Vo Rogue (12 Nov 1983 - 7 May 2012) was an

Australian Racing Hall of Fame The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000. The numbers in brackets afte ...

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 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 ...

. He was sired by American-bred Ivor Prince whose racing career ended from injury after just two starts. Ivor Prince was a son of the British champion

Sir Ivor Sir Ivor (May 5, 1965 – November 10, 1995) was an American-bred, Irish-trained champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from July 1967 to October 1968 he ran thirteen times and won eight races. He won major races in ...

who won the 1968

2,000 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 ...

and

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 ...

. His American damsire, Dignitas, was a multiple stakes winner in the United States and was a son of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,

Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...

. Vo Rogue was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2019. Vo Rogue was a successful front-running racehorse who thrilled Australian racegoers by setting up massive leads in his races, and defying the opposition to catch him. The bay gelding was trained by Vic Rail, and ridden by Cyril Small for 22 of his 26 wins. He was also ridden on at least two occasions by

John Scorse John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

who rose to prominence as the jockey of

Placid Ark Placid Ark (1983-1988) was an Australian thoroughbred foaled in Western Australia. His sire Arkenstone was a winning son of the Western Australian champion sire Zvornik and his dam was Northern Queen a mare bred in South Australia by the United ...

. Vo Rogue was successful in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, but was at his best in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, particularly in the autumn, with the hard and fast tracks very much to his liking (he was controversially scratched from the

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...

in 1988 because Rail considered he was hopeless in any kind of rain-affected going). He dominated the weight-for-age races at the autumn carnivals of 1988, 1989, and 1990, defeating such outstanding horses as Campaign King and the

winners

Bonecrusher Bonecrusher may refer to: * Bone crusher, a machine used to crush animal bones * Bonecrusher (horse), a New Zealand racehorse * Bonecrusher (Transformers), a fictional robot supervillain character in the Transformers robot superhero franchise. * ...

Super Impose Super Impose (5 October 1984 – 23 March 2007) was a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. In a career spanning 74 starts, he won eight Group One races and a then Australasian record ...

, Our Poetic Prince, and

Better Loosen Up Better Loosen Up (foaled 29 August 1985 – died 15 March 2016) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse that won the Japan Cup in 1990 and was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1991. He campaigned from two to seven years of age, and won ...

. He was successful from the William Reid Stakes (1,200 metres) to the

Australian Cup The Australian Cup is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, held under Weight for Age conditions, over a distance of 2000 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in March du ...

(2,000 metres), and won various races in between, including the

C F Orr Stakes The C F Orr Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race at Weight for Age, run over a distance of 1400 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in February. Total prize money is A$750,000. Histo ...

(1,400 metres), the

Blamey Stakes The Blamey Stakes is a Victoria Racing Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race for three years old and older, with Set Weights with Penalties conditions over 1600 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in March during the VRC Autumn ...

(1,600 metres), and the

St George Stakes The Peter Young Stakes, registered as the St George Stakes, is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race held under weight for age conditions over a distance of 1800 metres at Caulfield racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late Febru ...

(1,800 metres). In total, Vo Rogue won 26 races from 83 starts, including six Group One races, and a further five which now carry Group One status. His name has also entered Australian racing folklore, regularly summoned by racecallers and fans alike who speak of horses setting up "Vo Rogue-style" leads. Vo Rogue died on 7 May 2012, at the age of 28.

References

{{Reflist
Vo Rogue's pedigree and partial racing stats

Video at YouTube with highlights from Vo Rogue's career

References

See also