Zee Zee Top (foaled 21 April 1999) is 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 c ...

racehorse and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. She did not race until the autumn of her three-year-old season when she won a minor race on her debut and then finished second in the Severals Stakes. In the following year she showed top-class form to win the

Middleton Stakes The Middleton Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yar ...

and

Prix de l'Opéra The Prix de l'Opéra is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it ...

as well as being placed in the Pretty Polly Stakes and

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 ...

. As a broodmare she produced

Izzi Top Izzi Top is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career which lasted from October 2010 until October 2012 she ran twelve times and won six races. As four-year-old in 2012 she won two Group One races- the Pretty Polly Stakes in Ireland and the ...

and Jazzi Top (winner of the

Prix de la Nonette The Prix de la Nonette is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to ...

Background

Zee Zee Top is a dark bay mare with no white markings bred in England by the

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

-based Meon Valley Stud She was sent into training with Michael Stoute at

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...

. She was sired by Zafonic, the best European two-year-old of 1992 who went on to win the

2000 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 ...

in the following year. The best of Zafonic's other offspring included

Xaar Xaar (foaled 1995) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for his performances as a two-year-old in 1997. In his juvenile season, he won four of his five races, including the Prix de Cabourg and Prix de la Salamandre in F ...

, and

Zafeen Zafeen (25 April 2000) was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Trained in the United Kingdom, he showed good form as a two-year-old in 2002, winning two of his six races including the Mill Reef Stakes and finishing second in the Prix M ...

. Her dam

Colorspin Colorspin (16 March 1983 – 14 August 2012) was a French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She showed great promise as a two-year-old in 1985 when she won both of her races in convincing fashion. In the following y ...

won 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 ...

in 1986 and went on to become an outstanding broodmare whose other foals included

Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

and

Kayf Tara Kayf Tara (18 March 1994 – 8 December 2022) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. Background Kayf Tara was bred in England by the Meon Valley Stud. His dam Colorspin won the Irish Oaks and had previously produced the mu ...

Racing career

2002: three-year-old season

On 7 October 2002 at

Pontefract Racecourse Pontefract Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. Layout The track is left-handed undulating course with a sharp bend into the home straight. Horses drawn low (i.e. on the inside of the ...

, Zee Zee Top made her track debut in a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

over one mile on firm ground and started the 4/6 favourite in a six-runner field. Ridden by

Kieren Fallon Kieren Francis Fallon (born 22 February 1965 in Crusheen, County Clare, Ireland) is a retired Irish professional flat racing jockey and was British Champion Jockey six times. Career Stable jockey to Henry Cecil In ...

she took the lead approaching the final

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 hors ...

and quickly drew away from her opponents to win by seven

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 ...

. Fallon was again in the saddle ten days later when the filly was stepped up in class for the

Listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Severals Stakes on softer ground at

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

and was matched against older fillies and mares. Starting at 12/1 she was restrained in the early stages before making steady progress to take second place, two lengths behind the four-year-old Salim Toto.

2003: four-year-old season

Zee Zee Top began her second campaign in the Listed Middleton Stakes over ten furlongs at

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 Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

on 14 May and started the 11/10 favourite against five opponents including Chorist and Golden Silca (second in the

Irish 1,000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas 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 (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

and

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 ...

). After settling behind the leaders she was sent into the lead by Fallon at half way and kept on well to win by a length from Chorist, from whom she was receiving three pounds in weight.

Brett Doyle Brett Doyle (born 30 Aug 1972) in Newmarket, England is a flat race jockey. Doyle has ridden 147 winners in Hong Kong across a number of stints. He rode 18 winners in the 2010/11 season in which his best partnership was with Thumbs Up for a triump ...

took the ride when Zee Zee Top was sent to Ireland and started favourite for the

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in a ...

Pretty Polly Stakes 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 28 June. She was beaten a neck into second place by the three-year-old Hanami but was relegated one place for hampering the third-placed finisher Snippets as she switched left to obtain a clear run inside the last quarter mile. She was then stepped up to the highest class for the Group 1

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 ...

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 lat ...

on 2 August in which she was ridden by

Johnny Murtagh Johnny Murtagh (born 14 May 1970) is an Irish flat racing trainer and former jockey from Bohermeen, near Navan, Kells, County Meath. As a jockey he won many of the major flat races in Europe, including all the Irish Classi ...

and came home third behind

Russian Rhythm Russian Rhythm is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active broodmare who was bred in the United States but trained in the United Kingdom. During a racing career which lasted from June 2002 until May 2004 she ran ten times and won seven races. ...

and the French filly Ana Marie. Later that month she was tried over one and a half miles in the

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 fu ...

but never looked likely to win and finished sixth of the eight runners behind

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, beaten six and a half lengths by the winner. Fallon and Zee Zee Top were reunited when the filly was sent to France and went off a 14/1 outsider for the Prix de l'Opéra over 2000 metres on holding ground at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

on 5 October.

