Vintage Crop (1 March 1987 – 14 July 2014) was a British-bred Irish-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 ...

racehorse best known for becoming the first northern hemisphere trained runner to win Australia's premier race the

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 ...

. The chestnut gelding competed in

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and Australia from 1992 to 1995. He won 16 races in Ireland, England, and Australia. For his performance during the 1993 racing season he earned the Cartier Award for Top Stayer. Vintage Crop also won international fame in 1993 by becoming the first northern hemisphere-trained horse to win the

. He is commemorated by a statue in the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse -- usually referred to as simply the Curragh -- is one of Ireland's most important Thoroughbred racecourses. It is situated on the Curragh plain in County Kildare, between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. History ...

. He returned to Australia for the 1994 and 1995 Melbourne Cups, where he finished seventh and third, respectively. Vintage Crop was trained by

Dermot Weld Dermot K. Weld (born 29 July 1948), a former jockey is one of Ireland's most successful racehorse trainers. He holds the record for the most winners trained in Ireland (2,578 set in August 2000). Weld maintains his stable, Rosewell House, in ...

, who returned to Australia in 2002 and again won the Melbourne Cup with the Irish horse

Media Puzzle Media Puzzle (May 7, 1997 – June 22, 2006), foaled in the United States was an Irish horse best known for his win in the 2002 Melbourne Cup. Background Media Puzzle was bred by Walter Haefner's Moyglare Stud Farm and owned by Dr. M. W. Smurf ...

Background

Vintage Crop was a chestnut gelding with a white star and three white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

bred in the United Kingdom by Bertram and Diana Firestone. He was from the first crop of foals sired by Rousillon an American stallion who raced in Europe, winning the

Queen Anne Stakes The Queen Anne Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and is scheduled to take pl ...

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes 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 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

and

Prix du Moulin The Prix du Moulin de Longchamp is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is sch ...

in 1985. The best of his other offspring included the double Eddie Read Handicap winner Fastness and the Challenge Stakes winner Sally Rous. Vintage Crop's dam Overplay won two minor races and finished third in the

Ribblesdale Stakes The Ribblesdale Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metres), and it i ...

in 1981. Vintage Crop entered the ownership of Michael Smurfit and was sent into training with Dermot Weld 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 ...

Racing career

Early career

Vintage Crop began his racing career by winning a two-mile flat race at Thurles Racecourse in October 1991 and was then campaigned in

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

races, winning two

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural us ...

in December. He returned to the flat in 1992, winning

handicap races A handicap race in horse racing is a race in which horses carry different weights, allocated by the handicapper. A better horse will carry a heavier weight, to give it a disadvantage when racing against slower horses. The skill in betting on a h ...

Gowran Park Gowran Park is a horse race course in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the Annely Estate near the village of Gowran Gowran (; ) is a town located on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Ch ...

and

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...

and finishing fifth to Mashaallah when moved up in class for the Group One Irish St. Leger at the

. In October he was sent to England to contest the

Cesarewitch Handicap The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres ...

over two and a quarter miles 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 ...

. Carrying a weight of 132 pounds he took the lead a quarter of a mile from the finish and drew away to win by eight lengths.

1993: six-year-old season

In 1993, Vintage Crop made a brief return to hurdling to finish sixth to

Granville Again Granville Again (20 June 1986 – August 2003) was an Irish-bred racehorse who competed in National Hunt races and recorded his most important win in the 1993 Champion Hurdle. In his early career he won two of his three National Hunt Flat ...

in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham Racecourse before being aimed at long distance races on the flat. He won a minor race at Leopardstown Racecourse and the Listed

Curragh Cup The Curragh Cup is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh Racecourse, Curragh over a d ...

as well as being placed in the Saval Beg Stakes and the Meld Stakes and finishing sixth in the Ascot Gold Cup. On 18 September, the gelding ran for the second time in the Irish St Leger and started at odds of 9/2 against a field which included Drum Taps and

Snurge Snurge (12 March 1987 – November 2006), was an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from September 1989 until September 1994, he ran thirty-four times and won seven races. He recorded his most im ...

