Sahpresa (foaled 11 February 2005) is 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 winning three consecutive runnings of the Group One

Sun Chariot Stakes The Sun Chariot Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

. Sahpresa was unraced as a two-year-old, but raced until the age of six, winning eight of her twenty-two races. Apart from the Sun Chariot Stakes she won the

Prix du Pin The Prix du Pin is a Conditions races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse, Longchamp over a dist ...

in 2010 and the

Prix du Palais-Royal The Prix du Palais-Royal is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is sched ...

in 2011. She also competed in Asia, where she picked up large sums in place money when finishing third in Mile Championship (twice) and the

Hong Kong Mile The Hong Kong Mile is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year in mid December. ...

. She was retired from racing at the end of the 2011 season.

Background

Sahpresa is a bay mare 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 ...

bred in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

by her owner Douglas McIntyre. Her sire Sahm, was a useful but unexceptional racehorse horse whose most notable effort came when he was disqualified after finishing second in the Vintage Stakes at

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in lat ...

in 1996. He did, however, have an exceptional pedigree, being a son of the influential American stallion

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 Salsabil an Irish-bred racemare whose wins included 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 ...

, Epsom Oaks and

Irish Derby The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 ...

in 1990. Sahpresa's dam Sorpresa, was an unraced daughter of the

American Champion Older Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of ...

Pleasant Tap. McIntyre sent his filly to France to be trained by Rodolphe "Rod" Collet at

Lamorlaye Lamorlaye () is a commune in the Oise department in the northern region Hauts-de-France. Its inhabitants are referred to as '' Morlacuméen(e)s''. Population See also * Communes of the Oise department The following is a list of the 679 comm ...

Racing career

2008: three-year-old season

Sahpresa did not race as a two-year-old, and made her racecourse debut on 29 July when she won the Prix Faucheur over 1,600 metres at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse by eight

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 ...

. In September she finished third in a race at Longchamp Racecourse and then moved up in class and won the Listed Prix Coronation at Saint-Cloud by six lengths. On her final start of the season she was sent to England to take on colts and older horses in the

Darley Stakes The Darley Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlong (1,811 me ...

at Newmarket. Ridden by Kevin Manning, she started slowly but made progress in the closing stages to finish fourth behind the 50/1 outsider Charlie Farnsbarns.

2009: four-year-old season

Sahpresa began her four-year-old season by winning the Listed Prix de Montretout at Longchamp in May and then finished second to the British-trained

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 ...

Beacon Lodge in the

Prix du Chemin de Fer du Nord The Prix Bertrand du Breuil is a Conditions races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Chantilly Racecourse, Chantilly ...

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

in June. In August she was moved up to Group One class for the first time and finished fourth to Goldikova in the

Prix Rothschild The Prix Rothschild is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled ...

at Deauville Racecourse. Later that month she finished second, beaten three-quarters of a length by Racinger in the

Prix Quincey The Prix Quincey is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take ...

over the same course and distance. On 3 October, Sahpresa ran in England for the second time when she was one of eight fillies to contest the Sun Chariot Stakes over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket. She was given little chance in the betting, starting at odds of 16/1, with 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 ...

winner

Ghanaati Ghanaati (foaled 28 March 2006) is an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career which lasted from September 2008 and October 2009 she ran six times and won three races. After winning one minor race as a two-year-o ...

being made the 6/5 favourite. Ridden by the Irish jockey Ted Durcan, Sahpresa was always among the leaders, took the lead inside the final furlong, and won by one and a half lengths from Ghanaati, with Spacious in third. Sahpresa was then sent to Japan for the Mile Championship at

Kyoto Racecourse is located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 120,000. It was built in 1999. History Kyoto Race Course opened on December 1, 1925. In preparation for the track's 100th anniversary ...

on 22 November. She finished strongly to finish third of the eighteen runners, one and a half lengths behind the locally trained winner Company.

2010: five-year-old season

Sahpresa did not appear as a five-year-old until June, when she finished eighth of the ten runners behind Strawberrydaiquiri in the

Windsor Forest Stakes The Duke of Cambridge Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take pl ...

