Red Anchor was a New Zealand-bred

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 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 ...

who raced in Australia. In the 1984

Spring Racing Carnival The Spring Racing Carnival is the name of an Australian Thoroughbred horse racing series held annually in Melbourne during October and November. The Carnival and its status in the wider community Although racing in Australia is held every day exc ...

he won the

Caulfield Guineas The Caulfield Guineas is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held over 1600 metres (1 mile) at set weights for three-year-old horses at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. Total prize money is A$3 million. The race ...

W. S. 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 M ...

and the

Victoria Derby The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbo ...

. In 2021 he was inducted into the

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 a ...

Background

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelate ...

son of Sea Anchor (IRE) from the mare Decoy Girl (GB) by Decoy Boy, he was foaled in 1981 in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and was trained by trainer Tommy Smith after originally being trained by Paul Sutherland.

Racing career

Amongst his major wins were the 1984

MVRC The Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC) was founded by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox), in 1883 is located at The Valley Racecourse on McPherson Street, Moonee Ponds (a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia). It is one of three racing clubs in the Mel ...

, 1984

VRC Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋiː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards and ...

and the 1984 VATC

.Digby, John; "Thoroughbred Families and Sires of Australian and New Zealand", AJC & VRC, 2002 In 1985 he was awarded the Australian Horse of the Year award. His promising career was cut short by injury and he was retired from racing during his three-year-old season.

Stud record

Sent to stud following his short racing career he had modest success siring five stakeswinners with seven stakeswins, including Navy Seal winner of the 1994 AJC

Epsom Handicap The Epsom Handicap is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, under handicap conditions over a distance of 1,600 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in early October. Prize mone ...

. Red Anchor was euthanized on 10 April 2001 after fracturing a front leg.

References

1981 racehorse births 2001 racehorse deaths Cox Plate winners Victoria Derby winners Racehorses bred in New Zealand Racehorses trained in Australia Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year Thoroughbred family 22-d Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses {{racehorse-stub