Was is an Irish

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 is best known for winning The Oaks on her third racecourse appearance.

Background

Was is a bay filly with a narrow white blaze and 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 ...

on her hind feet, bred by the Lodge Park Stud in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

, Ireland. She was sired by the 2001

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 ...

winner

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

out of the mare Alluring Park, a half-sister of the Derby winner

New Approach New Approach (foaled 18 February 2005) is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active stallion. In a racing career which lasted from July 2007 to October 2008 he ran eleven times and won eight races. He was undefeated in five races as a tw ...

. In October 2010, the filly was sent to the

Tattersalls Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founding It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. T ...

sales where she was bought for 1,200,000

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

by the bloodstock agent Dermot "Demi" O'Byrne on behalf of John Magnier's Coolmore organisation. The price made her the most expensive European

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 ...

of 2010.

Racing career

2011: two-year-old season

Was first appeared on a racecourse in a maiden race 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 ...

on 7 August. Ridden by her trainer's son Joseph O'Brien, she won by two and a half lengths from her stable companion, Cabin, and ten other fillies.

2012: three-year-old season

Was made her three-year-old debut in the

Blue Wind Stakes The Blue Wind Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) ...

Naas Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

on 16 May. Ridden by

Seamie Heffernan James Anthony "Seamie" Heffernan (born 17 July 1972) is an Irish flat racing jockey who rides mainly for horse racing trainer Aidan O'Brien. From a family with no racing connections Heffernan was introduced to the sport when he took a summer ho ...

, she finished third of the six runners behind Princess Highway. On 1 June Was started a 20/1 outsider for the Epsom Oaks, in which O'Brien ran five fillies including Maybe who started second favourite. Was went into the lead from the start but was then settled behind the leaders by Heffernan. She regained the lead two furlongs from the finish and ran on under pressure to win by a neck from Shirocco Star. The filly was expected to run in the Pretty Polly Stakes on 1 July, but was withdrawn (along with Maybe) because of the extremely soft ground. In the

Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it is s ...

three weeks later, Was appeared to be badly hampered in the straight before finishing fourth, beaten more than five lengths by

Great Heavens Great Heavens (foaled 28 April 2009) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2012 Irish Oaks. She is owned by Lady Rothschild and trained by John Gosden. Breeding Great Heavens is the daughter of Galileo, who won The Derby, Irish De ...

. In August, Was was brought back in distance for the ten furlong

Nassau Stakes The Nassau Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong a ...

at Goodwood, and finished third behind The Fugue and Timepiece. Later that month she finished third to Shareta and The Fugue in the Yorkshire Oaks. On her final appearance of the year she finished unplaced behind

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...

in the

British Champions Fillies' and Mares' Stakes The British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile 3 f ...

2013: four-year-old season

Was began her third season in the Abu Dhabi Stakes over one mile at the Curragh on 25 May. Ridden by Joseph O'Brien she started at odds of 11/2 and finished fourth of the eight runners behind Chigun. On 30 June Was started 5/2 favourite for the Pretty Polly Stakes and finished second, half a length behind the winner Ambivalent and a neck ahead of Shirocco Star.

Breeding career

Was retired from racing in 2014 and was bred to War Front, to whom she produced the filly Darkness Falls in January 2015 and the colts Globe Theatre (2016) and Knight of Malta (2017).

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 2009 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 19-b Epsom Oaks winners