Strategic Choice (4 March 1991 – after 2006) was an American-bred, British-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

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

. In a racing career which lasted from April 1994 until July 2000 he competed in nine different countries – Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Turkey, Canada and Hong Kong – and won six of his thirty-four races. Unraced as a two-year-old he won the

John Porter Stakes The John Porter 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, 4 furlongs () a ...

and

Irish St. Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...

at four, the

Gran Premio di Milano The Gran Premio di Milano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June. The event w ...

and

Grand Prix de Deauville The Grand Prix de Deauville is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,500 metres (about 1 mile and 4½ furl ...

at five and the Bosphorus Trophy at six. He was also placed in the

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 ...

Gran Premio del Jockey Club The Gran Premio del Jockey Club is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in October. T ...

, Yorkshire Cup and

St Simon Stakes The St. Simon Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and ...

. After his retirement from racing he had some success as a sire of

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

racing.

Background

Strategic Choice was a bay stallion with a broad white blaze and two 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 ...

bred in Kentucky by his owner

Martyn Arbib Martyn may refer to: *Martyn (surname), one of the Tribes of Galway and others *Martyn (given name) See also *Martin (disambiguation) *Marten (disambiguation) *Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 Nov ...

, a British businessman who brought the

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

back to the United Kingdom. The horse was trained by

Paul Cole Paul F. I. Cole (born 11 September 1941) is a British racehorse trainer. Since 1987 he has been based at Whatcombe Estate in Berkshire, the former stables of Dick Dawson and Arthur Budgett. He was British flat racing Champion Trainer in 19 ...

at Whatcombe, near

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

and ridden in most of his races by Richard Quinn. Strategic Choice was sired by

Alleged In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions.

who won 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 ...

in 1977 and 1978. Alleged later became a successful breeding stallion, and a strong influence for stamina: his best winners included

Miss Alleged Miss Alleged (1987–2008) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who was a Champion in the United States and one of only two fillies to ever win the Breeders' Cup Turf. Background Foaled in Kentucky, she was out of the mare, Miss Tusculum. He ...

Shantou Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 2020 census (5,391,028 in 2010) and an administrative ...

Law Society A law society is an association of lawyers with a regulatory role that includes the right to supervise the training, qualifications, and conduct of lawyers. Where there is a distinction between barristers and solicitors, solicitors are regulated ...

Legal Case A legal case is in a general sense a dispute between opposing parties which may be resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case is typically based on either civil or criminal law. In most legal cases there are one or mor ...

, Leading Counsel and

Midway Lady Midway Lady (foaled 1983) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who won two British Classic Races in 1986. In a racing career lasting from August 1985 until June 1986, the filly ran six times and won her last ...

. Strategic Choice's dam Danlu won only one minor race in Ireland as a two-year-old in 1987 but came from a good family, being a great-granddaughter of the

CCA Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in 2 ...

winner

Levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

whose other descendants included

Shuvee Shuvee (January 22, 1966 – April 1, 1986) was an American Thoroughbred Eclipse Award, Champion National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame horse racing, racehorse. Background Shuvee was a chestnut mare bred in Virginia by Whitney ...

and Meneval.

Racing career

1994: three-year-old season

After finishing second on his track debut in April, Strategic Choice started 4/7 a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

over ten furlongs at

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat r ...

on 14 May and won by one and a half

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 ...

. He was then moved up very sharply in class for the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a ...

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 ...

in June when he started a 49/1 outsider but finished fifth of the fifteen runners, three lengths behind the winner

Celtic Arms {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Celtic Arms , image = , caption = , sire = Comrade In Arms , grandsire = Brigadier Gerard , dam = Amour Celtique , damsire = Northfields , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1991 , country = France , colour ...

. In his three remaining races as a three-year-old he finished last of seven in the

Great Voltigeur Stakes The Great Voltigeur Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 18 ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, second in the

Godolphin Stakes The Godolphin Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,413 metres), and it i ...

at Newmarket and second again in the

at Newbury.

1995: four-year-old season

Strategic Choice began his second season in the

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: *Group 3 element, chemical element classification *Group 3 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing *Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are d ...

John Porter Stakes at Newbury in April in which he started at odds of 12/1 in a ten-runner field which also included Broadway Flyer (

Gordon Stakes The Gordon Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 218 yards (2,412 metres), and it i ...

), River North ( Aral-Pokal), Linney Head (

Sandown Classic Trial The Sandown Classic Trial is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 209 yards ( ...

), Right Win (

Gran Premio d'Italia The Gran Premio d'Italia is a Listed flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June. History The event was e ...