Bright Sky Bright Sky (foaled 8 May 1999) was an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who raced in France, Japan, the United States. Hong Kong and Dubai. After winning three minor races as a juvenile in 2001 she emerged as a top ...

started favourite, while the other nine runners included Yesterday, Ana Marie, Next Gina (

Preis der Diana The Preis der Diana is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Düsseldorf over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take pl ...

), Trumbaka (

Prix Corrida The Prix Corrida is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbred Filly, fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud Racecourse, Saint-Cloud ...

), Sweet Folly (

Prix Cléopâtre The Prix Cléopâtre is a Conditions races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred Filly, fillies. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (ab ...

) and Comercante (

Prix de Psyché The Prix de Psyché is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to take place e ...

). Zee Zee Top raced towards the rear and turned into the straight in tenth place before launching a strong late run in the last 300 metres. She took the lead in the final strides and prevailed in a "blanket finish", beating Yesterday by a head, with Bright Sky and Trumbaka a neck and a head away in third and fourth.

Breeding record

At the end of her racing career Zee Zee Top was retired to become a broodmare for the Meon Valley Sud. She produced at least eleven foals and four winners: *Zee Zee Gee, a bay filly, foaled in 2005, sired by

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 ...

. Unraced. *Green Top, bay filly, 2006, by

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

. Unraced. *Rock N Roll Ransom, bay colt (later

gelded A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, making th ...

), 2007, by

Red Ransom Red Ransom (foaled 1987 in Virginia, died 2009) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In his 2006 book ''Designing Speed in the Racehorse'', author Ken McLean wrote that Red Ransom "was a sensationally fast juvenile." Bred by Paul Mellon and r ...

. Won four races. *

, bay filly, 2008, by

Pivotal Pivotal may refer to: * Pivotal CRM, a customer relationship management software system offered by Aptean * Pivotal Labs, a software company ** Pivotal Tracker, a project management product offered by Pivotal Labs * Pivotal Software, a software ...

. Won six races including Pretty Polly Stakes and

Prix Jean Romanet The Prix Jean Romanet is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbred Filly, fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 met ...

. *Monzza, bay filly, 2010, by

Montjeu Montjeu (4 April 1996 – 29 March 2012) was an Irish-bred, French-trained thoroughbred horse racing racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from September 1998 to November 2000, he ran sixteen times and won eleven races, including ...

. Unraced. *Jazzi Top, bay filly, 2012, by

Danehill Dancer Danehill Dancer was a bay horse bred by L. K. and K. McCreery and foaled on 20 January 1993. He was sired by Danehill, who won the Haydock Sprint Cup in 1989. Danehill Dancer's dam is Mira Adonde, a daughter of Sharpen Up. Mira Adonde was tra ...

. Won three races including the

. *Dance Rock, bay colt (later

), 2013, by

Oasis Dream Oasis Dream (foaled 30 March 2000) is retired thoroughbred racehorse and active sire who was bred and trained in the United Kingdom. He was the highest-rated two-year-old in the 2002 European flat racing season and won the Cartier Racing Award f ...

. Failed to win in nine races. *Fizzi Top, bay filly, 2014, by

Frankel Frankel is the surname of: * Benjamin Frankel (1906–1973), British composer * Bethenny Frankel (born 1970), American chef and reality television personality * Charles Frankel (1917–1975), American philosopher, known for Charles Frankel Prize * ...

. Unraced. *Emaraaty, bay colt, 2015, by

Dubawi Dubawi (foaled 7 February 2002) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. Background Dubawi is a bay horse with no white markings bred in Ireland by Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stud. He was one of the only crop of foals sired by Dubai ...

. Won three races. *Snazzi Top, bay filly, 2016, by

Invincible Spirit Invincible Spirit (foaled 17 February 1997) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning two of his four races as a two-year-old, he only raced twice as a three-year-old, losing on both occasions. In 2001 he won twice ...

. *Flyin High, bay colt, 2018, by

Siyouni Siyouni (foaled 14 February 2007) is a French bred and French trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which ran from May 2009 to October 2010 he ran twelve times and won four races, including one at the highest Group One level. He s ...

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1999 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 13-e