Rip Van Winkle (12 February 2006 – 31 July 2020) was an Irish
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 sired by the dual Derby winner Galileo. Like his sire, Rip Van Winkle was also trained by Aidan O'Brien.
Racing career
2008: two-year-old season
Winning his maiden at the first time of asking, Rip Van Winkle then went on to win the Group 3
Tyros Stakes. After that effort, Rip Van Winkle started as the 6/4 favourite to win the Dewhurst on his final start as a two-year-old but was stuck behind a wall of horses in a bunched finish in which the first four home were covered by only half a length. He finished seventh, two lengths behind Intense Focus.
2009: three-year-old season
Despite the Dewhurst defeat, Rip Van Winkle started second favourite for the following season's
2000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...
largely due to his being still very unexposed and apparently the stable's first string as
Johnny Murtagh
Johnny Murtagh (born 14 May 1970) is an Irish flat racing trainer and former jockey from Bohermeen, near Navan, Kells, County Meath. As a jockey he won many of the major flat races in Europe, including all the Irish Classi ...
had chosen him over Mastercraftsman. This was to be Rip Van Winkle's first clash with the eventual winner Sea the Stars, who went on to dominate the flat season. Rip Van Winkle finished fourth.
On Derby day, he was again prominent in the betting but, despite Johnny Murtagh sticking with him and claiming he was the best horse he had ever sat upon, it was his stablemate Fame and Glory who went off marginal favourite just ahead of Sea the Stars. Rip Van Winkle finished fourth, and the entire Ballydoyle team of six horses were again well beaten by
Sea The Stars
Sea The Stars (foaled 6 April 2006) is a retired champion Irish Thoroughbred racehorse regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. He won the 2000 Guineas, the Derby, the Eclipse Stakes – the first colt to accomplish this trebl ...
.
In his next race at Sandown, back at a mile and 2, Sea the Stars was bidding to become the first horse to win the Guineas, Derby,
Eclipse Stakes
The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...
treble since
Nashwan
Nashwan (1 March 1986 – 2002) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After winning both his starts as a two-year-old, he developed into an outstanding performer in the spring and summer of 1989, completing a ...
. Rip Van Winkle tracked him throughout the race, and the two went clear two furlongs out. He looked like overtaking Sea the Stars, a half brother to Rip Van Winkle's sire, but as he drew level, his nemesis accelerated and won by half a length.
Rip Van Winkle then dropped back to a mile to win 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 ...
. Paco Boy and the record-breaking 1000 Guineas winner Ghanaati were well behind him at the finish. He followed up with another Group One winning the QEII Stakes, again at a mile and again from the front, his stamina winning the day from Guineas second Delegator.
His 2009 season concluded with a run in the
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...
behind
Zenyatta
Zenyatta (foaled April 1, 2004) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic and Breeders' Cup Distaff and 19 of her 20 starts. She was the 2010 American Horse of the Year, and Champion Older Female in 2008, ...
after he appeared not to handle the track.
2010: four-year-old season
Rip Van Winkle's three-year-old season was disrupted by injury, and his four-year-old campaign was also set back due to niggling injury problems. In his first start, he finished well behind
Goldikova
Goldikova (15 March 2005 – 5 January 2021) was a champion French Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Mile three times and was the 2010 European Horse of the Year.
She was based in France, although she also raced in the United St ...
and Paco Boy in the
Queen Anne Stakes
The Queen Anne 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 (1,609 metres), and is scheduled to take pl ...
at
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 ...
. He then tried for a repeat performance in the Sussex Stakes, where he was beaten into second late on by the three-year-old star
Canford Cliffs
Canford Cliffs is a suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. The neighbourhood lies on the English Channel coast midway between Poole and Bournemouth. To the southwest is Sandbanks which has some of the highest property values in the world; with Canf ...
.
Rip Van Winkle then went back up to a mile and 2 furlongs in York's International Stakes. Despite his lack of a win that season, he went off as favourite and won by half a length. It was Rip Van Winkle's third Group One victory.
Soft ground seemed to go against him on his next two starts, the
Irish Champion Stakes
The Irish Champion Stakes ( Irish: Curadh-Dhuais na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,01 ...
in which he was beaten by a strong front-running ride by half-brother and stable mate Cape Blanco. Two weeks later, he was back over a mile in the QEII stakes at Ascot where he was nipped by a nose on the line by a three-year-old after an aggressive ride where he committed early. Poets Voice, the son of soft ground specialist
Dubawi
Dubawi (foaled 7 February 2002) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire.
Background
Dubawi is a bay horse with no white markings bred in Ireland by Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stud. He was one of the only crop of foals sired by Duba ...
and winner of the Celebration Stakes, beat him in the last stride, ridden by
Frankie Dettori
Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...
, who won four out of his five races on the day at Ascot.
Stud career
Rip Van Winkle retired to
Coolmore Stud
Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is headquarters of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champions. The operat ...
in 2010. He sired 3 individual
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 ...
winners:
Notable progeny
''c =
colt
Colt(s) or COLT may refer to:
*Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age
People
* Colt (given name)
*Colt (surname)
Places
*Colt, Arkansas, United States
*Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...
, f =
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 ...
'', g =
gelding
A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...
''
Death
It was reported on 31 July 2020 by
Windsor Park Stud
Windsor Park Stud is a New Zealand thoroughbred stud farm that was established in 1998 near Cambridge, in the Waikato region of the North Island.
Windsor Park was established by Ian and Jesse Duncan. In 1971, it passed ownership to Nelson and Su ...
that Rip Van Winkle had died aged 14 after suffering a short illness.
References
{{reflist
2006 racehorse births
2020 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in Ireland
Racehorses trained in Ireland
Thoroughbred family 10-c