaled 1 January, by Sadler's Wells (USA) – placed twice from four starts in Ireland 2007/8
*2006 Emonoja (IRE) : Bay filly, foaled 10 April, by Sadler's Wells (USA) – unraced and died in 2017
*2007 Flying Cross (IRE) : Bay colt, foaled 7 May, by Sadler's Wells (USA) – won 2 races in Ireland and 3rd G1 Irish St. Leger, Curragh 2009/10
*2008 Gunboat (IRE) : Bay colt (gelded), foaled 5 May, by Danehill Dancer (IRE) – placed once from 5 races in England 2012/13 – winner in Belgium
*2013 Chestnut filly by Galileo (IRE)
*2014 Touch of Paradise (IRE): Chestnut filly, foaled 5 March, by Frankel (GB)
*2015 Divine Act, chestnut filly by Frankel (GB)
*2016 Imperium, chestnut colt (gelded) by Frankel (GB)
Pedigree
References
{{Cartier Champion Three-year-old Filly
Cartier Award winners
1996 racehorse births
Irish Classic Race winners
Thoroughbred family 2-i
Epsom Oaks winners
Racehorses bred in Kentucky
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom