Ravinella (11 March 1985 – 16 May 1992) was an American-bred, French-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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

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 ...

, best known for being the outstanding European

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 ...

of her generation in 1987 and for winning 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 1988.

Background

Ravinella was a dark bay or brown filly sired by

Mr Prospector Mr. Prospector (January 28, 1970 – June 1, 1999) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who became an outstanding breeding stallion and notable sire of sires. A sprinter whose career was cut short by repeated injuries, he won seven of his 14 starts, i ...

out of Really Lucky, a stakes-winning daughter of

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

. She was bred in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

by the Head family's Ecurie Aland and sent to race in Europe where she was trained by

Criquette Head Christiane "Criquette" Head (born 6 November 1948 at Marly-le-Roi, near Maisons-Laffitte, France) is a retired French racehorse trainer. Known as Criquette, she was born into the Thoroughbred horse racing business. Her great grandfather was a j ...

at Chantilly.

Racing career

1987: two-year-old season

Ravinella made her racecourse debut in the Prix de Lisieux over 1300 metres at

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 ...

in August. She was restrained in the early stages before winning by two lengths to emulate

Miesque Miesque ( ; March 14, 1984 – January 20, 2011) was a champion Thoroughbred racemare. At age three, she was a dual Classic winner in France and Britain, then went on to win the Breeders' Cup Mile in America. Her four-year-old campaign was highl ...

who had won the race in 1986. Ravinella recorded her first significant success in September when she won the Group Three Prix d'Arenberg over 1,100 metres at

Chantilly Racecourse Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the country's main hors ...

. In October Ravinella was sent to Newmarket for 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 ...

, Britain's premier event for two-year-old fillies. Ridden by

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...

, she won from the

Prix Morny The Prix Morny is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is scheduled ...

winner First Waltz and the

Lowther Stakes The Lowther Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at York over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ...

winner Ela Romara. At the end of the year she was rated the best two-year-old filly in Europe on both the official International Classification and the independent

Timeform Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by ...

ratings.

1988: three-year-old season

Ravinella began her three-year-old season by winning the

Prix Imprudence The Prix Imprudence is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs) at Maisons-Laffitt ...

over 1400 metres at

Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse The Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte at 1 avenue de la Pelouse in the northwestern Parisian suburb of Maisons-Laffitte in France was a grass, turf horse racing facility and Hippodrome, track for Thoroughbred flat racing. Opened in 1878 by Joseph Olle ...

. The filly was then sent back to England to contest the 1000 Guineas over Newmarket's Rowley Mile course on 28 April. Ridden by Moore, she started the 4/5 favourite against eleven opponents. She took the lead inside the final furlong and won by one and a half lengths from Dabaweyaa, with

Diminuendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between note (music), notes or phrase (music), phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpreta ...

a further length and a half lengths back in third. Nineteen days later 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 ...

became the third filly after Imprudence in 1947 and

in 1987 to win the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches after winning the 1000 Guineas as she defeated Duckling Park by a neck in a blanket finish. Ravinella returned to England in June for the

Coronation Stakes The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is schedul ...

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 ...

. She started the 4/6 favourite but finished third beaten six lengths by the winner Magic of Life. In October she was dropped in class for the Group Three Prix du Rond-Point at Longchamp in which she was matched against colts and older horses. She finished fourth of the twelve runners behind her stable companion In Extremis. On her final start of the season, she was sent to the United States to contest the

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's incept ...

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

. She came home seventh behind

but did finish ahead of several notable horses including

Bet Twice Bet Twice (April 20, 1984 – March 5, 1999) was a multi-millionaire American thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Foaled in Kentucky, he was out of the marGolden Dustand was sired bSportin' Life who in turn was the son of the British Triple Cro ...

, Warning and

Blushing John {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Blushing John , image = , caption = , sire = Blushing Groom , grandsire = Red God , dam = La Griffe , damsire = Prince John , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1985 , country = United States , colour = ...

. At the end of the season, Ravinella was sold for $2.6 million to

Allen Paulson Allen Eugene Paulson (April 22, 1922 – July 19, 2000) was an American businessman. Business career in aviation Born in Clinton, Iowa, Allen E. Paulson was on his own at age 13, supporting himself selling newspapers and doing janitorial wor ...

and exported to race in North America.

1989: four-year-old season

In 1989 Ravinella raced in the United States with mixed results. In April she won the Hialeah Breeders' Cup Handicap at

Hialeah Park Race Track The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 2 ...

, beating the favoured Love You by Heart by three lengths. She was also placed in the

Gamely Handicap The Gamely Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares age three and older over a distance of miles on the turf run in late May annually at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, California. History The race was inaugura ...

, the

Black Helen Handicap The Black Helen Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida, from 1941 through 2001. Open to fillies and mares age three and older, the Grade II event was raced on turf at a distance ...

and the

Matchmaker Stakes The Matchmaker Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for Filly, fillies and mares age three and older run over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New ...

Assessment

As noted above, Ravinella was rated the best two-year-old filly in Europe in 1987, level with the top colt Warning on a rating of 125. The independent

organisation were not quite so impressed, rating her six pounds below Warning on 121p but still making her the best juvenile filly of the year. In 1988 she was the top rated European three-year-old filly in the 1,400 – 1,900 metre division. In their book ''A Century of Champions'', based on a modified version of the Timeform system John Randall and Tony Morris rated Ravinella a "poor" winner of 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 ...

. Ravinella produced only one registered foal: Bodleian (1991) a bay colt sired by Reference Point. Bodleian was unraced, and there are no other breeding records for Ravinella.

Pedigree

References

{{1000 Guineas winners 1985 racehorse births 1992 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 1-n 1000 Guineas winners