Ventura (foaled January 31, 2004 in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and 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 ...

Background

Ventura, a dark bay filly with a white blaze was a homebred raced by Khalid Abdulla's

Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms is a horse breeding farm, owned until his death on 12th January 2021 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.National Thoroughbred Racing Association"Juddmonte Farms, Inc.", profile. Retrieved October 16, 2007. Overview Ju ...

. She was from the last crop of foals sired by

Chester House Chester House (February 1, 1995 – June 28, 2003) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In his racing career, he ran in both Europe and North America, winning six races, most notably the Arlington Million as a five-year-old ...

, who died in 2003 and is one of at least six winners produced by the mare Estala. Ventura was originally sent to Europe to be trained by Amanda Perrett, but had all her greatest successes after being returned to the United States at the end of her three-year-old season.

Racing career

Britain

In 2006, the two-year-old Ventura made one start at the

Lingfield Racecourse 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 ...

on Polytrack synthetic dirt, finishing off the board. In 2007, she raced in the United Kingdom where she had three wins and three seconds from seven starts. Her first six races were all on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

but her last came on synthetic dirt in the Hyde Stakes 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 of ...

United States

Sent to the United States for 2008, Ventura won three

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

stakes for trainer, Robert Frankel. She captured the Just A Game Handicap on the turf at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

and the Vinery Madison Stakes on Polytrack synthetic dirt at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

before winning the richest and most important race of her career, the

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1 million

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint is a 7-furlong (1408 m) Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred fillies and mares three years old and up. As its name implies, it is a part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year- ...

on the synthetic dirt at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

. In this race she was tenth after half a mile but came around the outside on the turn into the straight to win under

Garrett Gomez Garrett Keith Gomez (January 1, 1972 – December 14, 2016) was an American Thoroughbred jockey who won two Eclipse Awards and thirteen Breeders' Cup races during his career. Racing career Early career Gomez learned to ride by watching his fathe ...

. At age five in 2009, Ventura won two more Grade I races in the United States and the Grade I

Woodbine Mile The Woodbine Mile is a Grade I stakes race on turf for Thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up held annually in mid September at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada. Currently sponsored by Ricoh, the Woodbine Mile offers a purse of Can$1, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Defending her Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint title, Venture ran second to

Informed Decision Informed Decision (foaled February 5, 2005 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2009 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on her way to being named the American Champion Female Sprint Horse. Background Informed Decision i ...

on the synthetic dirt at Santa Anita Park. Ventura finished her career with a win in the Grade 1

Matriarch Stakes :'' This article is about an American horse race. For the Australian horse race, see Matriarch Stakes (Australia).'' The Matriarch Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are of age thre ...

, setting a stakes record time of 1:33.58.

References

External links

Bios at NTRA.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ventura 2004 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United States Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winners Thoroughbred family 1-l