Saoirse (horse)
Encyclopedia
Saoirse is a Canadian
Champion
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. Bred and raced by Steve Stavro's
Knob Hill Stable, her Gaelic
name means "freedom or Liberty" (though there is no official direct translation of the name) and is pronounced "Seer sha"
Saoirse was sired by 1980 Laurel Futurity Stakes winner, Cure the Blues. Her dam was Apelia, the 1993 Canadian Champion Sprint Horse
who won the award at a time when it was a single honor for horses of either sex.
Trained by Phil England from a base at Woodbine Racetrack
in Toronto
, Saoirse did not race at age two. On April 10, 1999, the then three-year-old filly made an impressive racing debut at Woodbine with an 18¾ length
win in a maiden race for three and four-year-old fillies. http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/ojcdis.asp?LI=YES&ACT=DIS&SEC=TBN&ART=46460387&DTSR=01%2F01%2F1999%5E12%2F31%2F1999+23%3A59 During the remainder of the year, Saoirse's best stakes result racing at age three was a second in the Jammed Lovely Stakes
but on October 16 she won a race in which she equaled the Woodbine track record for 6.5 furlong
s with a clocking of 1:14:78. http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/thoroughbred/thb_TrackRecords.asp http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427995661.html?dids=427995661:427995661&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+18%2C+1999&author=&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Thornfield+turfs+foes+%3B+19-to-1+outsider+gives+Maple+Leafs+owner+Stavro+first+win+in+International&pqatl=google
Racing at age four in 2000, Saoirse won Woodbine's La Voyageuse Stakes http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/ojcdis.asp?LI=YES&ACT=DIS&SEC=TBN&ART=82167772&DTSR=01%2F01%2F2000%5E12%2F31%2F2000+23%3A59 and George C. Hendrie Stakes
http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/ojcdis.asp?LI=YES&ACT=DIS&SEC=TBN&ART=86365382&DTSR=01%2F01%2F2000%5E12%2F31%2F2000+23%3A59 then in June raced in the United States for the first time. She made her American debut at Arlington Park
in Chicago
with a win in the Chicago Breeders' Cup Handicap. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-63153133.html. Her next win came in early September in the Seaway Stakes
at Woodbine shortly after which owner Steve Stavro announced he was closing down his racing operations and would be selling off his horses. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427005931.html?dids=427005931:427005931&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+15%2C+2000&author=Tony+Van+Alphen&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Stavro+closing+Knob+Hill+Stable+%3B+Thoroughbred+racehorses+are+up+for+sale&pqatl=google On September 16, Saoirse was sold to a partnership of William Butler, William Steiden and Doninga Farm, owned by Ginger and David L. Mullins. http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2000/September/17/Knob-Hill-sells-Saoirse.aspx Her new owners transferred the four-year-old filly to trainer Paul McGee. For her new handlers, Saoirse made five starts without a win but her performances for the year 2000 were still enough for her to be voted Canadian Champion Older Female Horse honors. http://horseracing.about.com/library/weekly/aa121500a.htm
After running unplaced in an allowance race at Keeneland
on April 13, 2001, five-year-old Saoirse was retired from racing and sent to broodmare duty at Doninga Farm near Lexington, Kentucky
.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/3704/saoirse-retired-breeding-plans-incomplete In foal to Seeking The Gold
, Saoirse was sold at the 2001 Keeneland November breeding stock sale
for US$2.2 million. Between 2003 and 2005, Saoirse had four foals, all fillys. The first was the multiple stakes winner Hide And Chic by Seeking The Gold. She was followed by matings to Storm Cat
that produced Saoirse Cat, to A.P. Indy
that produced Autobahn Girl, and to El Prado
that produced El Saoirse. http://www.pedigreequery.com/progeny/saoirse
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Champion
Sovereign Award
The Sovereign Award is given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada to the outstanding horses and people in Canadian Thoroughbred racing.The most prestigious award for horses is Sovereign Horse of the Year....
Thoroughbred
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...
. Bred and raced by Steve Stavro's
Steve Stavro
Steve Atanas Stavro, CM , born Manoli Stavroff Sholdas, was a Macedonian Canadian businessman, grocery store magnate, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, sports team owner, and a noted philanthropist....
Knob Hill Stable, her Gaelic
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
name means "freedom or Liberty" (though there is no official direct translation of the name) and is pronounced "Seer sha"
Saoirse was sired by 1980 Laurel Futurity Stakes winner, Cure the Blues. Her dam was Apelia, the 1993 Canadian Champion Sprint Horse
Canadian Champion Sprint Horse
The Canadian Champion Sprint Horse was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor that was part of the Sovereign Awards program awarded annually to the top Thoroughbred of either sex competing in sprint races in Canada...
who won the award at a time when it was a single honor for horses of either sex.
