Shareta (foaled 8 May 2008) is an Irish-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 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 ...
. She was a top-class middle-distance runner who showed her best form on
good or firm ground. After finishing second on her only start as a juvenile she won three races including the
Prix de Thiberville and
Prix Minerve
The Prix Minerve is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,500 metres (about 1 mile and 4½ furlongs), and it is scheduled to t ...
in 2011 and came second in the
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 ...
. She went on to greater success in 2012 when she recorded
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 ...
victories in the
Yorkshire Oaks
The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 fu ...
and the
Prix Vermeille
The Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), an ...
. She was retired from racing after finishing unplaced on her only start in 2013.
Background
Shareta is a dark bay or brown mare with a small 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 Ireland by her owner the
Aga Khan
Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...
. She was sired by
Sinndar
Sinndar (27 February 1997 – 26 November 2018) was an Ireland, Irish Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and sire (horse), sire. In a racing career that lasted from September 1999 until October 2000, he ran eight times and won seven races ...
, who won
The Derby,
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 ...
and
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 ...
in 2000. The best of his other progeny were probably
Youmzain
Youmzain (foaled February 20, 2003 in Ireland) is a Thoroughbred racehorse. Trained by Mick Channon, he won Preis von Europa and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud group 1 races in 2008. Most notably, he is three-time runner-up in Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe; ...
and
Shawanda (winner of the Irish Oaks and Prix Vermeille and the dam of
Encke
Encke may refer to:
*Johann Franz Encke (1791–1865), a nineteenth-century German astronomer
**Encke (crater), a lunar crater
**Encke Division, a dark gap in the rings of Saturn
**Comet Encke, a short-period comet
***Encke (horse) (2009–2014), ...
). Shareta's dam Shawara won the Listed Prix Lieurey in 2001 and was a daughter of Shamawna, making her a half-sister to Shawanda.
Shareta was sent into training with
Alain de Royer-Dupré Alain de Royer-Dupré (born 24 September 1944http://www.breederscup.com/bio.aspx?id=2334 Breeders' Cup trainer profile) is a leading French thoroughbred racehorse trainer.
Early life
He grew up at the Haras de Saint Lô, a national stud farm in No ...
and was ridden in all but one of her races by
Christophe Lemaire
Christophe Patrice Lemaire (Japanese:, born 20 May 1979) is a French-born jockey. He has enjoyed much of his success on the Japanese flat racing circuit, with the most wins at Japan Racing Association racetracks for five consecutive years sinc ...
.
Racing career
2010: two-year-old season
Shareta made her only appearance as a two-year-old on 31 October 2010 in the Prix Ténébreuse for previously unraced fillies over 1600 metres at
Saint-Cloud Racecourse
Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France. During World War 1, the race course site housed the No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospital ...
. Racing on
heavy ground she started at odds of
7/2 and finished second of the fourteen runners, four
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 ...
behind the winner La Teranga.
2011: three-year-old season
On her first appearance of 2011, Shareta finished second to the
Freddy Head
Freddy Head (born 19 June 1947, in Neuilly, France) is a retired champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing and currently a horse trainer. Known also as "Freddie", his grandfather was a jockey as was his father Alec Head who also became a succes ...
-trained
Galikova in the Prix Astronomie over 2000 metres at Saint-Cloud on 8 April. A month later over the same distance at
Chantilly Racecourse
Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris.
Chantilly Racecourse is located in the country's main hors ...
she recorded her first success when she won the Prix de la Chapelle en Serval, taking the lead 500 metres from the finish and beating the odds-on favourite Andromeda Galaxy by two lengths.
Shareta was then moved up sharply in class for the
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 ...
Prix de Diane
The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 2,100 metre ...
at Chantilly on 12 June. Starting the 9/1 third choice in the betting, she never looked likely to win and finished seventh behind
Golden Lilac
Golden Lilac is an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. She won her first six races including the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and the Prix de Diane as a three-year-old in 2011. In May 2012, she defeated Cirrus des Aigles to win the ...
who won by a length from Galikova. The filly was then dropped in class and stepped up in distance for the Listed Prix de Thiberville over 2400 metres at
Longchamp Racecourse
The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...
on 14 July. Starting 9/5 favourite against seven opponents she led from the start and accelerated clear in the straight before winning by one and a half lengths from Mourasana. At Deauville Racecourse in August, Shareta started 6/4 favourite for the Group Three Prix Minerve over 2500 metres. Mourasana was again in opposition but her main rivals according to the betting appeared to be her undefeated stablemate Pacifique, the
Prix de Malleret
The Prix de Malleret is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to ...
runner-up Campanillas and the
André Fabre
André Fabre (born 9 December 1945) is a French thoroughbred horse racing trainer.
The son of a diplomat, Fabre graduated from university with a law degree but then decided to pursue a career in thoroughbred horse racing. He began by working in t ...
