Surfers Paradise (14 October 1987 - c.1999)
/ref> was a

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 ...

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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who is best remembered for winning the

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...

in 1991.Surfers Paradise's career record
/ref> By Crested Wave, Surfers Paradise was named after Queensland's iconic beachside strip. At two and three, he won 10 of his 13 starts, including the

New Zealand 2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas is a Group One set-weight Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of 1600 metres at Riccarton Park in Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch New Zealand cup week The New Zealand 2000 Guineas is hel ...

, the

New Zealand Derby The New Zealand Derby is a set-weights Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run over a distance of 2,400 metres (12 furlongs) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. It is held on the first Saturday in March, as the opening day o ...

, the Air New Zealand Stakes, and the

Rosehill Guineas The Rosehill Guineas is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at set weights run over a distance of 2000 metres at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia annually in March. Total prize money for t ...

, but finished sixth, as 10/9 favourite (approximately $2.10), in the

AJC Derby AJC may refer to: * Agreement on Journey Continuation, an agreement between European rail operators to allow passengers in case of a missed connection * Allen Jack+Cottier (AJ+C), an architectural practice * American Jewish Committee, an advocacy ...

when attempting to win his ninth race in a row. At four, Surfers Paradise mixed his form in the early part of the spring, with unplaced runs on wet tracks interspersed with seconds to

Rough Habit Rough Habit (2 December 1986 – 7 November 2014) was a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won 11 Group One (G1) races on both sides of the Tasman, and won New Zealand's Horse of the Year Award in 1992 and 1995. Background Rough H ...

in the

Mudgway Stakes The Tarzino Trophy also known as the Challenge Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run at Hastings Racecourse in Hawke's Bay and is New Zealand's first Group One race of the season. It is run over a distance of 1400m in September. The race is the ...

and Castletown in the

Kelt Capital Stakes The Livamol Classic is a Weight-for-age Thoroughbred horse race run at Hastings Racecourse in Hawke's Bay and was at one stage New Zealand's richest horse race. It is run at a distance of 2040m. The race is run in October. The weather in the Haw ...

. As a result, Surfers Paradise was an outsider, at 14/1, for his Australian reappearance in the

. Entering Moonee Valley's short home straight, an audible roar breaks out from the crowd as Super Impose raced to the lead, and died away to silence as Surfers Paradise takes over midway down the straight.Crawley, Steve (1993) 'Super Better Best', Raceplay, 87–93 Thislethwaite Street, South Melbourne, Victoria, 3205, VHS cassette/DVD The trainer of the runner-up,

Lee Freedman David Lee Freedman (born 12 August 1956) is an Australian thoroughbred racehorse trainer. and Hall of Fame inductee. In partnership with brothers Anthony, Michael, and Richard, he has been a prolific winner of Australia's major races in past 2 ...

, quipped that it was the first time anything had ever come from behind to beat Super Impose. Freedman later reflected that it was a 'funny feeling' in that, while he would have preferred to win, he was 'happy' that the O'Sullivans (trainers

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

and jockey

Lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier ( lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike si ...

) had won because he had always had friendly relations with them and they had finished second in three previous runnings of the race - with Shivaree (1979), (Our)

Waverley Star Waverley Star (foaled 1982) was a New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who is best remembered for finishing second to Bonecrusher in the 1986 Cox Plate – widely referred to as the 'race of the century'. Waverley Star, who was known as Our Wav ...

(1986), and

Horlicks Horlicks is a sweet malted milk hot drink powder developed by founders James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" to their label. In the early 20th century, it was so ...

(1988). Surfers Paradise became the third

winner - after

Bonecrusher Bonecrusher may refer to: * Bone crusher, a machine used to crush animal bones * Bonecrusher (horse), a New Zealand racehorse * Bonecrusher (Transformers), a fictional robot supervillain character in the Transformers robot superhero franchise. * ...

(1985) and Castletown (1989) - to pass $2 million in prizemoney. After this preparation, Surfers Paradise had a further 22 starts in New Zealand, and won six races, including the Hawke's Bay Cup. In three subsequent visits to Australia, however, he finished near the tail of the field in each of his six starts. After running his last race in Australia, in April 1994, Surfers Paradise was sent to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he contested poor quality races and died from a heart condition in the late-1990s.

References

1987 racehorse births Racehorses bred in New Zealand Racehorses trained in New Zealand Thoroughbred family 2-b {{racehorse-stub

See also

References