Tawrrific (1984–1999) was a

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 ...

racehorse who is best remembered for winning the 1989

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 Melb ...

. Trained by Lee Freedman and ridden by

Shane Dye Raymond Shane Dye (born 26 September 1966, in the township of Matamata New Zealand), is a former jockey. He was an apprentice jockey to Dave O’Sullivan at Matamata, before moving to Sydney, Australia initially working with Vic Thompson at Wa ...

, he won in the then record time of three minutes and 17.1 seconds.

Early career

After doing his early racing in New Zealand, Tawrrific won the South Australian St Leger at three, and, despite finishing 12th in the 1988 Melbourne Cup, had shown staying talent in winning the

AJC St Leger The AJC St Leger is an historical Australian Turf Club Thoroughbred horse race run over 2,600 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia run under set weights with penalties for stayers three - years and older. History The AJC St L ...

at four, and finishing fourth in the Sydney and

Brisbane Cup The Brisbane Cup is a Brisbane Racing Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and upwards, run under handicap conditions over a distance of 3200 metres at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane during the Queensland Winter Racing Carni ...

Melbourne Cup winner

Allotted 54 kilograms for the 1989

, Tawrrific was placed in lead-up races at Sandown, Caulfield, Flemington, and Moonee Valley, but fell out of favour with many punters when finishing second-last in the

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

. In the

, Tawrrific came down the centre of the track with a well-timed run by Dye, and defeated his stablemate Super Impose by just over two lengths. The victory was Freedman's first in the race, and a significant career milestone for the young trainer. The win also significant in the rise of Dye, a former champion apprentice 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 ...

Later career

Following the Melbourne Cup, Tawrrific won the Cox Stakes, in Perth, and raced for a further 18 months, but with limited success. At six, he won a race over 2,500 metres at Flemington – which now carries Listed status – and finished 16th in the 1990

Stud career

Exported to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 15 January 1999, Tawrrific stood as a jumps stallion at Tullaghansleek Stud in Castletown-Geoghegan in County Westmeath, and the Australian Stud Book records him as the sire of two stakeswinners. Tawriffic died just a few months later from a twisted bowel.Australian Stud Book – Summary for Tawrrific
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References

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External links