-trained La Pomme d'Amour. After recovering from a poor start she took the lead after 300 metres and was never headed, drawing away in the straight to win by three lengths from Pacifique. After the race Alain de Royer-Dupré said "It was important for Christophe to get a breather into her having decided to make the running. All being well, she'll head for the Prix Vermeille next".
In the Group One Prix Vermeille at Longchamp on 11 September, Shareta started 9/2 second favourite behind the odds-on Galikova. Lemaire sent her into the lead from the start and she maintained her advantage until the last 100 metres when she was overtaken and beaten two and a half lengths and a neck by Galikova and Testosterone. On her next appearance Shareta returned to Longchamp for France's most valuable and prestigious race, the
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 ...
on 2 October. With Lemaire opting to ride the favourite Sarafina she was ridden for the first and only time by
Thierry Jarnet
Thierry Jarnet (born 24 March 1967) is a champion thoroughbred flat racing jockey in France who won the title four times between 1992–1995. Jarnet was first apprenticed to Patrick Rago at Maisons-Laffitte and then to Yann Porzier at Chanti ...
and started a 66/1 outsider in a sixteen-runner field. After racing among the leaders for most of the way she stayed on well in the straight and produced a career-best effort to take second place behind the German filly
Danedream
Danedream (foaled 7 May 2008) is a German Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2011 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in race record time. She is one of only three German trained horses to win the Arc, the others being Star Appeal in 1975 a ...
. The horses finishing behind Shareta included
Snow Fairy,
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 ...
,
St Nicholas Abbey
St Nicholas Abbey is located in Saint Peter, Barbados, Saint Peter, Barbados, and is a Plantation complexes in the Southeastern United States#Plantation house, plantation house, museum and rum distillery. Colonel Benjamin Berringer built the hou ...
, Galikova,
Nakayama Festa
is a champion Japanese thoroughbred racehorse, which is most notable for winning the 2010 Takarazuka Kinen and running second to Workforce in the 2010 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Pedigree
Nakayama Festa was sired by the 2001 Hong Kong Vase winn ...
,
Workforce
The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the Pooling (resource management), pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single types of companies, company or ...
,
Treasure Beach
Treasure Beach is the name given to a stretch of four Jamaican coves and their associated settlements: Billy's Bay, Frenchman's Bay, Calabash Bay and Great (Pedro) Bay.
The region is isolated from the main tourist areas and the minor roads conn ...
,
Reliable Man
Reliable Man (foaled 27 March 2008) is a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Initially trained in France, he won two minor races in the spring of 2011 before defeating a strong field to win the Prix du Jockey Club. After losing his unb ...
and
Masked Marvel. On her final appearance of the year, Shareta was reunited with Lemaire when she contested the
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 ...
at
Tokyo Racecourse
is located in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. Built in 1933 for horse racing, it is considered the "racecourse of racecourses" in Japanese horseracing. It has a capacity of 223,000, with seating for 13,750.
Tokyo Racecourse hosts numerous G1 (Grade 1) r ...
on 27 November. Starting at odds of 35/1 she finished seventh of the sixteen runners, four and three quarter lengths behind the winner
Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to:
Places Canada
*Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista”
*Buena Vista, Saskatchewan
*Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...
.
2012: four-year-old season
On her first appearance as a four-year-old started favourite for the
Prix Allez France
The Prix Allez France is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Chantilly in la ...
at Chantilly in April but after leading for most of the way she was overtaken 100 metres out and finished third behind Aquamarine and Haya Landa. In the
Prix Corrida
The Prix Corrida is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbred Filly, fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud Racecourse, Saint-Cloud ...
over 2100 metres at Saint-Cloud on 28 May, Lemaire adopted different tactics, settling the filly in fourth place before making a challenge in the straight. Shareta struggled to obtain a clear run before finishing strongly but failed by a nose to catch
Solemia
Solemia (foaled 20 February 2008) is an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2012 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Before her win in the Arc, Solemia had won four of her twelve races, with her biggest win coming ...
to whom she was conceding two pounds in weight. In the
Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud
The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is sc ...
on 24 June Shareta faced Danedream, Galikova and the 2011
Grand Prix de Paris
The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it ...
winner
Meandre in a four-runners field. She set the pace in the early stages and regained the lead after being headed by Danedream in the straight. She was then overtaken by Meandre 200 metres from the finish and was beaten one and a quarter lengths into second place.
Shareta was sent to England for the first and only time when she contested the Group One
Yorkshire Oaks
The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 fu ...
over twelve
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 hors ...
at
York Racecourse
York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England.
It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...
on 23 August. She started the 2/1 second favourite behind
The Fugue, a three-year-old who had won the
Musidora Stakes
The Musidora Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () at ...
and the
Nassau Stakes
The Nassau Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong a ...
