Equiano | |
---|---|
Sire | Acclamation |
Grandsire | Royal Applause |
Dam | Entente Cordiale |
Damsire | Ela-Mana-Mou |
Sex | Stallion |
Foaled | 27 February 2005 [1] |
Country | France |
Colour | Bay |
Breeder | Ecurie Skymarc Farm |
Owner | Félix Sánchez Blanco James Acheson |
Trainer | Mauricio Delcher Sánchez Barry Hills |
Record | 27: 7-6-2 |
Earnings | £571,273 |
Major wins | |
Prix des Sorbiers (2008) King's Stand Stakes (2008, 2010) Abernant Stakes (2010) Palace House Stakes (2010) | |
Awards | |
Timeform rating 127 |
Equiano (foaled 27 February 2005) is a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A specialist sprinter, he began his racing career in Spain where he won two races as a two-year-old in 2007. He began his second season in France, winning the Listed Prix des Sorbiers before being sent to England where he recorded an upset victory in the Group One King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. He was then relocated to England but failed to win in 2009 before returning to his best form as a five-year-old in 2010. In that year he won the Abernant Stakes and the Palace House Stakes before winning the King's Stand Stakes for a second time. After his retirement from racing he became a breeding stallion and had had some success as a sire of winners.
Equiano was a bay horse with no white socks on his hind legs [2] bred in France by Ecurie Skymarc Farm. He was from the first crop of foals sired by Acclamation, a high-class sprinter who won the Diadem Stakes in 2003. The best of his other progeny was Dark Angel, who won the Middle Park Stakes before becoming a successful breeding stallion. [3] Equiano's dam Entente Cordiale showed little ability as a racehorse, producing her best effort in three races when finishing third in a maiden race at Cork Racecourse in March 2002. [4] She was a descendant of the American broodmare Mock Orange, the ancestor of several good winners including Cryptoclearance, Devil May Care and Regal Ransom (UAE Derby). [5]
As a foal in December 2005 Equiano was offered for sale at Deauville and was bought for €26,000 by Cuadra Madroños SL. [6] He entered the ownership of Félix Sánchez Blanco and was sent to race in Spain where he was sent into training with Mauricio Delcher Sánchez near Madrid.
As a two-year-old in Spain, Equiano ran five times in Spain winning races at San Sebastián in August and at Madrid's La Zarzuela racecourse in September. On his final appearance of the year he was sent to France to contest the Group Two Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte over 1200 metres on 2 November. He started the 25/1 outsider of the nine-runner field but kept on well in the closing stages to finish third behind the German colt Pomellato. [7]
Though still based in Spain, Equiano was campaigned in France in the spring of 2008, beginning the season by finishing second to Verba in the Prix Le Sancy over 1200 metres at Maisons-Laffitte on 7 April. On 20 May the colt was partnered by Olivier Peslier when he started 1.7/1 favourite for the Listed Prix des Sorbiers over 1100 metres at Chantilly Racecourse and won by two lengths from Jane Blue. [8] He was then moved up in class for the Group Three Prix du Gros Chêne over 1000 metres at Chantilly on 1 June. Ridden by Christophe Soumillon he started an 18/1 outsider but exceeded expectations as he took the lead in the last 200 metres before being overtaken and beaten a neck by the leading French sprinter Marchand d'Or. After his runs at Chantilly the colt was sold to James Acheson who kept him under Spanish-based training.
On his next appearance, Equiano was sent to England to contest the Group One King's Stand Stakes over five furlongs at Royal Ascot on 17 June in which he was ridden by Peslier and started a 22/1 outsider in a thirteen-runner field. The favourite for the race was the filly Fleeting Spirit, whilst the other British runners included Kingsgate Native, Benbaun (Prix de l'Abbaye), Dandy Man (Palace House Stakes), Hoh Mike (Sprint Stakes), Moorhouse Lad (King George Stakes) and Enticing (Molecomb Stakes). The other international challengers were Takeover Target and Magnus (The Galaxy) from Australia, Abraham Lincoln from Ireland and National Colour from South Africa. Racing up the stands side (the left-hand side from the jockeys viewpoint) Equiano led from the start and always looked the most likely winner despite hanging slightly right in the closing stages. He won by half a length and a neck from Takeover Target and Fleeting Spirit. [9] After the race Peslier commented "He ran very well in France last time and today was the big ambition. The horse has a lot of speed and he travels well. The trainer said he would be better to stay behind and get cover but I said over five furlongs he'd be better in front. He was handy and everything went right for him". [10]
After his win at Ascot Equiano remained in England and was transferred to the stable of Barry Hills at Lambourn. In August he started favourite for the Nunthorpe Stakes (run that year at Newmarket Racecourse) but finished fourth behind Borderlescott, National Colour and Kingsgate Native. On his final run of the season he finished ninth behind Marchand d'Or in the Prix de lAbbaye at Longchamp Racecourse on 5 October.
