Continent (horse)

Last updated
Continent
Sire Lake Coniston
Grandsire Bluebird
DamKrisia
Damsire Kris
Sex Gelding
Foaled8 April 1997
CountryUnited Kingdom
Colour Chestnut
Breeder Juddmonte Farms
Owner Khalid Abdullah
Lucayan Stud
Trainer Pascal Bary
David Nicholls.
Record70: 7-6-7
Earnings£ 426,461
Major wins
Ayr Gold Cup (2001)
July Cup (2002)
Prix de l'Abbaye (2002)
Awards
European Champion Sprinter (2002)
Last updated on August 25, 2007

Continent is a retired British champion Thoroughbred racehorse. A gelding who specialised in sprint distances, he improved from handicap class to become European Champion Sprinter in 2002. In his championship season he ran thirteen times and won two Group One races; the July Cup at Newmarket and the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp, becoming the first gelding to win the latter race. In all, he ran seventy times in a career which lasted from 1999 until his retirement at the age of eleven in 2008.

Contents

Background

Continent, a chestnut gelding with a narrow white stripe, [1] was bred by his first owner Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farm. He was one of the first crop of foals sired by Lake Coniston, a top class sprinter who won the July Cup in 1995. Apart from Continent, Lake Coniston made little impact as a sire in Europe, and was exported to South Africa where he died in 2014. [2] Continent's dam Krisia, was a daughter of the Prix Maurice de Gheest winner Interval and a half sister to several winners. [3]

Continent was originally trained in France by Pascal Bary for Khalid Abdulla. At the end of his three-year-old season he was sent to the Tattersalls October sales where he was bought for 40,000gns by McKeever St Lawrence [4] a Newmarket-based bloodstock agency [5] and entered the ownership of Edward St George's [6] Lucayan Stud. He was then sent to the North Yorkshire stable of David Nicholls.

Racing career

1999–2001: early career

Continent began his career by running third in the Prix de Caen at Deauville in October 1999. On his three-year-old debut he "easily" won an 1100m race at Chantilly by four lengths. [7] He was immediately moved up to Group Two class, but finished last of the five runners behind Nuclear Debate in the Prix du Gros Chêne. After being well beaten in two minor races he was regarded as surplus to requirements and sent to the sales.

As noted above, he began 2001 in the care of David Nicholls. The Nicholls stable specialises in sprinters [8] and has sent out the winners of most of the top European races over five and six furlongs, including the Nunthorpe Stakes, the Prix Maurice de Gheest, the Haydock Sprint Cup, the July Cup, the Prix de l'Abbaye, the Stewards' Cup and the Ayr Gold Cup. [9]

Continent failed to win in his first five starts for his new stable, his closest effort being when third in a minor handicap race at Pontefract. He looked to be unlucky in running in the Stewards' Cup [10] at Goodwood however, and his lack of success meant that his official handicap mark had fallen to 92 by the time of the valuable Ayr Gold Cup in late September. Ridden by Darryll Holland he started slowly and was held up in the early running as the field of twenty-eight runners split into two groups. In the second half of the race he made good progress to lead the stands-side group and stayed on strongly to win by a head from Brevity. [11] It was Nicholls second successive win in the race, having won the race in 2000 with Bahamian Pirate. [12] On his final start of the year he put up an even better performance when carrying 133lbs into third place in a handicap at Ascot.

His last two runs saw Continent's handicap mark rise to 100. This meant that he would be forced to carry top weight in almost any handicap race, and as a result the focus of his career shifted to weight-for-age competition.

2002: five-year-old season

After a final, unsuccessful run in a handicap, Continent ran second to Reel Buddy in both the Quail Stakes and the Listed Abernant Stakes. A move into Group Class was not an immediate success as he ran unplaced in the Palace House Stakes, the Duke of York Stakes and the Temple Stakes.

