Rahy
Encyclopedia
Rahy was an Thoroughbred
racehorse
who competed in England
and the United States
. Bred by Hill 'n' Dale Farms
in Lexington
, he was a son of the very important sire Blushing Groom
and out of the Eclipse Award
winner and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
mare
, Glorious Song
.
Rahy was purchased as a yearling for US$2 million by Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
and brought to race in England for the 1987 season. Out of his seven starts at ages two and three, Rahy won three races and in his most significant event, ran second to Robert Sangster's
colt Gallic League in the 1987 Middle Park Stakes
at Newmarket Racecourse
.
At age four, Rahy was sent to race in the United States where he was conditioned by Neil Drysdale
. He had six starts and won three times with his most impressive and important win coming at Hollywood Park Racetrack where he captured the then GII
Bel Air Handicap
by 10 lengths.
at Three Chimneys Farm
in Midway, Kentucky
. As a stallion, he very quickly established himself as an important sire of a number of great horses including twelve millionaires. Some of his progeny are:
As of May 2006, Rahy's offspring had earned in excess of US$74 million. He was pensioned from stud duty on July 1, 2009, due to declining fertility.
Rahy died on September 22, 2011, from complications of old age.
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...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
who competed in England
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Bred by Hill 'n' Dale Farms
Hill 'n' Dale Farms
Hill 'n' Dale Farms is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Canada and the United States. It was founded in 1960 in Aurora, Ontario in 1960 by John Sikura, Jr., who died mysteriously in an unsolved 1994 car fire. The Canadian operation is now run by his son, R. Glenn...
in Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, he was a son of the very important sire Blushing Groom
Blushing Groom
Blushing Groom was a French Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by American businessman John McNamee Sullivan and was raced by HH Aga Khan IV. A descendant of Nearco, Blushing Groom was sired by Red God and out of the mare Runaway Bride....
and out of the Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
winner and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
mare
Mare (horse)
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 age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
, Glorious Song
Glorious Song
Glorious Song was a Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who was a Champion in Canada and the United States and became an important broodmare. Bred by the prominent horseman E. P. Taylor at his Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario, she was sired by Halo and out of the mare Ballade, who also produced...
.
Rahy was purchased as a yearling for US$2 million by Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also referred to as Sheikh Maktoum was the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the emir of Dubai.-Biography:...
and brought to race in England for the 1987 season. Out of his seven starts at ages two and three, Rahy won three races and in his most significant event, ran second to Robert Sangster's
Robert Sangster
Robert Edmund Sangster was a British businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. He was British flat racing Champion Owner five times and his horses won many major races, including two Epsom Derbys, four Irish Derbys, two French Derbys, three Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes and a Melbourne...
colt Gallic League in the 1987 Middle Park Stakes
Middle Park Stakes
The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September or early October.The event was established...
at Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse
The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...
.
At age four, Rahy was sent to race in the United States where he was conditioned by Neil Drysdale
Neil Drysdale
Neil D. Drysdale is an American based thoroughbred race horse trainer.Based in Playa Del Rey, California, he has won two Triple Crown races - the Belmont Stakes with A.P. Indy in 1992 and the Kentucky Derby with Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000...
. He had six starts and won three times with his most impressive and important win coming at Hollywood Park Racetrack where he captured the then GII
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
Bel Air Handicap
Bel Air Handicap
The Bel Air Handicap was a Thoroughbred horse race run in mid July at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. Open to horses age three and older, it was contested on dirt at a distance of a mile and a sixteenth. In its final year it was a Grade III event offering a purse of...
by 10 lengths.
An important sire
Retired after a racing career that saw modest success with no Grade I wins, in 1990, Rahy was sent to stand at studHorse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
at Three Chimneys Farm
Three Chimneys Farm
Three Chimneys Farm is an American thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Midway, Kentucky established in 1972 by Mr. & Mrs. Robert N. Clay. Widely known as one of the world's preeminent horse farms, Three Chimneys has been home to a number of famous horses including U.S. Triple Crown champion...
in Midway, Kentucky
Midway, Kentucky
Midway is a city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 1,620 at the 2000 census. It is located midway between Frankfort and Lexington along the single-track railroad between them. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is home to a...
. As a stallion, he very quickly established himself as an important sire of a number of great horses including twelve millionaires. Some of his progeny are:
- Fantastic LightFantastic LightFantastic Light is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He was foaled in the United States but was trained in England and Dubai during his racing career, which ran from August 1998 to his retirement following the Breeders' Cup Turf on October 2001...
- 2001 European Horse of the YearEuropean Horse of the YearEuropean Horse of the Year is an award in European Thoroughbred horse racing. Since 1991 the honor has been part of the Cartier Racing Awards. It is presented annually by Cartier SA to a horse of any age racing in Europe.-Honorees:...
and United States Champion Male Turf HorseEclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf HorseThe American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. In 1971 it became part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to a Colt or Gelding, regardless of age, for their performance on grass race courses....
, winner of the Breeders' Cup TurfBreeders' Cup TurfThe Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner... - Serena's Song - a U.S. Racing Hall of FameNational Museum of Racing and Hall of FameThe National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
inductee, she won eleven Grade 1 races and set a career earnings record for an American filly or mare. - NoverreNoverreNoverre is a Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Darley Stud Management Inc. and raced by a sister operation, Godolphin Racing, he was sired by Rahy and out of the mare Danseur Fabuleux, a daughter of the great Northern Dancer who was also the dam of 1991 European Horse of the Year, Arazi.Trained at...
- multiple Group One winner based in England, where he was voted Champion 3-year-old Miler for 2001 - Mariah's StormMariah's StormMariah's Storm was an American thoroughbred filly racehorse, bred by Donald T. Johnson's Crescent Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...
- multiple stakes winner, broodmare of Giant's CausewayGiant's Causeway (horse)Giant's Causeway is a Kentucky-bred thoroughbred racehorse who competed primarily in Europe. In 2000, he won five straight Group One races. His performance that year earned him European Horse of the Year honors.... - Dreaming of AnnaDreaming of AnnaDreaming of Anna is an American thoroughbred filly racehorse. She was sired by the outstanding English and American stud, Rahy out of the Broad Brush mare, Justenuffheart, who was a multi graded stakes race winner and half-sister to Grade I Turf winner Kitten's Joy. Although there is no Northern...
- winner of the 2006 Breeders' Cup Juvenile FilliesBreeders' Cup Juvenile FilliesThe Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a 1 1/16-mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.-Automatic Berths:Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup...
, voted 2006 U.S. 2-Year-Old Champion FillyEclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old FillyThe American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....
As of May 2006, Rahy's offspring had earned in excess of US$74 million. He was pensioned from stud duty on July 1, 2009, due to declining fertility.
Rahy died on September 22, 2011, from complications of old age.