Sweet Emma (19 March 1980 – after 1998) 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 ...

. As a two-year-old in 1982 she won two minor races in spring and then recorded her most important success with a victory in the

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

Phoenix Stakes The Phoenix Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is sc ...

. She went on to finish fourth in the

Moyglare Stud Stakes The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled ...

and ended the year as the best Irish-trained juvenile filly of her generation. After being transferred to race in England she failed to win at three but did finish third in the

Leisure Stakes The Leisure Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Windsor over a distance of 6 furlongs and 12 yards (1,218 metres), and it is sch ...

and fourth in the

Coronation Stakes The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is schedul ...

. After her retirement from racing she had some success as a broodmare in Europe and Japan.

Background

Sweet Emma was a "lengthy, attractive" bay mare with no white markings bred in Ireland by the Hesmonds Stud. As a yearling she was sold for 8,200

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

and was sent into training with Michael Connolly. She was sired by Welsh Saint, a sprinter who recorded his biggest win in the 1970 edition of the

Cork and Orrery Stakes The Platinum Jubilee Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. Three-year-olds foaled in the Southern Hemisphere are also eligible. It is run at A ...

. Her dam Gang Plank showed little aptitude for racing, failing to win in four starts. She was descended from the British broodmare Excelsa (foaled 1949) who was the dam of Exar (

Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3,219 ...

) and the grand-dam of

Wollow Wollow (1973 – after 1997) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from summer 1975 to October 1976 he ran eleven times and won nine races. In 1975 he was rated the best two-year-old in ...

Racing career

1982: two-year-old season

Sweet Emma began her racing career in March 1982 when she won 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 five

furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

Naas Racecourse Naas Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, approximately 18 miles from Dublin. The course stages both Flat racing and National Hunt racing and in 2010 fifteen race meetings were held there. The Naas Races Company w ...

. She followed up shortly afterwards in a minor race over the same distance on soft ground 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 ...

. After her two wins in spring the filly was sold privately to Jackie Ward Ramos and was transferred to the stable of Kevin Prendergast. Four months after her last race Sweet Emma was stepped up to

class for the Phoenix Stakes on firm ground 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 ...

on 7 August, in which she was ridden by

Gabriel Curran Gabriel Curran (died 2008) was an Irish flat racing jockey. Curran rode the winners of two Irish Classic Races during his career as well as the English 2,000 Guineas on Nebbiolo in 1977. He rode for trainer Kevin Prendergast and after retirin ...

. The

John Oxx John M. Oxx (born 14 July 1950) is a retired Irish trainer of thoroughbred racehorses. By the end of the 2009 season Oxx had trained 35 Group One winners over his career, including the winners of 11 Classic races. He is best known as the traine ...

-trained colt Najran started favourite ahead of Treasure Trove (from the

Vincent O'Brien Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish race horse trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in a worldwide poll hosted by the ''Racing Post''. In ...

stable) and the unbeaten filly Flame of Tara. Despite looking impressive before the race Sweet Emma went off at odds of 12/1 after drifting out from 4/1 on the day of the race after receiving an unfavourable draw. Curran tracked the leaders before going to the front approaching the final furlong and Sweet Emma accelerated away to win by three lengths from Najran. On 11 September Sweet Emma was moved up to six furlongs for the

at the Curragh. She was among the leaders for most of the way but faded in the final furlong and finished fourth behind the British-trained

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 ...

. At the end of the month she was sent to England to contest the Group 1

Cheveley Park Stakes The Cheveley Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it i ...

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 ...

. She started the 8/1 third favourite but ran poorly and finished eighth of the nine runners behind

Ma Biche Ma Biche (foaled 1980) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who won the classic 1000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse in 1983. The filly was the best racehorse of her age and sex in Europe in 1982 when she ...

. In December Sweet Emma was put up for auction at Newmarket and was sold for 220,000 guineas. She then moved to the stable of

Peter Walwyn Peter Tyndall Walwyn, (1 July 1933 – 7 December 2017) was a British racehorse trainer. He was based at stables in the Lambourn, Berkshire, area and enjoyed his period of greatest success in the mid-1970s when he was British flat racing Cham ...

Seven Barrows Seven Barrows is a Bronze Age bowl barrow cemetery, of which are designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, at Upper Lambourn in the civil parish of Lambourn in the English county of Berkshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Bu ...

near

Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of ra ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. In the Irish Free Handicap for 1982, Sweet Emma was rated the best two-year-old filly trained in Ireland, although she was seven pounds behind Habibti. The independent

Timeform Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by ...

organisation gave her a rating of 108, making her fifteen pounds inferior to their top two-year-ol filly Ma Biche. In their annual ''Racehorses of 1982'' Timeform described her as "a very useful sprinter" but having obvious stamina limitations.

1983: three-year-old season

Sweet Emma made her first appearance for her new trainer in the

over six furlongs at

Lingfield Park Lingfield Park Racecourse (commonly referred to as Lingfield) is a horse racing course at Lingfield in Surrey, United Kingdom. It is owned by the ARC Racing and Leisure Group, formerly Arena Leisure Plc. Lingfield is best known as a winter ...

in early June and produced a creditable effort to finish a close third behind Solimile and Kirchner. She was then stepped up in class and distance for the

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 ...

later that month and came home fourth of the six runners behind Flame of Tara. On her only subsequent appearance she contested a handicap race over seven furlongs at Newmarket in July and finished fourth after sweating up badly before the start.

Breeding record

Sweet Emma was retired from racing to become a broodmare. She was based in Ireland before being exported to Japan in 1988. She produced eleven foals and six winners between 1985 and 1998. *Love Legend, a chestnut colt (later

gelded A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

), foaled in 1985, sired by

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 ...

. Won thirteen races including the

Portland Handicap The Portland Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 5 furlongs and 143 yards (1,137 metres), an ...

. *Galapagos, bay filly, 1986, by Pitskelly. Failed to win in 25 races. *Sweet Form, brown filly, 1987, by Formidable. Failed to win in two races. *Miss Taleca, chestnut filly, 1988, by

Pharly Pharly (22 April 1974 – 10 November 2002) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won five of his thirteen races, finished second five times and third once and was rated among the best colts of his generation in France at two and ...

. Failed to win in two races. *Kyoei Keyman, bay colt, 1989, by

Petoski Petoski (24 February 1982–2003) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career that lasted from June 1984 to July 1986, he ran twelve times and won four races. Petoski is most notable for his win against a strong international f ...

. Won six races and finished third in the

Sprinters Stakes The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan open to thoroughbreds which are three-years-old or above. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres (approximately 6 furlongs) at Nakayama Racecourse, and it takes place annually in late September or earl ...

. *Keishu Grace, bay filly, 1990, by Nippo Teio. Won one race. *Kyoei Uranus, bay colt, 1991, by Gorytus. Failed to win in two races. *Inter Through, bay colt, 1992, by

Diamond Shoal Diamond Shoal (6 May 1979 – ca.1996) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed some promise as a two-year-old, winning two of his six races. In the following year he won only one minor race but was placed in several major rac ...

. Won two races. *Kyoei Sweet, bay filly, 1995, by Dance of Life. Failed to win in eight races. *Kyoei Pure, bay filly, 1996, by Jade Robbery. Won one race. *Inter Advance, bay colt, 1998, by Carnegie. Won three races.

Pedigree

*Through her dam Gang Plank, Sweet Emma 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 ...

4 × 4 to Court Martial, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation in the fourth generation of her pedigree.

References

{{Reflist 1980 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 22-d