. Ridden by

Mick Kinane Michael J. Kinane (born 22 June 1959, Killenaule, County Tipperary) is an Irish former flat racing jockey. He had a 34-year career, retiring on 8 December 2009. A prolific winner of the Irish, English and French Classic race ...

, he took the lead approaching the final quarter-mile and won by two and a half lengths from Assessor. Vintage Crop was then sent to Australia in an attempt to become the first foreign-trained horse to win the Melbourne Cup. Ridden again by Kinane, the Irish gelding produced a strong run in the straight to overtake Te Akau Nick in the closing stages and win going away by three lengths. The unplaced horses included Subzero,

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

and Drum Taps.

Later career

In 1994 Vintage Crop won the Saval Beg Stakes and finished three-quarters of a length second to

Arcadian Heights Arcadian Heights (14 April 1988 – after 2011) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who recorded his biggest win in the 1994 Ascot Gold Cup. He was unraced as a two-year-old but developed into a useful stayer as a three-year-old when he won ...

in the Ascot Gold Cup. After finishing second in the Curragh Cup and winning a minor race at the Curragh, he started 7/4 favourite for the Irish St Leger in September. He took the race for the second time, beating Rayseka by three lengths with the British challenger

Bob's Return Bob's Return (1990–2008), was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from June 1992 until September 1994, he ran fifteen times and won five races. He recorded his most important success w ...

in fifth. In the 1994 Melbourne Cup, Vintage Crop carried top weight and finished seventh of the twenty-four runners behind the Australian trained

Jeune Jeune (29 March 1989 – 4 January 2006) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in England and Australia and is best known for winning the prestigious Melbourne Cup in 1994. He was a muscular chestnut stallion who sometimes raced in pac ...

. As an eight-year-old, Vintage Crop won a minor race at Leopardstown, finished fourth to Double Trigger in the Ascot Gold Cup and then won the Curragh Cup for the second time. He then won the Listed Ballycullen Stakes before finishing fourth behind Strategic Choice, Moonax and Oscar Schindler in the Irish St. Leger. On his final racecourse appearance, Vintage Crop finished third behind

Doriemus Doriemus (17 November 1990 – 11 January 2015) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who began his career in New Zealand and rose to prominence in Australia by winning the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups in 1995. He was the eighth of just nine horses to ...

and Nothin' Leica Dane in the 1995 Melbourne Cup.

Retirement

Vintage Crop retired at the

Irish National Stud The Irish National Stud (official name: ''Comhlacht Graí Náisiúnta na hÉireann Teo.'') is a Thoroughbred horse breeding facility in Tully, Kildare, County Kildare, Ireland. It was formally established by incorporation on 11 April 1946 ...

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

and could be visited by the public as part of the stud's Living Legends exhibit, alongside

Kicking King Kicking King is a National Hunt racing, National Hunt racehorse trained in Straffan, County Kildare, Co. Kildare, Ireland, by Tom Taaffe. He is best known for his victory in the 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup, the major Steeplechase (horse racing), C ...

, Beef Or Salmon and

Moscow Flyer Moscow Flyer (10 May 1994 – 21 October 2016) was an Irish-bred and -trained National Hunt horse who ran over distances between 2 miles and 2½ miles (3.2–4 km). A top-class horse, he won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2003 and ...

. He died at the Irish National Stud on 14 July 2014 at the age of twenty-seven. He was buried on the

K Club The Kildare Hotel and Golf Club (abbreviated The K Club) is a golf and leisure complex in the Republic of Ireland, located at Straffan, County Kildare. It is built on the original grounds of the Straffan estate, incorporating the 1830s Straffan ...

golf course, with a substantial grave marker.

Pedigree

References

External links

Video at YouTube of Vintage Crop's win in the 1993 Melbourne Cup
{{Authority control 1987 racehorse births 2014 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in Ireland Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Melbourne Cup winners Cartier Award winners Irish Classic Race winners Thoroughbred family 14-c