At Royal Ascot in June, Continent gave the first real indication that he could be a top class sprinter. On the Tuesday of the meeting he started a 16/1 outsider for the King's Stand Stakes but belied his odds by finishing strongly after a poor start and failing by only a head to catch Dominica. [13] On the Saturday of the meeting he was only fifth to Malhub in the Golden Jubilee Stakes, but finished ahead of notable performers such as Invincible Spirit and Johannesburg.

In the Group One July Cup, which was run in "diabolical weather" at Newmarket, Continent started at 12/1 in a field of 14 which included Reel Buddy and Malhub. He was held up by Holland before slipping through a gap to take the lead in the final furlong. He hung to the right in the closing stages but ran on well to beat his stable companion, Bahamian Pirate by half a length. [14] After the race Edward St George paid tribute to Nicholls handling of horses saying, "He understands them. He talks to them. He will take half-witted horses that other trainers throw out and turn them into serious racehorses." [15] In August Continent finished fourth, beaten just over a length in the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes at York, and then ran sixth to Invincible Spirit in the Haydock Sprint Cup.

In October, Continent faced a field of twenty in the Prix de L'Abbaye and was made 4/1 joint favourite with Bahamian Pirate. Holland tracked the leaders before producing Continent with a strong run in the final furlong. The gelding ran on strongly under pressure to take the lead on the line and win a three way photo finish from the Italian runner Slap Shot and the French-trained Zipping with Bahamian Pirate a neck behind in fourth. [16] After the race Slap Shot's jockey Mirco Demuro was so convinced that he had won that he rode his horse into the winner's enclosure and celebrated with a Frankie Dettori-style flying dismount. [17] The stewards examined the photograph for fifteen minutes before declaring Continent the winner. Nicholls was as surprised as anyone; "I'm gobsmacked... I need a drink". [18] Continent was the first gelding to win the Prix de l'Abbaye, the race having been restricted to "entire" colts and fillies until 2001. On his final race of the year Continent was sent to Sha Tin Racecourse for the Hong Kong Sprint but made no impression, finishing last of the fourteen runners.

2003–2008: later career

Continent continued to be campaigned at the highest level in 2003, but was unable to recapture his form and finished unplaced in all five of his races, his best effort coming when running sixth to Oasis Dream in the July Cup. [19]

Continent became a difficult horse to place in his later career. He was no longer capable of winning at the top level, but his outstanding performances in 2002 led to his being given big weights when he moved down into handicap class. In 2004 he ran seven times, finishing third in the Ayr Gold Cup, and winning a minor stakes race at Nottingham [20] in August. It was to be almost three years and twenty-eight races before he won again.

He failed to win in 2005 or 2006 and four more defeats in 2007 saw his handicap rating fall to a new low of 82. In June at Thirsk, his local track, the ten-year-old finally broke his losing streak when he finished strongly to take the lead close home and win a minor handicap race by half a length. [21] Six weeks and four races later he won for the second time that year when he stayed on well to take a handicap at Goodwood. [22]

After five more races Continent was retired after running unplaced at York in June 2008.

Assessment

At the 2002 Cartier Racing Awards, Continent was named European Champion Sprinter. [23] In the official International Classification for 2002, Continent was rated at 117, making him the third best European sprinter, behind Kyllachy and Invincible Spirit. [24]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Continent (GB), chestnut gelding, 1997 [25]
Sire
Lake Coniston (IRE)
1991		 Bluebird
1984　		 Storm Bird Northern Dancer
South Ocean
Ivory Dawn Sir Ivor
Dusky Evening
Persian Polly
1980　		Persian Bold Bold Lad
Relkarunner
Polyester GirlRidan
Garrucha
Dam
Krisia (GB)
1992		 Kris
1976　		 Sharpen Up Atan
Rocchetta
Doubly Sure Reliance
Soft Angels
Interval
1984　		 Habitat Sir Gaylord
Little Hut
Intermission Stage Door Johnny
Peace(Family: 1-p)

Related Research Articles

Further Flight was an Irish-bred, British-trained thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the Jockey Club Cup for five successive years. In a career which lasted from October 1988 until October 1998, he ran seventy times and won twenty-four races. In 1995, Further Flight was voted European Champion Older Horse at the Cartier Racing Awards. He is the only horse to win the same European Group race five times.