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 did not race again until September, when she contested the Group Three

over 1,400 metres at Longchamp. Ridden by Christophe Soumillon she was positioned behind the leaders before being switched to the outside in the straight. She took the lead 100 metres from the finish and won comfortably by one and a half lengths from Dalghar. Soumillon was again in the saddle when Sahpresa ran in her second Sun Chariot Stakes on 2 October. Racing on soft ground and starting at odds of 9/2 she was restrained at the back of the eleven runners before moving up to take the lead inside the final furlong. She won "readily" by one and three-quarter lengths from Strawberrydaiquiri and Rainfall. Collet called her performance "very impressive, maybe even more than last year I think." After her win at Newmarket the mare was sold privately and entered the ownership of

Teruya Yoshida is a thoroughbred breeding facility located in Abira on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. The farm was begun in the late 1970s to early 1980s by the late Zenya Yoshida, and is now run jointly by his sons (Katsumi, Haruya, and Teruya Yoshida), known ...

. In November she again contested the Mile Championship and finished fourth in a four-way

photo-finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

with A Shin Forward, Danon Yoyo and Gorski. In December at Sha Tin Racecourse she finished third to Beauty Flash in the

, with the beaten horses including A Shin Forward, Good Ba Ba and

Paco Boy Paco Boy (foaled 24 March 2005) is a retired Irish thoroughbred racehorse who was trained by Richard Hannon Sr. He won three Group 1 races including Prix de la Forêt, Queen Anne Stakes and Lockinge Stakes. Paco Boy was known as a hold up horse ...

2011: six-year-old season

On her first appearance of 2011, Sahpresa was matched against the leading three-year-old filly

Moonlight Cloud Moonlight Cloud (foaled 5 March 2008) is a British– bred, French- trained Thoroughbred racehorse who has won the Prix Maurice de Gheest three times and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. In a famous race for the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in 2012, sh ...

in the Prix du Palais-Royal at Longchamp in June. Ridden by Gregory Benoist, Sahpresa was held up at the back of the field before making rapid progress in the straight. She overtook Moonlicght Cloud in the closing strides and won "easily" by one and a half lengths. In July, Sahpresa finished second to Timepiece in the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket and then returned to France for the Prix Rothschild in which she faced Goldikova for the first time in two years. Held up as usual, Sahpresa finished strongly but was unable to catch Goldikova, finishing second by a short neck with Timepiece in third. In the Prix Jacques Le Marois Sahpresa was only a nose behind Goldikova, as the two finished second and third behind Immortal Verse, a three-year-old filly trained by Rod Collet's father Robert Collet. Christophe-Patrice Lemaire took the ride when Sahpresa attempted to win her third Sun Chariot Stakes on 24 September. She started 13/8 favourite in a field which included her old rivals Strawberrydaiquiri and Timepiece. The mare took the lead in the final quarter mile and ran on well in the closing stages to win by a length from the four-year-old Chachamaidee. Collet explained that he had asked for the filly to be ridden more aggressively after she had been unsuited by the slow pace in the Falmouth Stakes. For the third time, Sahpresa followed up her win at Newmarket by traveling to Japan for the Mile Championship: on this occasion she finished third, beaten a neck and one and a half lengths by Eishin Apollon and Fifth Petal. She ended her career in the Hong Kong Mile in December, when she failed to reproduce her best form and finished eighth behind Able One.

Assessment and honours

In the 2009 edition of the

World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (LWBRR), known as World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings (WTRR) before 2012, are horseracing's equivalent to World Rankings by other major sporting organizations such as ATP Tennis Rankings, World Golf R ...

, Sahpresa was given a rating of 118, making her the 87th best racehorse in the world and the third best older female on turf in the Mile division, behind Goldikova and

Vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...

. Sahpresa retained her 118 rating in 2010, placing her 95th in the world and second to Goldikova in her division. In the 2011 rankings, Sahpresa again received a mark of 118, placing her 99th in the world and third to Goldikova and

More Joyous More Joyous (foaled 20 August 2006) is an Australian trained and New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racemare, trained by Gai Waterhouse, who has won eight Group 1 races. Pedigree More Joyous is by the leading Southern Halo sire More Than Ready, an ...

among older females in the turf Mile division.

Stud record

At the end of the 2011 season, Sahpresa was retired from racing to become a broodmare at Yoshida's Shadai Farm in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. She produced two fillies by

Victoire Pisa Victoire Pisa ( ja, ヴィクトワールピサ, link=no) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. After winning three of his four starts as a juvenile, the colt won the Satsuki Shō at Nakayama Racecourse in April 2010. Afte ...

and Deep Impact in 2013 and 2014. Her 2017 colt Satono Impresa won the

Mainichi Hai The Mainichi Hai (Japanese 毎日杯) is a Grade 3 horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run in March over a distance of 1800 metres at Hanshin Racecourse. The race was first run in 1954 and has held Grade 3 status since 1984. It was init ...

in 2020.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2005 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Pennsylvania Racehorses trained in France