) and Shambo (

Geoffrey Freer Stakes The Geoffrey Freer Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 1 mile, 5 furlongs and 61 yards (2,671 me ...

). After tracking the leaders in the early stages he overtook Broadway Flyer inside the final furlong and won by a neck with a gap of three lengths back to Shambo in third. In June he was sent to Italy and finished third behind the German champion

Lando Lando may refer to: People * Lando (name), a given name or surname of Italian origin ** Pope Lando (913–914) Other uses * Lando Calrissian, fictional character in ''Star Wars'' * Landó (music), a style of Peruvian music * Lando, South Carolina, ...

in the

and then returned to England in July to contest Britain's most prestigious

weight-for-age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rous ...

race the

Ascot Racecourse 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 ...

. He started a 25/1 outsider but exceeded expectations as he finished a close third behind

Lammtarra Lammtarra (2 February 1992 7 July 2014) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was undefeated in his career and won three Group One races in 1995, in which year he was voted the Cartier Three-Year-Old European Champi ...

and

Pentire Pentire (12 April 1992 – 20 November 2017) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Background Pentire was bred by Lord Halifax, he was purchased for 54,000 guineas by Mollers Racing, the racing stable Trust of brothers Eric and Budgi ...

, with

Winged Love Winged Love (foaled 15 April 1992, died 2015) is an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for his win in the 1995 Irish Derby. After winning one of his two races as a juvenile in 1994, the colt showed steady imp ...

, Carnegie and

Environment Friend Environment Friend (19 March 1988 – 28 February 2012) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for his win in the 1991 running of the Eclipse Stakes, one of the United Kingdom's most important weight-for-age races. After winning ...

finishing behind. After a six-week break Strategic Choice returned in the

Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is schedul ...

and finished unplaced behind

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. On 16 September the colt was sent to the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse -- usually referred to as simply the Curragh -- is one of Ireland's most important Thoroughbred racecourses. It is situated on the Curragh plain in County Kildare, between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. History T ...

for the Irish St. Leger over fourteen furlongs and started the 6/1 third favourite behind

Vintage Crop Vintage Crop (1 March 1987 – 14 July 2014) was a British-bred Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for becoming the first northern hemisphere trained runner to win Australia's premier race the Melbourne Cup. The chestnut geldi ...

and

Moonax Moonax (1991–2004) was an Irish-bred, English-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1994 Moonax became the first horse to win both the Classic St Leger and the Prix Royal-Oak and was named European Champion Stayer. He remains t ...

. The best fancied of the other four runners were Oscar Schindler, who went on to win the race in 1996 and 1997 and the

Michael Stoute Sir Michael Ronald Stoute (born 22 October 1945) is a Barbadian British Thoroughbred horse trainer in flat racing. Career Stoute, whose father was the Chief of Police for Barbados, left the island in 1964 at the age of 19 to become an assis ...

-trained Zilzal Zamaan. Strategic Choice was restrained by Quinn in the early stages and turned into the straight in fourth place behind Zilzal Zamaan, Vintage Crop and Moonax before making "smooth headway" to contest the lead in the last quarter mile. He took the lead inside the furlong and fought off a sustained challenge from Moonax to win by a head. On his only subsequent start as a four-year-old the horse was sent to Paris for the

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 ...

in October but after racing prominently in the early stages he faded in the straight and finished unplaced behind Lammtarra.

1996: five-year-old season

On his first appearance of 1996 Strategic Choice finished second to

Classic Cliche Classic Cliche (foaled 13 March 1992), is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire who was bred in Ireland and trained in Britain and the United Arab Emirates. In a career which lasted from August 1994 until September 1997, he ran sixt ...

in the Yorkshire Cup and was then sent to Italy for a second run in the Gran Premio di Milano. On this occasion he started favourite, went to the front before half way and won from his fellow British challengers Luso (

Derby Italiano The Derby Italiano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Capannelle over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in ...

) and King's Theatre. Another run in Ascot's King George followed, but he was unable to reproduce his 1995 performance and finished last of the eight runners behind Pentire. In the

over 2500 metres in August he started the 7/1 fourth choice in the betting behind Tarator ( Prix Hubert de Chaudenay), Water Poet (

Prix de Reux The Prix de Reux is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,500 metres (about 1 mile and furlongs) at Deauville in earl ...

) and High Baroque (

Chester Vase The Chester Vase is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 63 yards () at Ches ...

). He took the lead after 1400 metres and despite running wide on the final turm he kept on well in the straight to win by a neck and a short head from Tarator and Percutant. In October Strategic Choice returned to Milan for the

and finished third of the eight runners behind

. On his final run of the year he was sent to Japan and started a 39/1 outsider for 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 ...