Trained by Phil England from a base at Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Saoirse did not race at age two. On April 10, 1999, the then three-year-old filly made an impressive racing debut at Woodbine with an 18¾ length
Length (horse racing)
A horse length, or simply length, is a unit of measurement that refers to the length of a horse from nose to tail, approximately 8 feet, It is commonly used in Thoroughbred horse racing, where it describes the distance between horses in a race...
win in a maiden race for three and four-year-old fillies. http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/ojcdis.asp?LI=YES&ACT=DIS&SEC=TBN&ART=46460387&DTSR=01%2F01%2F1999%5E12%2F31%2F1999+23%3A59 During the remainder of the year, Saoirse's best stakes result racing at age three was a second in the Jammed Lovely Stakes
Jammed Lovely Stakes
The Jammed Lovely Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid November at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Restricted to three-Year-Old fillies foaled in the Province of Ontario, it is contested on Polytrack synthetic dirt at a distance of seven furlongs.Inaugurated at...
but on October 16 she won a race in which she equaled the Woodbine track record for 6.5 furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
s with a clocking of 1:14:78. http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/thoroughbred/thb_TrackRecords.asp http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427995661.html?dids=427995661:427995661&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+18%2C+1999&author=&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Thornfield+turfs+foes+%3B+19-to-1+outsider+gives+Maple+Leafs+owner+Stavro+first+win+in+International&pqatl=google
Racing at age four in 2000, Saoirse won Woodbine's La Voyageuse Stakes http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/ojcdis.asp?LI=YES&ACT=DIS&SEC=TBN&ART=82167772&DTSR=01%2F01%2F2000%5E12%2F31%2F2000+23%3A59 and George C. Hendrie Stakes
Hendrie Stakes
The Hendrie Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Held in mid May, the Grade III sprint race is open to fillies and mares, aged four and older and is contested over a distance of six and a half furlongs on Polytrack synthetic dirt...
http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/ojcdis.asp?LI=YES&ACT=DIS&SEC=TBN&ART=86365382&DTSR=01%2F01%2F2000%5E12%2F31%2F2000+23%3A59 then in June raced in the United States for the first time. She made her American debut at Arlington Park
Arlington Park
Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
with a win in the Chicago Breeders' Cup Handicap. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-63153133.html. Her next win came in early September in the Seaway Stakes
Seaway Stakes
The Seaway Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the first part of September at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. A Grade III race since 2004, it is open to dillies and mares aged three and older. Contested over a distance of 7 furlongs on Polytrack synthetic dirt,...
at Woodbine shortly after which owner Steve Stavro announced he was closing down his racing operations and would be selling off his horses. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427005931.html?dids=427005931:427005931&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+15%2C+2000&author=Tony+Van+Alphen&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Stavro+closing+Knob+Hill+Stable+%3B+Thoroughbred+racehorses+are+up+for+sale&pqatl=google On September 16, Saoirse was sold to a partnership of William Butler, William Steiden and Doninga Farm, owned by Ginger and David L. Mullins. http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2000/September/17/Knob-Hill-sells-Saoirse.aspx Her new owners transferred the four-year-old filly to trainer Paul McGee. For her new handlers, Saoirse made five starts without a win but her performances for the year 2000 were still enough for her to be voted Canadian Champion Older Female Horse honors. http://horseracing.about.com/library/weekly/aa121500a.htm
After running unplaced in an allowance race at Keeneland
Keeneland
Keeneland is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and sales complex in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Operated by the Keeneland Association, Inc., it is also known for its reference library on the sport, which contains more than 10,000 volumes, an extensive videocassette collection, and a substantial...
on April 13, 2001, five-year-old Saoirse was retired from racing and sent to broodmare duty at Doninga Farm near Lexington, Kentucky
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...
.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/3704/saoirse-retired-breeding-plans-incomplete In foal to Seeking The Gold
Seeking The Gold
Seeking The Gold is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by the leading stud, Mr. Prospector, who in turn was a son of Raise a Native, out of the mare, Con Game....
, Saoirse was sold at the 2001 Keeneland November breeding stock sale
Keeneland Sales
The Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene...
for US$2.2 million. Between 2003 and 2005, Saoirse had four foals, all fillys. The first was the multiple stakes winner Hide And Chic by Seeking The Gold. She was followed by matings to Storm Cat
Storm Cat
Storm Cat was an American Thoroughbred stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in the world. As such, he was one of the few horses with a 24-hour armed guard....
that produced Saoirse Cat, to A.P. Indy
A.P. Indy
A.P. Indy is a champion stallion Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Kentucky, USA, by William Farish III and William Kilroy. He is known for his ancestry, his own record, and his successful progeny. He was sired by Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew through mare Weekend Surprise, who herself was sired...
that produced Autobahn Girl, and to El Prado
El Prado (horse)
El Prado was a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion sire. He was sired by Sadler's Wells, who was a fourteen-time Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland. Out of the mare, Lady Capulet, his damsire was Sir Ivor whose wins included the 1968 Epsom Derby, 2,000 Guineas Stakes, and Washington,...
that produced El Saoirse. http://www.pedigreequery.com/progeny/saoirse