Sightseek (foaled 1999 in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Thoroughbred racehorse 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 ...

and current

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 bred and raced by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms and was trained by

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inductee Robert Frankel.

Background

Sightseek is a full-sister to Quest to Peak, who produced

Special Duty Special Duty (foaled 12 February 2007) is a British-bred, French-trained champion Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She won two of her four starts as a two-year-old including the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes and the Group Two Prix Robert ...

, the 2009 European Champion Two-year-old Filly whose wins included the 2010

1000 Guineas Stakes 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 ...

in England and that race's counterpart in France, the

Poule d'Essai des Pouliches The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at ...

. , . Their sire was

Distant View Distant View (9 May 1991 – 12 June 2018) was an American-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He raced only as a three-year-old in 1994 when he won twice and finished second twice in seven races. In the spring of that year he w ...

, a product of Juddmonte's international breeding program. Distant View was a son of the very influential 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 ...

, the

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to stallions which are based in N ...

in 1987 and 1988 plus 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 freq ...

nine times. Distant View's dam was Seven Springs who won the Prix Robert Papin and the Prix Morny in 1984. Sightseek's dam was Viviana, a winner of two Listed races. She was the daughter of Nureyev, the 1987

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 ...

and the 1997

Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain and Ireland The list below shows the leading sire of broodmares in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1899. This is determined by the amount of prize money won during the year in Great Britain and Ireland by racehorses that were foaled by a daughter ...

. Nureyev was the son of the legendary supersire

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

who the

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called "the dominant progenitor of his breed" as a sire of sires. Viviana's dam was Nijinsky Star, an unraced daughter of the great Nijinsky, also a son of Northern Dancer. Nijinsky was the 1970

English Triple Crown The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...

winner and British Horse of the Year. In addition, at stud he would become the 1986

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 r ...

and

in 1993 and 1994. Nijinsky Star's dam was

Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record ...

who also won a Triple Crown. In 1974 she captured the

American Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing The Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the United States which is open to three-year-old fillies. Presently the only official Triple Tiara is the three race series in New Y ...

for fillies and was voted that year's

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

. In 1988 Chris Evert was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame.

Racing career

As a yearling in 2000, Sightseek was sent to her owner's stud farm in Ireland to begin her race conditioning. She showed such promise that the following year the decision was made to send her back to the United States. There, she would be turned over to Juddmonte's trainer Robert Frankel.

2002: three-year-old season

Sightseek made her racing debut at age three a winning one in a July 28, 2002 race for maidens at New York's Saratoga Race Course. In all, Sightseek made five starts as a three-year-old, winning four of them and finishing second in the other. Her final two wins of 2002 came in the Grade 3

Raven Run Stakes The Raven Run Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held annually in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during the fall meeting. History ...

at Kentucky's

Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for its ...

after which she was taken back to New York where on November 29 she won the Grade 2

Top Flight Handicap The Top Flight Invitational Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A Listed race, it is open to fillies and mares, age three and older. The event is contested over a distance of one a ...

at Aqueduct.

2002: four-year-old season

Four-year-old Sightseek's 2003 campaign began at California's Santa Anita Park where she would finish second in three straight top level events for older female horses. Beginning in January, 2003 Sightseek ran second behind Affluent in the G1

Santa Monica Handicap The Santa Monica Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late January/early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to fillies and mares age four and older, it is run on the dirt over a distance of s ...

then second to

Got Koko {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Got Koko , image = , caption = , sire = Signal Tap , grandsire = Fappiano , dam = Baby North , damsire = Northern Baby , sex = Filly , foaled = 1999 , country = United States , colour = Bay , bree ...

in February's G2 La Cañada Stakes and in March she was again the runner-up, this time to Starrer in the G1

Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap The Santa Margarita Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California for fillies and mares age four and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one and one-eighths miles. ...

. Sent to

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

, Sightseek's win in the

Humana Distaff Handicap The Derby City Distaff Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged three and older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held annually in early May on the Kentucky Derby day meeting at Churchill Down ...

marked not only her first Grade 1 win, but the first of four straight Grade 1's with victories in the ensuing

Ogden Phipps Handicap The Ogden Phipps Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, four years of age and older run over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt track held annually in mid June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New ...

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

, the

Go For Wand Handicap The Go For Wand Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race established in 1954 for fillies and mares age three and up. Raced in the fall, it is a Grade III race (Grade I before 2010) on dirt at a distance of one mile. Inaugurated in 1954 at ...

at Saratoga and the

Beldame Stakes The Beldame Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Inaugurated in 1939, it was run as a handicap prior to 1960. The race is held annually near the beginning of October at Belmont Park and curre ...

back at Belmont Park. For her next start, and last of the year, Sightseek was taken back to Santa Anita Park for the October 25 running of the

Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or ...

. Sent off as the heavy favorite by the betting public with odds at 1-2, Sightseek never fired and finished fourth to Jerry and Joan Amerman's

Adoration Adoration is respect, reverence, strong admiration, or love in a certain person, place, or thing. The term comes from the Latin ''adōrātiō'', meaning "to give homage or worship to someone or something". Ancient Rome In classical Rome, adorat ...

2002: five-year-old season

Sightseek's final year of racing in 2004 saw her add three more Grade 1 wins to her resumé. First though, she finished fourth in the January 25

, on the Santa Anita track where she had never gotten a win. Sent east to Florida's

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

she won the Grade 2 Rampart Handicap. Back in New York state, for the second straight year Sightseek won Belmont Park's Ogden Phipps Handicap in which

Azeri Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic people living mainly in Azerbaijan (Iran), northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republi ...

took the lead and led her by a head thru the half-mile pole when Sightseek pulled away. Azeri would finish the race 11 3/4 lengths behind Sightseek. In her next outing at Saratoga, Sightseek ran second to Azeri by 1 3/4 lengths in the Go For Wand Handicap. Returning to Belmont Park, Sightseek captured the Grade 1

Ruffian Handicap The Ruffian Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares ages four-years-old and older run over a distance of one mile on a dirt track scheduled annually in early May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Race history ...

by 11 1/4 lengths. For the second year in a row, in what would be the final race of her career she won the October 9, 2004

Beldame Handicap The Beldame Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Inaugurated in 1939, it was run as a handicap prior to 1960. The race is held annually near the beginning of October at Belmont Park and cur ...

. After the race, Robert Frankel called Sightseek the best filly he had ever trained. The 2004 Eclipse Award for American Champion Older Female Horse went to Azeri while the 2004 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings rated the two fillies equal World Champions. Sightseek was retired to broodmare duty at Juddmonte Farms near Lexington, Kentucky. Of her progeny, Raison d'Etat was her best runner, winning two of twelve starts and earning $134,035.

External links

"Sightseek sensational in 2003 Beldame at Belmont Park"

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1999 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 23-b