Teona (foaled 13 March 2018) is an Irish-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. She showed promise as a two-year-old in 2020 when she won the second of her two races by nine

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 ...

. In the following spring she ran disappointingly in the

Musidora Stakes The Musidora Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () at ...

and the Epsom Oaks but developed into a top-class middle distance performer, winning the

August Stakes The August 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 1 mile 3 furlongs and 99 yards (2,303 metres), and it is scheduled to tak ...

and the Prix Vermeille.

Background

Teona is a bay filly with a white

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bred in Ireland by Rabbah Bloodstock. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

in October 2019 she was consigned to the Tattersalls sales and was bought for 280,000 guineas by Hugo Merry Bloodstock. She entered the ownership of Ali Saeed, and was sent into training with

Roger Varian Roger Varian is a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer, based at Carlburg Stables in Newmarket, Suffolk. Riding career Varian moved to the United States as a teenager and found employment as a work rider at Hollywood Park. On his return to t ...

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...

. She was from the eighth crop of foals sired by

Sea the Stars Sea The Stars (foaled 6 April 2006) is a retired champion Irish Thoroughbred racehorse regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. He won the 2000 Guineas, the Derby, the Eclipse Stakes – the first colt to accomplish this treble ...

who won the

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 2009. His other major winners have included Harzand,

Taghrooda Taghrooda (foaled 27 January 2011) is an Irish bred British trained Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2014 she won the classic Oaks Stakes and went on to win Britain's premier weight-for-age race, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. She subse ...

, Stradivarius,

Sea of Class Sea of Class (23 May 2015 – 22 July 2019) was an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. She was unraced as a juvenile and beaten on her three-year-old debut, but then made rapid progress, winning the Fillies' Trial Stakes in May a ...

and

Sea The Moon Sea The Moon (foaled 27 January 2011) is a retired German Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2014 Deutsches Derby. He was trained by Markus Klug, and bred and owned by Gestut Görlsdorf. Background Sea The Moon is a bay colt bred by Gestüt G ...

. Teona's dam Ambivalent was a top-class racemare whose wins included the Pretty Polly Stakes and the

Middleton Stakes The Middleton Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yar ...

. She was a half-sister to the dam of the

Prix de l'Abbaye The Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged two years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse, L ...

winner

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and, as a descendant of the broodmare Meinhart, she was also distantly related to the Grand National winner

Lord Gyllene Lord Gyllene (10 November 1988 – 12 December 2016) was a New Zealand-bred racehorse whose greatest victory came in the 1997 Grand National at Aintree. He was trained by Steve Brookshaw for owner Stanley Clarke (businessman), Sir Stanley ...

Racing career

2020: two-year-old season

Teona made her track debut in a one-mile

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 ...

on the synthetic Tapeta surface at Newcastle Racecourse on 30 October when she started 2/1 favourite and finished second, beaten a

length 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 Interna ...

by the winner Sea Empress. On 19 November at the same track she went off the 1/3 favourite for a maiden over ten furlongs and recorded her first success as she took the lead entering the last quarter mile and drew away to win "easily" by nine lengths from the colt Kondo Isami.

2021: three-year-old season

For her first appearance as a three-year-old Teona was stepped up in class to contest the Group 3

Musidora Stakes The Musidora Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () at ...

(a major trial for the Epsom Oaks) over ten and a half furlongs at

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

on 12 May when she was ridden by Andrea Atzeni and started the 15/8 second choice in the betting. After becoming agitated in the

starting stalls A starting gate also called a starting barrier or starting stalls is a machine used to ensure a fair start to in horse racing and dog racing. History Throughout the history of horse racing, there have been proposals as to how better to start ...

she fought her jockey's attempts to restrain her and made little impression in the closing stages, coming home third behind

Snowfall Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

and the favourite Noon Star. In the Oaks on 4 June the filly started at odds of 12/1 but never looked likely to win and finished tenth behind Snowfall, beaten more than twenty-seven lengths by the winner. After a break of fourteen weeks Teona returned to the track on 28 August when she was matched against colts and older horses in the Listed

over eleven and a half furlongs at

Windsor Racecourse Windsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom, the other being at Fontwell Park. Desc ...

. She started the 3/1 joint favourite alongside the four-year-old filly Domino Darling in an eight-runner field which also included 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 ...

winner Desert Encounter. Ridden by Ray Dawson Teona tracked the leaders before taking the lead two furlongs from the finish and kept on well to win by three and quarter lengths from Desert Encounter. After the race Roger Varian said "We had big hopes of her in the spring and it didn’t go her way in the Oaks trial or the Oaks, so we’ve given her time. Hopefully this is just the start for her now – it’s nice to get a Listed win and hopefully she can build on that now." Two weeks after her win at Windsor, Teona returned to Group 1 class when she was sent to France to contest the Prix Vermeille over 2400 metres at Longchamp Racecourse and started a 17.9/1 outsider in a seven-runner field. Snowfall started the 1/5 favourite while the other contenders included Incarville,

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

and Philomene (

Prix Penelope The Prix Penelope is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at Saint-Cl ...

). Ridden by Olivier Peslier, Teona tracked the front-running La Joconde before gaining the advantage 200 metres from the finish and stayed on well to win beat Snowfall by one and a half lengths. Varian commented "I think she's very good, I don't think it's a fluke result. Whether Snowfall ran up to her very best, you could argue that she didn't. But the Oaks was not our race, she couldn't handle the conditions and ours is a very good filly. I've always said that and that's why it's so satisfying that it's come through today." Teona was expected to run in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe but was withdrawn on account of the soft ground.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2018 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-j