Sardula (May 4, 1991 – February 1, 1995) was an American Thoroughbred racemare who, as a two-year-old in 1993 finished second by a nose in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies then 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 ...

Hollywood Starlet Stakes. At age three, Sardula's wins included the prestigious Grade 1

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday ...

Breeding

Sardula was bred by William T. Young at his

Overbrook Farm William T. Young (February 15, 1918 – January 12, 2004) was an American businessman and major owner of thoroughbred racehorses. William T. Young attended the University of Kentucky where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. ...

near Lexington, Kentucky in conjunction with M&M Stables, a Lexington-based venture formed by Bob McCann of McCann Bloodstock agency and Pope McLean Sr. of Crestwood Farm. She was purchased for $40,000 by recording industry executive Jerry Moss and his wife Ann who turned over the somewhat high-strung filly's race conditioning to Brian Mayberry, a trainer widely respected for his ability and patience with temperamental young horses. Sardula was sired by

Storm Cat Storm Cat (February 27, 1983 – April 24, 2013) was an American Thoroughbred stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in North America at the time. He was the leading sire in North America in 1999 ...

, twice the Leading sire in North America, three times the

Leading broodmare sire in North America The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of broodmares in North America for each year since 1924. This is determined by the amount of prize money won during the year by racehorses which were foaled by a daughter of the sire. The most ...

plus the Leading Juvenile Sire in North America a record seven times. Among other notable progeny, Storm Cat sired

Aljabr Aljabr (3 February 1996 – 6 February 2018) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who was trained in England and Dubai during a racing career which lasted from 1998 to 2000. He was named European Champion Two-Year-Old Colt ...

Black Minnaloushe Black Minnaloushe (foaled 5 February 1998) is an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred in Kentucky, he was sold as a yearling and sent to Ireland to race for the Irish-based Coolmore Stud organisation. After winning both his races ...

Cat Thief Cat Thief (foaled January 30, 1996 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the son of Storm Cat, an outstanding Champion sire and the grandson of both the 20th Century's most important sire, Northern Dancer and whose damsire wa ...

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...

, Jalil, Life Is Sweet, Storm Flag Flying and

Tabasco Cat Tabasco Cat (April 15, 1991 – March 6, 2004) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was best known for his performances in 1994 when he won the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, the second and third legs of the Triple Crown Series. ...

. Sardula's Canadian-bred grandsire

Storm Bird Storm Bird (19 April 1978 – 3 December 2004) was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the outstanding European two-year-old of 1980, when he was unbeaten in five races, including the Anglesey Stakes, Natio ...

raced in England where he was the Top-rated European two-year-old of the 1980 official International Classification, and that year's

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 t ...

top two-year-old given an above average rating of 134. Storm Bird sired 63 stakes winners, including

1990 Preakness Stakes The 1990 Preakness Stakes was the 115th running of the Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race. The race took place on May 19, 1990, and was televised in the United States on the ABC television network. Summer Squall, who was jockeyed by Pat Da ...

winner Summer Squall and was the broodmare sire of runners with more than one hundred stakes wins to their credit, including the

1995 Kentucky Derby The 1995 Kentucky Derby was the 121st running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 6, 1995. There were 144,110 in attendance. Winning horse Thunder Gulch was the first in Kentucky Derby history to win after starting in the number 16 p ...

and Belmont Stakes winner

Thunder Gulch Thunder Gulch (May 23, 1992 – March 19, 2018) was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his wins in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in 1995, which earned him the title of U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt. Background ...

. Sardula's dam was the unraced Honor an Offer who was also the dam of the very good racemare Imperial Gesture whose career earnings totaled more than U.S $1.4 million. Sardula's damsire, Hoist the Flag, was the 1970

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the '' Daily Racing F ...

and at stud was the 1987

. Hoist the flag was the son of

Tom Rolfe Tom Rolfe (April 14, 1962 – June 12, 1989) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the leading colt of his generation in the United States, winning the Preakness Stakes and being voted American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Ho ...

who won the 1965 Preakness Stakes and was voted that year's

American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse The American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ''Turf & Sport ...

. Tom Rolfe was sired by the undefeated two-time

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

winner Ribot. A horse widely regarded as one of the greatest in the history of Thoroughbred racing worldwide, Ribot became the

Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who ...

in 1963, 1967, and 1968.

Racing career

Making her career debut on August 7, 1993 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 foundi ...

under jockey

Eddie Delahoussaye Edward J. Delahoussaye (born September 21, 1951) is a retired American Thoroughbred jockey from New Iberia, Louisiana. He began his career in 1968 and ten years later became the top American jockey with 384 wins. He has won the Kentucky Derby ...

, the two-year-old Sardula ran away from the field to win by ten lengths. On September 4 at the same racetrack she won the Debutante Stakes defeating runner-up Phone Chatter who came back on November 6 to beat Sardula by a nose in the ensuing Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. In her final race as a two-year-old, on December 18 Sardula won the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet Stakes at Hollywood Park. Racing at age three, Sardula's first start on April 9, 1994 was a winning one by 8 ½ lengths in the

Santa Paula Stakes The Santa Paula Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. An event open to three-year-old fillies, it is contested over a distance of six and one half furlongs. The r ...

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

. On May 6 Sardula got the most important win of her career in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs in which she defeated Lakeway by a short head after they had raced head-to-head down the homestretch. On June 18, 1994, she had another convincing victory, this time by 5 ½ lengths in the

Princess Stakes The Princess Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies 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 un ...

Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may refer to: Places United States * Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California * Hollywood Park, Chicago, a neighborhood in North Park, Chicago, Illinois * Hollywood Park, Inglewood, an entertainment complex and m ...

. Lakeway avenged her May 6 loss to Sardula on July 10, beating her by 4 ½ lengths in the mile and one-eighth

Hollywood Oaks The Summertime Oaks is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in June at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The Grade II event is open to three-year-old fillies willing to race on dirt at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles. ...

in a time of 1:46 4/5 that was just a fifth of a second off the track record. Sardula finished fifth in her next start that marked the only occasion she would ever finish off the board. It happened when she ran for the first time 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 agricult ...

in the August 21 Del Mar Invitational Oaks.

Life-ending illness

Sardula suffered from what appeared to be a leg injury that kept her out of racing but plans were to retire her to breeding. In October 1994, veterinarians diagnosed her problem as

Osteomyelitis Osteomyelitis (OM) is an infection of bone. Symptoms may include pain in a specific bone with overlying redness, fever, and weakness. The long bones of the arms and legs are most commonly involved in children e.g. the femur and humerus, while the ...

, a degenerative bacterial infection which had attacked her right foreleg. Treatment did nothing to help the condition and on February 1, 1995 Sardula was humanely euthanized at the Alamo Pintado Equine Research Center near

Los Olivos, California Los Olivos (; Spanish language, Spanish for "the olive trees") is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tourism is popular in this rural area which is an ag ...

Pedigree

External links

1994 Kentucky Oaks

1993 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

References

{{reflist 1991 racehorse births 1995 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred racehorses Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American racehorses