In most of his races as a four-year-old, Equiano was ridden by his trainer's son Michael Hills. He produced his best performance on his seasonal debut when he started favourite for the Abernant Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse in April and finished second, beaten half a length by the seven-year-old gelding Tax Free. [11] Equiano failed to win or place in his remaining eight races in 2009. He finished well beaten in the Duke of York Stakes, Prix du Gros Chêne, King's Stand Stakes, July Cup, King George Stakes, Nunthorpe Stakes, Haydock Sprint Cup and Prix de l'Abbaye.
Equiano began his fourth season in the Abernant Stakes over six furlongs at Newmarket on 15 April in which he was ridden by Michael Hills (as in all of his races that year) and started the 11/4 favourite. After taking the lead soon after the start he was hard-pressed in the closing stages and "just held on" to win by a short-head from the four-year-old Mullionmileanhour and record his first success for 22 months. [12] In the Group Three Palace House Stakes at the same course on 1 May he started second favourite behind the 2009 winner Amour Propre in a field which also included Borderlescott, Sole Power and Total Gallery (Prix de l'Abbaye). Equiano led from the start and "stayed on gamely" to beat Borderlescott by three quarters of a length. [13] Barry Hills commented "Michael rode him last Saturday and said he gave him the best feeling a horse had given him. I am sure the King's Stand will be on the agenda, but I'm not sure if we'll have another race first". [14] Three weeks later Equiano started joint-favourite alongside Kingsgate Native in the Temple Stakes at Haydock Park. He led for most of the way but was overtaken by his market rival inside the final furlong and beaten half a length into second place.
On 15 June Equiano attempted to repeat his 2008 success in the King's Stand Stakes and started the 9/2 third choice in the betting behind Kingsgate Native and the Australian challenger Nicconi (winner of the Lightning Stakes). The other nine runners included Borderlescott, Total Gallery, Amour Propre, Gold Trail (Railway Stakes) and Markab. Equiano quickly took the lead and "ran on gamely" in the final furlong to win by one and a half lengths from Markab with Borderlescott taking third ahead of Nicconi. [15] After the race Barry Hills said "He's a very fast horse and he was always going to win today because he's in such good form." Michael Hills said, "He stumbled coming out of the gates but once he was back on his feet he was off. What a thrill! Someone beeped a car horn at the three pole and he went even faster." [16]
On 9 July the horse returned to six furlongs for the July Cup at Newmarket and finished second of the fourteen runners, beaten half a length by the Australian import Starspangledbanner. In the Nunthorpe Stakes at York Racecourse on 20 August he started slowly, was hampered in the first furlong and never looked likely to win. Michael Hills eased the horse down in the closing stages and Equiano finished last of the twelve runners behind Sole Power. A training setback prompted the announcement of his retirement on 15 September. Barry Hills commented "Equiano was one of the fastest horses I have trained and the exceptional speed he demonstrated in winning this year's King's Stand Stakes marked him out as a very special sprinter. He was also a very sound horse and a perfect horse to deal with in every way." [17]
After his retirement from racing, Equiano became a breeding stallion at the Newsells Park Stud in Hertfordshire. He has also been shuttled to stand in Australia for the southern hemisphere breeding season. The best of his offspring have been The Tin Man (British Champions Sprint Stakes) and Strath Burn (Hackwood Stakes). [18]
Sire Acclamation (GB) 1999 | Royal Applause (GB) 1993 | Waajib | Try My Best |
---|---|---|---|
Corvana | |||
Flying Melody | Auction Ring | ||
Whispering Star | |||
Princess Athena (IRE) 1985 | Ahonoora | Lorenzaccio | |
Helen Nichols | |||
Shopping Wise | Floribunda | ||
Sea Melody | |||
Dam Entente Cordiale (IRE) 1998 | Ela-Mana-Mou (IRE) 1976 | Pitcairn | Petingo |
Border Bounty | |||
Rose Bertin | High Hat | ||
Wide Awake | |||
Mirmande (GB) 1992 | Kris | Sharpen Up | |
Doubly Sure | |||
Secala | Secretariat | ||
Aladancer (Family: 4-m) [5] |
Dayjur was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter he ran eleven times between June 1989 and October 1990 and won seven races. In 1990 he dominated European sprinting, winning the King's Stand Stakes' the Nunthorpe Stakes, the Ladbroke Sprint Cup and the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp. On his final racecourse appearance he finished second to Safely Kept in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. The Racing Post called him "the world's fastest horse".
Fleeting Spirit is a retired, Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was trained in the United Kingdom during a racing career which lasted from 2007 to 2010. She was a specialist sprinter, running all of her races over five and six furlongs. Fleeting Spirit was the highest-rated British-trained two-year-old filly of 2007 and went on to win the Group Two Temple Stakes at Haydock in 2008 and the Group One July Cup in 2009. In the last named year she was awarded the title of European Champion Sprinter at the Cartier Racing Awards.
