Swain (horse)
Encyclopedia
Swain is a Europe
an Thoroughbred
racehorse
bred in Ireland
. From the mare Love Smitten, he was sired by Nashwan
. His grandsire was Blushing Groom
, a son of Nasrullah from Nearco
. His damsire Key To The Mint
, a son of Graustark
, was the 1972 U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt
.
At age three Swain raced for the Godolphin Stables
in France
, where he won two conditions races
(including the Grand Prix de Deauville
), and was third to Lammtarra
in record time in the 1995 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
. At four, he was second to Helissio
in the 1996 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud
, won the Prix Foy
, and defeated Singspiel
to win the Coronation Cup
in England
. Shipped to North America
for the 1996 Breeders' Cup Turf
at Woodbine Racetrack
, Swain finished third behind Pilsudski
and Singspiel.
At age five in 1997, Swain defeated both Pilsudski and Helissio
to win the 1997 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He returned in 1998 to repeat as the winner, making him (at age six) the oldest horse to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the first back-to-back winner since Dahlia
in 1973–74. He also won the 1998 Irish Champion Stakes
, but finished second in that year's Coronation Cup and second to Silver Charm
in the Dubai World Cup
. Sent to Churchill Downs
in Louisville, Kentucky
for the 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic
, Swain wound up his racing career with a third-place finish to Awesome Again
and Silver Charm
.
After earning $3,797,566 in racing, Swain was retired to stud duty
and currently stands at Shadwell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky
.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an 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 in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. From the mare Love Smitten, he was sired by Nashwan
Nashwan
Nashwan was a thoroughbred racehorse bred and owned by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum.The chestnut colt was sired by the 1977 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Blushing Groom out of Height of Fashion, a daughter of Bustino previously owned by Queen Elizabeth II. He was a thus half-brother to the Group...
. His grandsire was 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....
, a son of Nasrullah from Nearco
Nearco
Nearco was an Italian bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by Thoroughbred Heritage as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He was not only unbeaten, winning 14 races at distances from 5 furlongs to 1 mile 7 furlongs ,...
. His damsire Key To The Mint
Key to the Mint
Key to the Mint was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.-Background:Bred by Paul Mellon and raced under his Rokeby Stable colors, Key to the Mint was trained by future Hall of Fame inductee, Elliott Burch.-Racing Career:...
, a son of Graustark
Graustark (horse)
Graustark was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was a favorite to win the 1966 Kentucky Derby until an injury prematurely ended his career.-Background:Bred by renowned sportsman John W...
, was the 1972 U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt
Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Male Horse
The American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....
.
At age three Swain raced for the Godolphin Stables
Godolphin Stables
Godolphin Racing is the Maktoum family's private thoroughbred horseracing stable and was named in honour of the Godolphin Arabian, who came from the desert to become one of the three founding stallions of the modern thoroughbred....
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he won two conditions races
Conditions races
Conditions races are horse races where the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to; the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the age of the runners, with younger horses receiving...
(including the Grand Prix de Deauville
Grand Prix de Deauville
The Grand Prix de Deauville is a Group 2 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,500 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.-History:The race was first run on August 6, 1866, and it was...
), and was third to Lammtarra
Lammtarra
Lammtarra was an undefeated Thoroughbred racehorse who won three Group One races in 1995 and was voted the Cartier Three-Year-Old European Champion Colt...
in record time in the 1995 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...
. At four, he was second to Helissio
Helissio
Helissio is a Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Fairy King and a grandson of Northern Dancer. Owned by the Spanish businessman Enrique Sarasola, he was voted the European Horse of the Year for 1996...
in the 1996 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud
Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud
The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June.-History:...
, won the Prix Foy
Prix Foy
The Prix Foy is a Group 2 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September....
, and defeated Singspiel
Singspiel (horse)
Singspiel was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. The Bay horse was out of the Eclipse Award winner and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame mare, Glorious Song...
to win the Coronation Cup
Coronation Cup
The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Shipped to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
for the 1996 Breeders' Cup Turf
Breeders' Cup Turf
The 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...
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...
, Swain finished third behind Pilsudski
Pilsudski (horse)
Pilsudski is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire who was bred in Ireland, but trained in the United Kingdom during a racing career which lasted from 1994 to 1997. In a four season career he progressed from winning modest handicap races to become regarded as one of the best racehorses...
and Singspiel.
At age five in 1997, Swain defeated both Pilsudski and Helissio
Helissio
Helissio is a Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Fairy King and a grandson of Northern Dancer. Owned by the Spanish businessman Enrique Sarasola, he was voted the European Horse of the Year for 1996...
to win the 1997 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He returned in 1998 to repeat as the winner, making him (at age six) the oldest horse to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the first back-to-back winner since Dahlia
Dahlia (horse)
Dahlia was an American-bred Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racemare who won major races in France, England, Ireland, Canada, and the United States...
in 1973–74. He also won the 1998 Irish Champion Stakes
Irish Champion Stakes
The Irish Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.-History:The event was established in 1976, and...
, but finished second in that year's Coronation Cup and second to Silver Charm
Silver Charm
Silver Charm is an American Champion Thoroughbred race horse. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens, Silver Charm will be remembered most for winning the 1997 Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in the Triple Crown....
in the Dubai World Cup
Dubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
. Sent to Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
for the 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 year olds and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...
, Swain wound up his racing career with a third-place finish to Awesome Again
Awesome Again
Awesome Again is an Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and bred by Frank Stronach of Newmarket, Ontario, Awesome Again was sired by Deputy Minister and out of the 2000 Broodmare of the Year Primal Force....
and Silver Charm
Silver Charm
Silver Charm is an American Champion Thoroughbred race horse. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens, Silver Charm will be remembered most for winning the 1997 Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in the Triple Crown....
.
After earning $3,797,566 in racing, Swain was retired to stud duty
Horse 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...
and currently stands at Shadwell Farm in 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...
.
External links
- Swain at Shadwell Farm LLC
- Ascotstudfarm.com, where Swain is standing at stud