Hever Golf Rose was a thoroughbred racehorse who was bred and trained in the United Kingdom, and campaigned throughout Europe in a career that lasted from 1993 to 1998. She was a specialist sprinter, showing her best form over distances of five and six furlongs, who was known for her consistency and durability, and was particularly effective on soft ground. In a six-year career, she ran in sixty-six races and won seventeen. In her best season in 1995 she won six Group races and was named European Champion Sprinter. A year after her retirement, Hever Golf Rose died after failing to recover from the anaesthetic following an operation on a joint injury.

Somnus is a retired British champion Thoroughbred racehorse. One of the best European two-year-olds in 2002, he developed into a leading sprinter the following year when he won the Group One Haydock Sprint Cup. As a four-year-old he won two more Group One races in France- the Prix Maurice de Gheest (2004) and the Prix de la Forêt- and was named European Champion Sprinter at the Cartier Racing Awards. He continued racing until being retired in 2008 at the age of eight, having won ten of his forty-three races. Unlike many sprinters, Somnus was not a pure "speed horse" and ran only once, unsuccessfully, at five furlongs: all his victories came over six or seven furlongs.

Reverence is a British champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He is a specialist sprinter who was especially effective over five furlongs (1000m), recording all but one of his wins over the distance. Most unusually for a modern thoroughbred racehorse Reverence did not appear on a racecourse until he was four years old. In a career that has lasted from May 2005 until August 2011 he ran forty-two times and won ten races. In 2006 he won two Group One races- the Nunthorpe Stakes at York and the Sprint Cup at Haydock- and was named European Champion Sprinter at the Cartier Racing Awards. Reverence ran his last race in August 2011.

Nuclear Debate was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter, he competed from 1997 until 2003, winning at least ten races. He campaigned in Britain for two seasons with moderate success before being transferred to France in 1999. In the following season, as a five-year-old, he reached his peak, winning the Prix du Gros Chêne, King's Stand Stakes and Nunthorpe Stakes and being named European Champion Sprinter. In the following year he won the Haydock Sprint Cup before being sold and exported to the United States where he raced for two further seasons with mixed results.

Sole Power British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Sole Power is a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter, he won twelve of his sixty-five races and competed in five different countries in a nine-year racing career. He is unique in being a dual winner of both the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Nunthorpe Stakes at York. His racing style is distinctive: he is usually restrained by his jockey for most of the race before producing a single burst of acceleration in the closing stages.

Lake Coniston was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After being sold as a yearling for 22,000 guineas he was sent to be trained in England by Geoff Lewis. Unraced as a juvenile, he established himself as a top-class sprinter as a three-year-old with wins in the Hackwood Stakes, Prix de Meautry and Diadem Stakes. He was even better at four, winning the Abernant Stakes, Duke of York Stakes and July Cup. His performance in the last-named race saw him regarded as one of the best British sprinters of modern times. He stood as a breeding stallion in Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand, Italy and South Africa with limited success. He died in South Africa in 2014 at the age of 23.

Borderlescott is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter noted for his consistency and durability he raced 85 times on 25 different tracks in twelve seasons between 2004 and 2015. He won fourteen races and was placed second or third on thirty occasions. In his early career the gelding showed promising form, winning one minor race as a juvenile in 2004 and four handicap races in the following year. In 2006 he recorded his first major success when he won the Stewards' Cup. He failed to win in 2007 but emerged as a top-class sprinter in the following year when his wins included the Nunthorpe Stakes. He won the Nunthorpe Stakes again in 2009 and added a win in the King George Stakes in 2010. He won the Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes in 2012 before being retired at the end of the year. He came out of retirement in 2013 and raced nineteen times without success before being retired again in 2015.

