Sir Tristram (IRE) (7 April 1971 – 21 May 1997) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-bred

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 who stood at stud in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where he sired an extraordinary 45

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 ...

winners, including three

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

winners. His progeny earned him 17 official Leading Australasian sire premierships, plus nine broodmare sire titles.

Background

Sir Tristram was by the outstanding racehorse and sire

Sir Ivor Sir Ivor (May 5, 1965 – November 10, 1995) was an American-bred, Irish-trained champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from July 1967 to October 1968 he ran thirteen times and won eight races. He won major races in ...

(by

Sir Gaylord Sir Gaylord (February 12, 1959 – 1981) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who later became a successful sire. Background He was bred and raced by Christopher Chenery. Sir Gaylord was sired by the British-bred, American-raced Turn-To out ...

) out of Isolt (by

Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...

), and had 19 starts for two wins in France.

Racing career

Trained by Charles Milbank and raced in Ireland, England and France, owner Raymond Guest sent Sir Tristram 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 ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

to compete in the 1974

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

. Under jockey

Bill Hartack William John Hartack Jr. (December 9, 1932 – November 26, 2007), born in Colver, Pennsylvania, was a Hall of Fame jockey. Colver is in the northwestern part of Cambria Township, 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Ebensburg, the county seat. ...

, the colt finished eleventh

Stud record

Following his racing career, he was purchased by Sir Patrick Hogan (horseracing), Patrick Hogan of

Cambridge Stud Cambridge Stud is a Thoroughbred stud farm established in 1976 at Cambridge, New Zealand by Sir Patrick Hogan. Stud sires It has had a number of top quality stallions including: * Sir Tristram: sire of 45 Group 1 winners and inducted into the N ...

in New Zealand, and entered stud in 1976 at the modest

stud fee A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species (stallion, bull, rooster, etc.) usually imply that the animal is intact—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offsp ...

of $1,200. By the time of his death in August 1997, his fee had risen to $200,000. 'Paddy', as he was affectionately known, had a reputation as a difficult horse to handle, although this is not a trait which seems to have been inherited by his progeny. In fact, he was so difficult that his handler was forced to wear protective gear, which remains on display at Cambridge Stud. Sir Tristram is the sire of over 140 stakes winners, including the Melbourne Cup winners

Gurner's Lane Gurner's Lane (1978−2000) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1983 champion. He is best remembered for winning the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups double in 1982. Gurner's Lane was just the seventh of 11 horses to complete this rare doubl ...

(1982),

Empire Rose Empire Rose (1982–2002) was one of the most popular Thoroughbred mares to race in New Zealand and Australia. She was a gigantic chestnut, only just fitting into the barrier stalls in Melbourne. Trained by Laurie Laxon, one of New Zealand's ...

(1988), and Brew (2000). He is also the broodmare sire of over 200 stakes winners, including the

winners

Saintly Saintly (21 September 1992 – 16 December 2016) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1997. A giant chestnut gelding by Sky Chase out of All Grace (by Sir Tristram), he was bred by his tra ...

and

Ethereal Ethereal may refer to: * Ethereal (horse), a horse that won Australia's Caulfield Cup as well as Melbourne Cup in 2001 *Ethereal wave, or simply ethereal, a subgenre of dark wave music *Wireshark, formerly named Ethereal, a free and open-source pac ...

, and has earned himself a reputation as a sire of sires. His sire sons include

Zabeel Zabeel (25 October 1986 – 25 September 2015) was a New Zealand-bred racehorse who predominantly raced in Australia. He was retired to stud and became a champion sire. He is a bay son of Sir Tristram (IRE) from the Nureyev mare Lady Gisell ...

(who stood at Cambridge Stud at a fee of NZD$100,000), Marauding, Dr Grace and Grosvenor. Whilst he was known as a sire of stayers, Sir Tristram's progeny and further descendants have excelled over a wide range of distances. As well as siring winners of the Melbourne Cup (the world's richest handicap – over 3,200 metres), Sir Tristram sired Marauding, who won a

Golden Slipper The Golden Slipper Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses run over 1,200 metres on turf at set weights conditions, held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier two y ...

(the world's richest two-year-old race – over 1,200 metres), and several other outstanding two-year-olds. During 1984 to 1987 and 1988 to 1990 he was the Leading sire in Australia, Leading Broodmare Sire in Australia and in 1986/7 the Leading Sire of New Zealand. Sir Tristram was humanely

euthanized Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...

in 1997 after he broke his shoulder and he was buried standing up – 'A priest conducted a 40-minute service for the horse they called "Paddy"'. In 2008, Sir Tristram was inducted in the

New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame The New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame recognises and honours those whose achievements have enriched the New Zealand thoroughbred horse racing industry. History The Hall of Fame's first group of honorees were inducted in 2006, and inductions are he ...

.Cambridge Stud
Retrieved on 30 May 2009

Progeny

''Sir Tristram's 45 Group 1 winners:''

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

Cambridge Stud
1971 racehorse births 1997 racehorse deaths Champion Thoroughbred Sires of Australia Champion Thoroughbred Sires of New Zealand Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame horses New Zealand Thoroughbred sires Thoroughbred family 6-e