Stanerra (foaled 4 May 1978) was an Irish

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 ...

. Unraced at two, she ran twice a three-year-old before showing improved form in 1982 when she won one race and was placed in several good middle-distance races. She reached her peak as a five-year-old in 1983 when she emerged as one of the leading middle-distance performers in Europe. After winning

Brigadier Gerard Stakes The Brigadier Gerard Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 209 yards (), and i ...

in spring she showed outstanding form at

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

, winning the

Prince of Wales's Stakes The Prince of Wales's Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 212 yards (2,004 ...

and then breaking the track record when taking the

Hardwicke Stakes The Hardwicke Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metres), and ...

. In autumn she won the Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes in Ireland before becoming the first horse trained in Europe to win 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 ...

. She was retired to stud after one unsuccessful run in 1984 but had no impact a broodmare.

Background

Stanerra was a rangy chestnut 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 ...

and white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

on her hind legs bred in Ireland by the Moyglare Stud. She was the best horse sired by Guillaume Tell, an American-bred horse who won the

Gordon Stakes The Gordon Stakes is a Group races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Goodwood Racecourse, Goodwood over a distance ...

in 1975 before his career was ended by injury. In 1979, the filly was sent to the sales where she was bought for 5,000 Irish guineas and sent into training with Jim Bolger. Stanerra was given plenty of time to mature and was not ridden until she was three years old. In 1982 she was bought by Frank Dunne of

Dunnes Stores Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain, and formerly in England and Scotland. The f ...

who took out a training license and trained his own horses from 1982.

Racing career

1981/1982: early career

Stanerra was unraced as a two-year-old and raced twice as a three-year-old in 1981, winning one race over ten furlongs. In the following year she was very highly tried, running thirteen times and winning only once, when taking a handicap race over ten furlongs at the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

in May by four lengths. Throughout the rest of the season her form steadily improved as was evidenced by several good performances in defeat. At

in June she finished third behind the British colts Critique and

Glint of Gold Glint of Gold (5 April 1978 – 1990) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A middle-distance specialist, he was noted for his toughness and consistency, winning ten races, finishing second six times and third once in a seventeen r ...

in the

over one and a half miles. Later that year she again ran well in the United Kingdom when finishing second to the outstanding three-year-old filly

Time Charter Time Charter (6 April 1979 – 7 July 2005) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who won several major middle-distance races between 1982 and 1984. After winning twice as a two-year-old in 1981, she deve ...

in the Sun Chariot Stakes over ten furlongs at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

. On her final appearance of 1982 she was sent to Japan to represent Ireland in the second running of the

. She ran the best race of her career up to that time as she was beaten one and a half lengths, finishing fourth behind Half Iced,

All Along All Along (7 April 1979 – 23 February 2005) was a champion Thoroughbred racemare that was foaled in France. She was one of the top fillies of the last part of the 20th century, racing mostly in Europe. All Along was named into the Nationa ...

and April Run.

1983: five-year-old season

Stanerra began her five-year-old season by finishing unplaced behind the British colt Ivano in the

Earl of Sefton Stakes The Earl of Sefton Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlong (1,811 metres) on the Rowley Mil ...

in April, a performance which suggested that she had made no improvement and may have deteriorated from the previous season. From this point on she made rapid progress. At

Sandown Park Racecourse Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse rac ...

in May, starting as a 20/1 outsider, she recorded her first important win as she defeated Ivano by a length in the Group Three Brigadier Gerard Stakes. In this race she was ridden for the first time by

Brian Rouse Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word mean ...

who became her regular jockey. On 14 June on the opening day of the

meeting, Stanerra started at odds of 7/1 for the ten-furlong Prince of Wales's Stakes, which was then a Group Two race. Appearing to relish the firm ground, she produced what Timeform described as "a spectacular performance", moving up on the inside rail to take the lead inside the last quarter mile and winning very easily by four lengths from the favourite Sabre Dance. Three days later, Stanerra contested the Hardwicke Stakes over two furlongs further at the same course. She moved into the lead on the turn into the straight and quickly went clear to win by one and a half lengths from Electric, with the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2 ...

winner

Be My Native Be My Native (foaled 16 February 1979) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a two-year-old he won one minor race but established himself as a potentially top class horse by finishing second in the Dewhurst St ...

twelve lengths further back in third. The winning time of 2:26.95 broke the track record established by Grundy in the 1975

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot o ...

. Two weeks after her successes at Ascot, Stanerra started 11/4 favourite for the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, but Rouse was unable to obtain a clear run in the straight and the mare finished fourth to

Solford Solford (foaled 31 January 1980) was an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. He was undefeated in his first five races, culminating in a victory over a strong international field in the Eclipse Stakes in 198 ...

in a slowly run race. Stanerra' only run in her own country came in September, when she ran in the Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

, which was then the only Group One race in Ireland open to older horses. Despite rumours that she was less than fully fit, she took the lead a furlong and a half from the finish and won by two and a half lengths from the

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas 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 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

winner Wassl. In October, the mare was sent to France for the first time and started fourth favourite in a field of twenty-six runners for 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 recovered from a slow start to reach second place in the straight but could make no further progress and eventually finished six in a bunched finish, less than two lengths behind the winner

. Plans to race the mare in North America were aborted following training problems, but she returned to fitness in time to contest the third running of the Japan Cup, which took place before a crowd of 80,000 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. The race attracted a field of sixteen, including challengers from the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, the United States and New Zealand while the "home team" was headed by the Arima Kinen winner Amber Shadai and the

Tenno Sho The is a horse race held twice a year in Japan, once in the spring and once in the autumn. "Tenno" means "Emperor of Japan". The races are both International Grade I races. Prior to the 2007 races, both Tenno Sho races were Japanese domestic Gra ...

winners Kyoei Promise and Mejiro Titan. Stanerra did not recover well from her flight, and after her arrival in Japan she was kept in condition with six hours' walking exercise a day. Racing on her favoured firm ground, Stanerra was not among the early leaders but produced a strong late run to take the lead in the closing strides and won by a head from Kyoei Promise. She was the first European-trained winner of the race. Stanerra remained in training in 1984, but had several training setbacks and appeared only once, when finishing last of the five runners in 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 ...

Assessment

In 1982, Stanerra was given a rating of 118 by the independent Timeform organisation and was rated the best older female in Ireland in the Irish Free Handicap. In the following year, Timeform gave her a rating of 128, eight pounds behind the top-rated horse

Habibti Habibti (foaled 1980) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who was one of the highest-rated sprinters in European racing history. Habibti was unbeaten as a two-year-old, winning the Group Two Lowther Stak ...

. In the official International Classification she was rated the third-best older female in Europe behind All Along and

Breeding record

Stanerra produced at least six foals between 1986 and 2001, none of whom made any impact as racehorses: *Stanerra's Song, a filly, foaled in 1986, sired by Seattle Song *Stanerra's Star, bay filly, foaled in 1987, sired by

Shadeed Shadeed (1982–2005) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from October 1984 to November 1985, he ran seven times and won four races. In the 1985 he was the highest-rated three-yea ...

, unplaced in her only race *Stanerra's Wish, bay filly, foaled in 1989, sired by

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

, fourth in her only race *Stan's Hope, filly, foaled in 1990, sired by Glow, failed to win in four races *Sandrine, chestnut filly, foaled in 1992, sired by Caerleon, failed to win in nine races *Stanerra's Story, colt, foaled in 2001, sired by Desert Story, won one race after being gelded

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1978 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 7-e Japan Cup winners