Bahamian Pirate was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was a specialist sprinter who produced his best form on soft ground and was trained for most of his racing career by David "Dandy" Nicholls in Yorkshire. He was unraced as a juvenile and did not win a race until he was four years old. As a five-year-old he recorded his first major win when he took the Ayr Gold Cup and went on to win the Listed Bentinck Stakes later that year. We won the Phoenix Sprint Stakes in 2001 but then went three years with only limited success. He returned to form as a nine-year-old and recorded his first Group One success on his sixty-eighth appearance in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York Racecourse in August 2004. He remained in training until the age of twelve before retiring with a record of 12 wins and 25 places from 104 starts.

Kyllachy is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Named after a Scottish grouse moor, he was a specialist sprinter who was usually held up for a late run. His early form was promising but unremarkable as he won two minor races from seven starts in his first two seasons. As a four-year-old in 2002 he showed exceptional improvement and established himself as arguably the best sprinter in Europe. He won four races of increasing importance including the Palace House Stakes and the Temple Stakes before recording his biggest win in the Nunthorpe Stakes. He sustained an injury in the last-named race and was retired from racing shortly afterwards. He later became a very successful sire: his progeny have included the Cartier Champion Sprinter Sole Power.

Ya Malak was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter, he won ten of his forty-nine races in a track career which lasted from May 1993 until September 1998. In his first three seasons he showed consistent form, winning the City Walls Stakes in 1994 Achilles Stakes in the following year. He appeared to lose his form as a five-year-old and was sold cheaply at auction at the end of the season. After entering the stable of David Nicholls in 1997 he improved into a top class performer, winning the Epsom Dash and the Sprint Stakes before recording his biggest success when dead-heating for the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes. His victory in the Nunthorpe made Alex Greaves the first woman to ride a Group One winner in Europe. The gelding failed to win at seven and died the following spring after complications arising from colic surgery.

Coastal Bluff was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. First trained by David Barron in Yorkshire he finished second on his only start as a juvenile before winning two minor races in the following year. In 1996 he emerged as a highly successful sprinter with wins in the Stewards' Cup and the Ayr Gold Cup before his season was ended by injury. He returned as a five-year-old to dead-heat for the Nunthorpe Stakes despite his bridle breaking just after the start. He developed various training problems, failed to win in two races in 1998 and was sold at the end of the year. He remained in training for four more years but won only two minor races from 37 further starts before his retirement in 2002.

The Tatling, was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter, he was noted for his exceptional durability contesting 176 races over thirteen seasons between 1999 and 2011. During his racing career he had at least three different trainers, six owners, and thirty-six jockeys. He retired having won eighteen races and being placed on fifty-three other occasions.

Pipalong was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was sold cheaply as a yearling but developed into a top-class specialist sprinter who excelled on soft ground. Trained in Yorkshire by Tim Easterby, she was highly tried throughout her racing career, running thirty seven times between April 1998 and October 2001.

Fayr Jag was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. Trained throughout his racing career in Yorkshire by Tim Easterby he was a durable sprinter who ran 64 times and won eleven races in seven seasons between 2001 and 2007. After winning a minor race in each of his first two seasons he made his first major impact as a four-year-old by winning two handicap races before dead-heating for first place in the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot. Later that year he was moved up in class and added victories in the Hopeful Stakes and the Ridgewood Pearl Stakes. In the following year he recorded his biggest win when he defeated a top-class field to win the Group One Golden Jubilee Stakes. He was then without a win for two years before returning to form to win the Chipchase Stakes and the Hackwood Stakes in 2006. Fayr Jag failed to win in 2007 and died after injuring himself in the starting stalls on what was intended to be his first race of 2008.

Prohibit is a retired British Thoroughbred racehorse who excelled over sprint distances, producing most of his best performances over five furlongs. In his first three seasons he was trained by John Gosden and showed useful form, winning three minor races but appearing to be some way short of top class. After being sold and transferred to the stable of Robert Cowell he showed improved form, winning the sprint race at the 2010 Shergar Cup and winning a strongly contested edition of the Scarbrough Stakes. He reached his peak as a six-year-old in 2011 when he won a handicap race in Dubai, the Group One King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Prix du Petit Couvert in France as well as running prominently in several other major sprints including the Prix de Saint-Georges, Temple Stakes, Prix du Gros Chêne and Nunthorpe Stakes. He remained in training for three more seasons but never won again and was retired in 2014 with a record of nine wins from fifty-nine starts.