. The other four runners were
Was
Was or WAS may refer to:
* ''Was'', a past-tense form of the English copular verb ''to be''
People
* David Was (born c. 1952), the stage name of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter David Weiss
* Don Was (born 1952), the stage name of bass guita ...
and Shirocco Star, first and second in
The Oaks, Bible Belt (
Dance Design Stakes
The Snow Fairy Fillies' Stakes is a Conditions races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred Filly, fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh Racec ...
) and Coquet (
Height of Fashion Stakes
The Height of Fashion Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 197 yards (1,991 metres ...
). In a race run in what was described as a "torrential storm" of rain, Shareta tracked the leader Was before making a forward move in the last quarter mile. The Fugue took the lead a furlong out but Shareta stayed on strongly on the stands-side rail to overtake the British filly in the final strides and won by a neck. Alain de Royer-Dupré commented "I always thought she had the ability to be at the top with the fillies, we will have to see with the colts". He also explained that the long York straight had suited the filly saying "We came because the filly was in very good condition and because this is a marvelous track. I know she stays. Many times in France the straight is much too short and she doesn't have time to show what she can do".
On her return to France Shareta ran for the second time in the Prix Vermeille on 16 September and started the 7/2 favourite ahead of Galikova in a thirteen-runner field. The other runners included Princess Highway (
Ribblesdale Stakes
The Ribblesdale Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metres), and it is ...
), Salomina (
Preis der Diana
The Preis der Diana is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Düsseldorf over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take pl ...
), Romantica (
Prix de la Nonette
The Prix de la Nonette is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to ...
), La Pomme d'Amour (
Prix de Pomone
The Prix de Pomone is a Group 2 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 2,500 metres (about 1 mile and 4½ fur ...
), Solemia, Sediciosa (
Prix de Royaumont
The Prix de Royaumont is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take pla ...
), Yellow And Green (
Prix de Malleret
The Prix de Malleret is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to ...
) and Sarah Lynx (
Canadian International Stakes
The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is
Since its creation i ...
). Shareta was amongst the leaders from the start as Galikova's
pacemaker
An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eith ...
Sydarra made the running before moving into second place in the straight. She took the lead 400 metres from the finish, opened up a clear advantage over her rivals and won "comfortably" by two lengths from the 33/1 outsider with Solemia a head away in third. After the race, Royer-Dupre, who was winning the race for a record seventh time said "She loves the fast ground and she needs a good pace to show her true worth. She has the others in trouble some way out. For the Arc we'll have to follow what happens with the ground because if the track is heavy that changes everything". The Aga Khan said "I was very happy with that, she's a much more mature filly than she was last year. We always thought she was good but now she has learned to accelerate".
Shareta's second attempt to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe took place on heavy ground at Longchamp on 7 October 2012. Starting at odds of 14/1 she was never able to reach the leaders and finished ninth of the eighteen runners behind Solemia. On her final appearance of the year Shareta was sent to the United States 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 ...
at
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 3 November. She started at odds of 4/1 and finished fifth of the twelve runners behind
Little Mike
Little Mike (foaled May 24, 2007 in Florida) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2012 Breeders' Cup Turf.
Background
Little Mike is a Bay (horse), bay gelding bred by Carlo Vaccarezza, who immigrated to the United S ...
.
2013: five-year-old season
Shareta remained in training as a five-year-old but made only one appearance. She was sent to the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
to contest the
Dubai Sheema Classic
The Dubai Sheema Classic is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates open to thoroughbreds which are four-years-old or above. It is run over a distance of 2,400 metres (approximately miles; 2410 metres since 2010) on the turf track at ...
at
Meydan Racecourse
Meydan Racecourse is a racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The grandstand is over a mile in length, and can accommodate over 60,000 spectators.
Meydan opened on 27 March 2010, replacing Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, which formerly occupi ...
on 30 March. Starting the 6/1 third favourite she led the field into the straight before fading in the closing stages and finishing sixth behind St Nicholas Abbey.
Assessment
In the
2011 World Thoroughbred Rankings, Shareta was given a rating of 120 making her the 59th best racehorse in the world of any age or sex and the fourth best three-year-old filly behind Danedream,
Atlantic Jewel
Atlantic Jewel (26 September 2008 – 20 August 2020) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by champion sire Fastnet Rock, and raced by Coolmore, Atlantic Jewel was trained by Melbourne's Mark Kavanagh. She won 10 of her 11 starts, i ...
and
Immortal Verse
Immortal Verse (foaled 1 May 2008) is an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. As a two-year-old she showed promise by winning on her debut and finishing second in the Prix d'Aumale. Her early form in 2011 was disappoi ...
. In the
2012 World Thoroughbred Rankings, she was given a rating of 118 making her the 89th best racehorse in the world.
Pedigree
*Shareta is
inbred
Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...
4 × 4 to Habitat, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of her pedigree.
References
{{reflist, 2
2008 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in Ireland
Racehorses trained in France
Thoroughbred family 22-d