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 24 November. He produced one of his best performances as he dead-heated with

Helissio Helissio (1993–2013) was a Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Fairy King and a grandson of Northern Dancer. Owned by the Spanish businessman Enrique Sarasola, he was voted the European Horse of the Year for 1996 His career highlight was winn ...

for third behind

Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...

and Fabulous La Fouine: the horses who finished behind him included

Awad Awad or Aouad or Awwad ( ar, عوض or at times عوّاد) is an Arabic given name and surname. People with the name include: Given name ;of the origin عوّاد *Awwad Eid Al-Aradi Al-Balawi, former Director General of Saudi Arabian Border Guar ...

, Pentire,

Dance Partner Dance Partner, (Japanese: ダンスパートナー, foaled 25 May 1992) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. From the first crop of foals sired by Sunday Silence she won four of her twenty-five races and finished second nine time ...

and

Bubble Gum Fellow Bubble Gum Fellow, ( ja, バブルガムフェロー, link=no, 11 April 1993 – 26 April 2010) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1995 he was rated the best juvenile colt of his generation in Japan when he won three of his fo ...

1997: six-year-old season

In the first half of 1997, Strategic Choice finished fifth to Helissio in the

Prix Ganay The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at Longc ...

and fourth behind Shantou in the Gran Premio de Milano. He ran in the King George at Ascot for a third time in July and finished sixth of the eight runners behind

Swain Swain, Swains or Swain's may refer to: Places * Swain Islands, Antarctica * Swain's Island (Newfoundland and Labrador), Canada * Swains Island, an atoll in the Tokelau chain, American Samoa * Swain County, North Carolina, United States * Swains ...

. After finishing fourth in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes he was sent to Turkey to contest the Bosphorus Trophy over 2400 metres at

Veliefendi Race Course Veliefendi Race Course ( tr, Veliefendi Hipodromu) is a horse racing race track, track located at Veliefendi neighborhood in Bakırköy district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is the country's oldest and biggest race course founded on a former grassland ...

on 14 September. He faced seven local runners including

Bold Pilot Bold Pilot (April 21, 1993 – April 30, 2015) was a Turkish thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by Persian Bold Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the major ...

as well as Aristid from Germany and Shavat (winner of the 1996 Russian Derby) from Russia. He took the lead 400 metres from the finish and won "very easily" by three lengths from Aristid and Bold Pilot despite being eased down by Quinn in the closing stages. On his final run of the season Strategic Choice was sent to Canada for the

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 ...

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

on 19 October in which he finished fourth to

Chief Bearheart Chief Bearhart (February 1, 1993 – September 18, 2012) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A turf specialist, he won six Sovereign Awards and was voted American Champion Male Turf Horse for 1997. Background Chief Bearheart was b ...

1998–2000: later career

Strategic Choice remained in training for three more seasons but never won again. In 1998 he finished second in the Yorkshire Cup, third in the Grand Prix de Deauville and fourth in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes from five runs in Europe before ending the year with an unplaced effort in the

Hong Kong Vase The Hong Kong Vase is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,400 metres (about miles or 12 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year ...

Sha Tin Racecourse Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin District, Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club. Penfold Park is encircled by the track, and the Hon ...

in December. His eight-year-old campaign was restricted to two races at Newmarket: he finished fourth in the

Fred Archer Stakes The Fred Archer Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile 4 furlongs (2, ...

in June and sixth in a minor event in the following month. He was back on the track but made no impact in two starts as he finished unplaced in

handicap races A handicap race in horse racing is a race in which horses carry different weights, allocated by the handicapper. A better horse will carry a heavier weight, to give it a disadvantage when racing against slower horses. The skill in betting on a h ...

Haydock Park Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Merseyside, North West England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the racecourse is set in an area of parkland bounded by the towns of Haydock to the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield ...

and Newmarket in July.

Stud record

At the end of his racing career Strategic Choice was retired to stud. He was used primarily as a sire of

horses and was based at the Bracklynn Stud in Ireland. The best of his offspring included Bog Warrior (

Drinmore Novice Chase The Drinmore Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (4,023 metres ...

Galmoy Hurdle The Galmoy Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland. It is run at Gowran Park in January, over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres) and during the race there are 13 flights of hurdles to be jumped ...

, Webster Cup Chase) and Grey Gold (winner of eight races).

Pedigree

*Strategic Choice was

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 ...

3 × 3 to Tom Rolfe, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the third generation of his pedigree.

References

{{Reflist 1991 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 9-f Irish Classic Race winners