Balmont is an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He had his greatest success as a two-year-old in 2003 when he won the Gimcrack Stakes and was awarded the win in the Middle Park Stakes on the disqualification of Three Valleys. He remained in training until the age of five but never won again although he ran well in several major sprint races, being placed in the July Cup, Golden Jubilee Stakes, Temple Stakes and Phoenix Sprint Stakes. After the end of his racing career he stood as a breeding stallion in Ireland and Australia, and now stands at the Jug Handle Ranch in Alberta Canada.

David 'Dandy' Nicholls (1956–2017) was a British jockey and racehorse trainer who competed in flat racing. He was particularly noted for his success training horses who raced over five and six furlongs and was nicknamed “the Sprint King”.

Alpha Delphini is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter, he was unraced as a juvenile and did not win a race until the August of his four-year-old campaign. In 2016 he made steady progress, winning three handicap races before taking the Listed Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes. He won two minor races in 2017 and in the following year he recorded his biggest success when he won the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes.

Regal Parade, is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a track career which lasted from January 2007 until October 2016 he contested 104 races, winning 13 times and being placed on 27 occasions. He won three minor races as a three-year-old in 2007 and improved in the following year to win the Buckingham Palace Stakes and the Ayr Gold Cup. In the next two years he showed top class form over sprint distances, taking the City Plate and Haydock Sprint Cup in 2009 and the Hackwood Stakes and Prix Maurice de Gheest in 2010. He remained in training until the age of twelve but never returned to the highest class and won only three minor races before being retired from racing,

References

  1. ↑ "Dalgleish gets Continent ride". BBC News. 2002-09-06. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  2. ↑ "Lake Coniston | Stud Record | Bloodstock Stallion Book". Racing Post. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  3. ↑ "Interval Offspring". Pedigreequery.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  4. ↑ "Krisia (GB) | Statistics | Stories" . Racing Post. Retrieved 2011-10-25.[ dead link ]
  5. ↑ "McKeever St. Lawrence, Newmarket, UK – Bloodstock Agents". Mslbloodstock.co.uk. 2009-10-25. Archived from the original on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  6. ↑ "Lucayan Stud and Irish National Stud". Breederscup.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  7. ↑ "Prix de Caen". Racing Post . Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  8. ↑ "Cubism can solve Stewards' conundrum". The Independent. 2001-08-04. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  9. ↑ "Home on David Nicholls Racing". Davidnichollsracing.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  10. ↑ "Continent bestrides realms of gold". The Independent. 2001-09-23. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  11. ↑ "Ayr Gold Cup result". Racing Post. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  12. ↑ "Arc fancy Pistol is outgunned by Equerry". The Independent. 2001-09-24. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  13. ↑ "King's Stand Stakes result". Racing Post. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  14. ↑ "July Cup result". Racing Post. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  15. ↑ "Racing: Continent opens new worlds for Nicholls". The Independent. 2002-07-12. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  16. ↑ "Prix de l'Abbaye result". Racing Post. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  17. ↑ Armytage, Marcus (2002-10-07). "Continent away win just Dandy". Telegraph. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  18. ↑ "Continent is a winner worth waiting for" . Retrieved 2011-10-25– via The Free Library.
  19. ↑ "July Cup 2003 result". Racing Post. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  20. ↑ "Weatherby's Bank Stakes result". Racing Post. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  21. ↑ "Ladies Day Handicap result". Racing Post . Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  22. ↑ "Audi Q7 Cup Handicap result". Racing Post . Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  23. ↑ "Racing: Fitzgerald in race to be fit for top rides". The Independent. 2002-11-14. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  24. ↑ "2002 ratings" (PDF). www.tjcis.com. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  25. ↑ "Continent pedigree". Equineline. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.