Sandpit (1989–2003) was a Brazilian Champion

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 ...

that also met with considerable success racing in the United States. In a career that lasted from 1992 until 1997, he ran forty times and won fourteen races.

Background

Sandpit was bred by

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

banker Sergio Coutinho de Menezes at Haras São José da Serra in Paraná, who raced him under the name, Sierra Thoroughbreds. Sandpit was sired by Baynoun, a runner-up in the England's

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 1984. His dam was Sand Dancer, a daughter of the 1991

Leading sire in France The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in France for each year since 1887. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season. Due to the huge prize money of the Prix de l'Arc de Tri ...

Green Dancer Green Dancer (14 April 1972 – 5 December 2000) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion. A son of the British Tiple Crown winner Nijinsky, he won the French 2000 Guineas in 1975. Background A son of the Englis ...

, who was a

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 ...

winner in England and France and a son of

Nijinsky Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...

Racing career

Brazil

Sandpit made twelve starts in Brazil in 1992 and 1993, winning five times. He was conditioned for racing by Marcos Carvalho through part of 1993 when his owner turned him over to one of the country's top trainers, João Luis Maciel. A Southern Hemisphere two-year-old in 1992, Sandpit won the

Grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called ''Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by re ...

Grande Prêmio Linneo de Paula Machado and in 1993 added three more Grade 1 races to his résumé by capturing the Copa ANPC Clássica, Grande Prêmio Cruzeiro do Sul and Grande Prêmio Francisco Eduardo de Paula Machado. He was voted the 3-year-old Brazilian champion of 1993.

United States

1994

Sandpit was sent to compete in the United States in the summer of 1994, where his owner raced him from a base in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

under the name of Sierra Thoroughbreds. He was trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Richard Mandella Richard Eugene Mandella (born November 5, 1950 in Altadena, California), is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. Mandella's father, a blacksmith, introduced him to horses at an early age and while still in ...

. Racing on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

, in his American debut Sandpit finished second in an August allowance race at

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundin ...

. He made his next start on September 10, winning Del Mar's Live the Dream Stakes by five

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 ...

and in October won the Grade 1

Oak Tree Invitational Stakes The John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (renamed for John Henry who won it three times) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the Oak Tree Racing Association's Autumn Meeting at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is ...

at a mile and a half, earning

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

180,000, which was roughly $68,000 more than his total earnings from his previous fourteen lifetime starts. Not eligible for the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

race, Sandpit was taken to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to compete in the November 27, 1994,

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

. He ran fifth to winner Marvelous Crown in a field of international stars which included

Fraise Fraise (1988–2005) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1992 Breeders' Cup Turf. Background Fraise was a bay horse bred by Allen E. Paulson. He was sired by Strawberry Road, the 1983 Australian Horse of the Year, a ...

Jeune Jeune (29 March 1989 – 4 January 2006) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in England and Australia and is best known for winning the prestigious Melbourne Cup in 1994. He was a muscular chestnut stallion who sometimes raced in pac ...

, Paradise Creek, and

Raintrap Raintrap (foaled 1990 in Great Britain) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Background Raintrap was a chestnut horse bred in England by his owner Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms. He was sired by Rainbow Quest who won the Prix de l'A ...

1995

Making his first start since the Japan Cup, on March 1, 1995, Sandpit won an allowance race at Santa Anita Park then on March 26 captured the mile and a half Grade 1

San Luis Rey Handicap The San Luis Rey Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Held during the third week of March, the Grade III event is open to horses of either gender, age four and up, willing to race ...

at the same track. On June 25, he won the Grade 1 Caesars International Handicap at the

Atlantic City Race Course The Atlantic City Race Course (ACRC), formerly the Atlantic City Race Track, was a Thoroughbred horse race track located in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The track is located off the ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, the first of the two races in the East-to-West series, and on July 21 earned a $312,500 bonus for winning the second race of the series, the Caesars Palace Turf Championship at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

. After his victory in the Caesars Palace Turf Championship, Sandpit went without a win in his next five starts. He finished second to

Northern Spur Northern Spur (foaled 1991 in Ireland – died February 24, 2016) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in France and the United States. Bred at Robert Sangster's Swettenham Stud in Swettenham, Cheshire, England, he was a son of the champion ...

in October's Oak Tree Invitational Stakes and did not compete in the Breeders' Cup since he was ineligible. After Northern Spur won the Breeders' Cup Turf, at the end of the year he won the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

for

American Champion Male Turf Horse The American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. The award originated in 1953 when the ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) named Iceberg II their champion. The Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA) added the cat ...

honors with Sandpit as runner-up.

1996

Ten months after he won his last race, Sandpit returned to the winner's circle on May 27, 1996, when he defeated Northern Spur by 3½ lengths in the Hollywood Turf Handicap. On June 22, he won his second straight Caesars International Handicap, In other major races of 1996, Sandpit finished third in the

Arlington Million Stakes The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on the turf. It was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of m ...

and third in defending his Caesars Palace Turf Championship.

1997

Eight-year-old Sandpit continued to perform at top levels in 1997. Although his win in the 1997

San Marcos Handicap The San Marcos Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late January or early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to horses aged four and older, it is raced on turf over a distance of one and o ...

at Santa Anita Park was the only one of seven starts, he ran second in the

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for old ...

and Arlington Million Stakes, and on dirt he finished third in the

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wher ...

and the

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000. ...

Stud record

Sandpit was retired after the 1997 racing season and sent to stand at

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...

at Vinery Farm in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, where he was also shuttled to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for four Southern Hemisphere breeding seasons. He remained at Vinery until 2003, when he was sent to stand at

Spendthrift Farm Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm and burial site in Lexington, Kentucky, currently owned by Eric & Tammy Gustavson. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' a ...

. On September 4, fourteen-year-old Sandpit died at the Hagyard-Davidson-McGee equine clinic near Lexington as a result of

liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Signs and symptoms Some of the sig ...

and a

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

ous

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

. His progeny met with modest success in racing. In 2007, Sandpit was selected as one of the five horses to be voted on in a Brazilian national poll as best turf horse in the history of that country.''O Globo'' - January 9, 2007
/ref>

References

Sandpit's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{reflist 1989 racehorse births 2003 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Brazil Racehorses trained in Brazil Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 7-e