Rekindling (foaled 23 March 2014) is a British-bred, Irish-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 ...
racehorse, who won the
2017 Melbourne Cup
The 2017 Emirates Melbourne Cup was the 157th running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over , was held on 7 November 2017 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse.
The race was won by Rekindlin ...
. After winning once from three starts in 2016 he developed into a high-class staying colt in the following year, winning the
Ballysax Stakes
The Ballysax Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) at Leopardst ...
and
Curragh Cup
The Curragh Cup is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh Racecourse, Curragh over a d ...
as well as producing several good efforts in defeat including a second place in the
Irish St Leger Trial Stakes and fourth-place finishes in the
Dante Stakes
The Dante Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () at ...
and the
St Leger Stakes
The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...
. In November 2017 he became the youngest horse in 76 years to win the Melbourne Cup.
Background
Rekindling is a bay horse bred by the Pocock Family at the Stringston Farm in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
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, preceded_by =
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, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
. As a foal he was consigned to the
Tattersalls
Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Founding
It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. T ...
sale in November 2014 and was bought for 60,000
guineas
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
by the Camas Park Stud. He subsequently entered the ownership of
Lloyd Williams and was sent into training with
David Wachman
David Wachman (born 5 July 1971) is a retired Irish racehorse trainer who specialised in flat racing.
Before taking out his own licence to train horses, Wachman worked for trainers in Ireland (Jessica Harrington, Michael Hourigan and Jim Bolger) ...
in Ireland.
He was from the penultimate crop of foals sired by
High Chaparral
High Chaparral (1 March 1999 – 21 December 2014) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from September 2001 to October 2003, he ran 13 times and won 10 races. His win in the Racing Post Trophy made him on ...
, who won
The Derby in 2002 and the
Breeders' Cup Turf in 2002 and 2003. His other progeny have included
So You Think
So You Think (foaled 10 November 2006) is a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse, now majority owned by Coolmore Stud of Ireland. So You Think came to prominence through winning the 2009 and 2010 Cox Plates, Australia's premier weight for ag ...
,
Dundeel
Dundeel, or It’s a Dundeel as he is known in Australia, is a champion New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the fifth and most recent winner of the Australian Triple Crown.
Background
Dundeel is a bay colt trained by Murray Baker and An ...
and
Toronado. Rekindling's dam Sitara showed modest racing ability, winning one minor race in Britain from eight attempts. As a broodmare she also produced Rekindling's full-brother
Golden Sword, who won the
Chester Vase
The Chester Vase is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 63 yards () at Che ...
in 2009. She was a great granddaughter of the French mare Faizebad (foaled 1962), whose other descendants have included
Doyoun
Doyoun (8 March 1985 – 5 December 2002) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for winning the classic 2000 Guineas in 1988. In a racing career which lasted from October 1987 until October 1988 he ran seven times and wo ...
and
Alexandrova.
Racing career
2016: two-year-old season
As a two-year-old in 2016, Rekindling was ridden in all of his races by
Wayne Lordan
Wayne Lordan is a multiple Group race winning Irish jockey.
His first winner was Ethbaat for trainer Gerry Cully at Killarney on 15 July 1998. In his early career he was associated with the stables of David Wachman and Tommy Stack. He also ...
. On his racecourse debut on 30 July in a
maiden race over one mile at
Galway Races
The Galway Races (Irish: ''Rásaí na Gaillimhe'') is an Irish horse-racing festival that starts on the last Monday of July every year. Held at Ballybrit Racecourse in Galway, Ireland over seven days, it is one of the longest of all the race ...
he started a
28/1 outsider and finished second of the seven runners behind the odds-on favourite
Capri. He recorded his first success in a similar event at
Gowran Park
Gowran Park is a horse race course in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the Annely Estate near the village of Gowran
Gowran (; ) is a town located on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Ch ...
in September, leading from the start and coming home two and a half
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 ...
clear of World War. On his final run of the year he was sent to France and moved up sharply in class for the
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 racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N
* Group On ...
Critérium de Saint-Cloud
The Critérium de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is sche ...
on 30 October but made little impression and finished last of the thirteen runners.
At the end of 2016, when Wachman retired, Rekindling was transferred to the stable of
Joseph O'Brien.
2017: three-year-old season
Rekindling began his second season in the Ballysax Stakes at
Leopardstown Racecourse on 8 April. The race appeared to be dominated by Joseph O'Brien's father
Aidan O'Brien
Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland)[ Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...](_blank)
who sent out Yucatan, Capri and Douglas Macarthur to fill the first three spots in the betting market whils Rekindling was a 16/1 outsider. Ridden by Lordan, Rekindling settled in fifth, made steady progress in the straight, and took the lead inside the final
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 hor ...
to win by half a length from Douglas Macarthur.
He was then sent to England for the
Dante Stakes
The Dante Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () at ...
at
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
in May and finished fourth of the ten runners behind the ill-fated Permian. In the
Epsom Derby on 3 June he started a 25/1 outsider and was never in serious contention, coming home sixteenth of the eighteen runners. The colt was then stepped up in distance and matched against older horses in the Group 2 Curragh Cup over fourteen
furlongs
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 ho ...
at the
Curragh
The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...
on 2 July and started second favourite behind the veteran
Wicklow Brave. He produced a strong late run to overtake Wicklow Brave in the final strides and won by half a length. He returned to the Curragh in August and finished second to
Order of St George
The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...
in the
Irish St Leger Trial Stakes over the same distance.
On 16 September Rekindling was back in England for the
St Leger Stakes
The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...
at
Doncaster Racecourse and finished fourth, two lengths behind the winner Capri. Rekindling was then sent to Australia to contest the
2017 Melbourne Cup
The 2017 Emirates Melbourne Cup was the 157th running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over , was held on 7 November 2017 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse.
The race was won by Rekindlin ...
over 3200 metres at
Flemington Racecourse on 7 November for which he was assigned a weight of 51.5
kg. Although he was still a three-year-old by Northern hemisphere reckoning he was officially a four-year-old in Australia, where horses ages advance by a year on 1 August rather than 1 January. Ridden by the Australian jockey
Corey Brown he started at odds of 14/1 in a field of twenty-three. After racing in mid-division he began to make steady progress approaching the straight. He produced a strong run on the outside, overtook Johannes Vermeer 50 metres from the finish and won by half a length, with Max Dynamite taking third to complete a 1-2-3 for Irish-trained horses.
Later career
In 2018 Rekindling relocated permanently to Australia where he was trained by Liam Howley. He was off the track until March 2019 when he finished last of the fifteen runners in the
Australian Cup at Flemington.
Pedigree
References
{{Reflist
External links
Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart– ''Rekindling''
Melbourne Cup winners
2014 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in Ireland
Thoroughbred family 21-a