Tolmi (foaled 23 March 1978) was a British

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 and broodmare. She won both her races in 1980, including the

Princess Margaret Stakes The Princess Margaret Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to tak ...

before her season was curtailed by illness and injury, and was rated the equal-best two-year-old filly in Europe. In the following year she was narrowly beaten in the

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,60 ...

before winning 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 ...

at Royal Ascot. After finishing second in her three remaining races she was retired to stud, where her record as a dam of winners was disappointing.

Background

Tolmi was a "strong, compact" dark-coated bay filly with a very small white star and a white sock on her left hind leg, bred in England by her owner George Cambanis. Her dam Stilvi was bought by Cambanis 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 ...

and became a top-class racehorse, winning the

King George Stakes The King George Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is ...

and Duke of York Stakes and an outstanding broodmare. Before Tolmi, she had produced Tachypous (

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

Tromos Tromos (10 March 1976 – October 1982) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In the autumn of 1978 he won the Clarence House Stakes by thirteen lengths and the Dewhurst Stakes by three. As a result of these performances he was r ...

(

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres ...

) and

Tyrnavos Tyrnavos ( el, Τύρναβος) is a municipality in the Larissa regional unit, of the Thessaly region of Greece. It is the second-largest town of the Larissa regional unit, after Larissa. The town is near the mountains and the Thessalian Plain ...

(

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance ...

). She was sired by

Great Nephew Great Nephew was a British thoroughbred who became a champion miler in France. He also became a very successful sire, producing two Derby Stakes winners.Grundy and

Shergar Shergar (3 March 1978 – ) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After a very successful season in 1981 he was retired to the Ballymany Stud in County Kildare, Ireland. In 1983 he was stolen from the stud, and a ransom of ...

. The filly was sent into training with

Bruce Hobbs Bruce Robertson Hobbs (December 27, 1920 – November 22, 2005) was an English jockey and racehorse trainer. Born on Long Island, New York, Hobbs became the youngest jockey ever to ride the winner of the English Grand National when successful ...

at his Palace House stable in Newmarket, Suffolk and was ridden in all but her final race by Edward Hide.

Racing career

1980: two-year-old season

Tolmi began her racing career in the Princess

Maiden Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

Stakes over six

furlong 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 hor ...

s at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of British horserac ...

in July. According to

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 t ...

's annual Racehorses of 1980, she "outclassed" her nineteen opponents, winning easily by four

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 ...

from Exclusively Raised, a filly who went on to win the

May Hill Stakes The May Hill Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place eac ...

. Later that month he started 4/5 favourite for the Group Three Princess Margaret Stakes over six furlongs at

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 a ...

. Her bridle broke on the way to the start and had to be repaired, delaying the race and causing the filly to become unsettled. She started slowly but took the lead a furlong from the finish and won by one and a half lengths and six lengths from Kittyhawk and Her Grace. Tolmi's next race was scheduled to be the

Lowther Stakes The Lowther Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at York over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ...

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 in prize money offered per meeting. It attracts around 350 ...

in August but she was withdrawn from the race after being found to have a "low blood count". In her absence, Kittyhawk won the race impressively. Tolmi was being prepared for a run against the season's other outstanding two-year-old filly Marwell in the

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 ...

when her season was ended by a

cannon bone Good conformation in the limbs leads to improved movement and decreased likelihood of injuries. Large differences in bone structure and size can be found in horses used for different activities, but correct conformation remains relatively simil ...

injury in early September. At the end of the year she was the ante-post favourite for the following year's

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,60 ...

1981: three-year-old season

Tolmi made her three-year-old debut in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on 30 April. Her preparation had been disrupted by a muscle injury and she arrived at Newmarket looking less than fully fit. Starting the 11/2 third favourite she tracked the leaders and appeared to be travelling strongly entering the final furlong. In a "thrilling finish" she finished second, beaten a neck by

Fairy Footsteps Fairy Footsteps (15 January 1978 – 1996) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the classic 1000 Guineas in 1981. She showed promise in her first two races as a two-year-old before establishing herself ...

, just ahead of Go Leasing, Marwell and Madam Gay. She was then dropped in class for a race at

Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 16 miles south-west of Charing Cross, London and on a border of Greater London. The site has ...

, but appeared to struggle on the prevailing soft ground and finished fourth of the six runners behind Nasseem. In June, Tolmi faced Nasseem on firm ground in the Coronation Stakes, which was then a Group Two race, at Royal Ascot and started at odds of 4/1. She was always well-placed, and after being switched to the outside in the straight to obtain a clear run she accelerated into the lead and won by half a length from the Irish filly Happy Bride, with Nasseem in third place. In the Child Stakes at Newmarket in July, Tolmi was beaten three lengths when attempting to concede six pounds to

Robert Sangster Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004)

's filly Star Pastures. Later in the month was beaten a length when conceding three pounds to the same filly in the Royal Wedding Stakes at

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in la ...

. Tolmi and Star Pastures met yet again, this time at level weights, in the Heathorns Stakes at Goodwood in September, with Star Pastures emerging the winner by two lengths. There was some speculation that the filly would contest the

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...

, but she never raced again and was retired to stud.

Assessment

In 1980, the independent

organisation gave Tolmi a rating of 122, making her the second highest-rated two-year-old filly of the season behind Marwell. In the official International Classification she was rated equal to Marwell as the best two-year-old filly in Europe, six pounds behind the leading colt

Storm Bird Storm Bird (19 April 1978 – 3 December 2004) was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the outstanding European two-year-old of 1980, when he was unbeaten in five races, including the Anglesey Stakes, Natio ...

. In the following year she was rated ten pounds below Marwell (the top-rated three-year-old filly) in the International Classification and was rated 120 by Timeform.

Stud record

Tolmi was retired from racing to become a broodmare. Following the death of Cambanis in 1981, she was owned by the Stilvi Compania Financiera. Her record at stud was disappointing: she produced several minor winners, but nothing of top class. Tolmi's recorded foals: *Sariza (bay filly, foaled in 1983, sired by

Posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...

), unraced *Messaria (bay filly, 1985, by Ile de Bourbon), failed to win in five races *Zorkos (chestnut colt, 1986, by

Niniski Niniski (15 February 1976 – November 1998) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from October 1978 until October 1980, he ran fourteen times and won six races. After showing ...

), failed to win in three races *Lassia (bay filly, 1987, by Teenoso), third in only race *Nile Delta (bay colt, 1989, by

Green Desert ''Green Desert'' is the twenty-seventh major release and the fifteenth studio album by Electronic music, electronic artists Tangerine Dream. The music was recorded in Berlin in 1973, during a period when Peter Baumann had temporarily left Germany ...

), won one race *Barratry (chestnut colt, 1990, by

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

), failed to win in eight races *Double Dagger (bay colt, 1991, by Reference Point), won two races *Unreal City (bay colt, 1993, by Rock City), won one race *Get the Point (bay colt, 1994, by

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-seat ...

), won eight races *Mary Boone (filly, 1999, by

Dr Devious Dr Devious (10 March 1989 – 7 March 2018) was an Irish-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse. In a career which lasted from May 1991 until November 1992, he ran fifteen times and won six races. He is most notable as the winner of t ...

), failed to win in two races

Breeding

References

{{reflist 1978 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 3-h