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 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.
Jwala was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2011 she was beaten in her first four races before recording her first success in a minor race at Wolverhampton Racecourse. In the following year she won her first two races before finishing second to Sole Power in a Listed race at Doncaster. Jwala reached her peak as a four-year-old in 2013. After being beaten in her first four races she defeated a strong field to win the City Walls Stakes at York. At the same track in August she recorded a 40/1 upset win in the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes. She was scheduled to retire from racing at the end of the year but was killed in a fall at Sha Tin Racecourse in December.
Margot Did is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. After being sold cheaply as a yearling and again as a two-year-old she entered training with Michael Bell at Newmarket. As a juvenile in 2010 she showed high-class form, winning twice and finished second in the Albany Stakes, Princess Margaret Stakes and Lowther Stakes. In 2012 she was beaten in her first two races but established herself as a potentially high-class sprinter with wins in the Scurry Stakes and the Land O'Burns Fillies' Stakes. At York Racecourse in August she recorded her biggest win with a 20/1 upset victory in the Nunthorpe Stakes. She never reproduced her best form thereafter and finished unplaced in her five remaining races. She was retired from racing in August 2012.
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.
Kingsgate Native is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was a precocious juvenile sprinter, winning the Nunthorpe Stakes against older horses as well as finishing second in the Prix de l'Abbaye, Windsor Castle Stakes and Molecomb Stakes. He was equally successful in 2008, winning the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot before being retired to become a breeding stallion.
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.
Piccolo is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed promising but unremarkable form in his early career, winning one of his first ten starts. In the summer of his three-year-old season he was switched to sprint distances and became a top class performer, winning the Chipchase Stakes before being awarded the Nunthorpe Stakes on the disqualification of Blue Siren. He returned as a four-year-old in 1995 and won the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. Apart from his victories he also finished second in both the Haydock Sprint Cup and the July Cup. After his retirement from racing he became a successful breeding stallion.
Handsome Sailor was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A specialist sprinter, he showed useful, but unremarkable form in his first two seasons, winning three of his nine starts as a juvenile and two from four in an abbreviated three-year-old campaign. He emerged as a top-class performer in 1987, winning the Duke of York Stakes in England and the Prix de Ris-Orangis in France. He was even better as a five-year-old, winning a second Duke of York Stakes and adding victories in the Temple Stakes, William Hill Sprint Championship and Prix de l'Abbaye. His form was less impressive in 1989 but ended his racing career with a victory in the Flying Five. He was not a success as a breeding stallion and died in 1997 at the age of fourteen.
Mecca's Angel is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. She was a specialist sprinter who excelled over the minimum distance of five furlongs. She showed promise as a two-year-old in 2013, winning two minor contests and twice finishing second in Listed races. In the following year she improved to win four of her five races including the Scarbrough Stakes and World Trophy. As a four-year-old she made only three appearances but was rated the best female sprinter in the world after wins in the Prix de Saint-Georges and the Nunthorpe Stakes. In 2016 she struggled for form in the spring but then won the Sapphire Stakes before becoming the first horse in over thirty years to win a second consecutive Nunthorpe Stakes at York.
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.
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.
Amadeus Wolf is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He had his greatest success as a two-year-old in 2005 when he won three of his five races including the Gimcrack Stakes and the Middle Park Stakes. He failed to win in the following year but ran well in several major sprint races, finishing second in the Nunthorpe Stakes and third in the both the Prix Maurice de Gheest and the Haydock Sprint Cup. He recorded his last important success when taking the Duke of York Stakes in 2007 and was retired at the end of the year. He has since stood as a breeding stallion in Ireland and France.
Marsha is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was a specialist sprinter, all but one of whose victories came over the minimum distance of five furlongs. After winning two minor races as a juvenile in 2015, she made progress throughout the following year, taking the Land O'Burns Fillies' Stakes and the City Walls Stakes before ending her season with a win in the Prix de l'Abbaye. In 2017 she added wins in the Palace House Stakes and the Nunthorpe Stakes and was sold at the end of the year for a record price of 6,000,000 guineas.
Battaash is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter who usually competes at the minimum distance of five furlongs, he is noted for his exceptional speed and unpredictable temperament. He won once from five starts as a juvenile in 2016 and was gelded in an attempt to improve his behaviour. In the following year he emerged as one of the best sprinters in the world, winning the Scurry Stakes, Coral Charge and King George Stakes before ending the season with an emphatic win in the Prix de l'Abbaye. In 2018 he won the Temple Stakes and recorded a second victory in the King George Stakes. As a five-year-old he won a second Temple Stakes and a third King George Stakes before producing his best performance of the season to take the Nunthorpe Stakes.
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.