Prince's Polly (3 April 1979 – early 1983) was 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. As a two-year-old she won two races including the

Silken Glider Stakes The Silken Glider Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ye ...

and was placed in her other three starts. In the following year she was the best Irish-trained filly of the season, defeating

Woodstream Woodstream (14 May 1979 – after 2003) was an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In a racing career which lasted from July 1981 until June 1982, she won four of her six races and finished second one. As a two- ...

and On The House 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 ...

before going on to win the Pretty Polly Stakes and finish second 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 ...

. She was retired soon after but had no chance to make an impact as a broodmare as she died in 1983 at the age of four.

Background

Prince's Polly was a "lengthy, deep-girthed" bay filly with a broad white blaze bred in Ireland by Tom Nicholson, a farmer from

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 ...

. Nicholson, who also owned and trained her during her two-year-old season, had been successful 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: ...

racing and had trained Bigaroon to win three runnings of the Irish Cesarewitch. Her dam Suspicious Polly was also owned and trained by Nicholson and had some success on the track, winning three minor races in Ireland. Her sire

English Prince English Prince (1971–1983) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted four months in the spring and summer of 1974 he ran six times and won four races. After being beaten on his ra ...

won the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 ...

in 1974 and stood as breeding stallion in Europe before being exported to Japan in 1980. The best of his other progeny was

Sun Princess Sun Princess may refer to: * ''Sun Princess'' (ship), various ships * Sun Princess (horse), a Thoroughbred racehorse * Sun Princess, the title given to the second place winner of the Sun and Salsa Festival pageant See also * Princess Sun Prince ...

who won The Oaks and

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...

in 1983.

Racing career

1981: two-year-old season

Prince's Polly began her racing career with a win 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 seven furlongs at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

in June. Over the same course and distance in August she finished second twice, beaten three quarters of a

length 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 Interna ...

by Fly Street in the Ardenode Stud Stakes, and a neck by

in a minor event. She was then moved up in class and distance for the

Group Three AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...

Silken Glider Stakes over one mile at Leopardstown in September. Ridden by the veteran

Wally Swinburn Walter Robert Swinburn, (born 1937), is a retired jockey who competed in Flat racing. He was Irish flat racing Champion Jockey in 1976 and 1977, and was the first jockey to ride 100 winners in a season in Ireland. He was based at various times in ...

she took the lead early in the straight and won by two and a half lengths from Realms Reason, to whom she was conceding six pounds. On her final appearance of the season she finished third in the

Park Stakes A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

over seven furlongs 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 ...

in October, conceding twelve pounds to the winner More Heather. At the end of the year, a half-share in the filly was sold to the American owner Kerry Fitzpatrick and she was transferred to the stable of

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 C ...

1982: three-year-old season

On her three-year-old debut Prince's Polly looked unlucky to be beaten when finishing third in the Azalea Stakes over seven furlongs at Leopardstown. She was then stepped up to the highest class when she was one of twenty-four fillies to contest the Irish 1000 Guineas over one mile at the Curragh on 22 May. The English 1000 Guineas winner On The House started the 3/1 favourite ahead of Woodstream, Mary Mitsu and Miss Lillian with Prince's Polly, ridden by Swinburn, going off the 12/1 fifth choice in the betting. Fly Start and More Heather were also in the field. The last quarter mile saw a prolonged struggle between Prince's Polly and On The House before the Irish filly pulled ahead in the closing stages to win by a length, with Woodstream finishing strongly to deprive On The House of second by a short head. Prince's Polly bypassed The Oaks and ran instead in the Pretty Polly Stakes over ten furlongs at the Curragh in late June. With Swinburn again in the saddle she took the lead three furlongs out and won by three quarters of a length from Kazanina, to whom she was conceding four pounds. At the same track on 17 July she started favourite for the

over one and a half miles at the Curragh but was unable to catch the front-running Swiftfoot and was beaten three lengths into second place. In August she was made odds on favourite for the

Brownstown Stakes The Brownstown Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), ...

at the Curragh but after briefly taking the lead she faded and finished sixth behind the

Vincent O'Brien Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish horse racing, race horse horse trainer, trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in ...

-trained Miraflora. Prince's Polly was retired from racing to become a broodmare. She was sent to be covered in the United States but died there in early 1983.

Assessment

In the Irish Free Handicap for 1981, Prince's Polly was given a weight of 120 pounds, making her the second-best juvenile filly trained in Ireland, 8 pounds inferior to the top-rated Woodstream. The independent

Timeform Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by ...

organisation gave her a rating of 103, 10 pounds behind Woodstream and 19 behind their top two-year-old filly

Circus Ring A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

. In their annual Racehorses of 1981 they described her as "game and consistent" and likely to be suited by longer distances. In 1982 she was given a rating of 113 by Timeform, 18 pounds behind their top-rated three-year-old fillies

Akiyda Akiyda (foaled 21 April 1979) was a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning France's mot prestigious race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1982. After winning her only race as a two-year-old she ...

and

Time Charter Time Charter (6 April 1979 – 7 July 2005) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who won several major middle-distance races between 1982 and 1984. After winning twice as a two-year-old in 1981, she devel ...

. In the Irish Free Handicap she was rated the second best filly of her generation behind the British-trained Swiftfoot.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1979 racehorse births 1983 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 17-b Irish Classic Race winners