King of Kings (horse)
King of Kings | |
---|---|
2000 Guineas (1998) |
King of Kings (27 February 1995 – 23 February 2015) was an Irish
Background
King of Kings, a bay horse with a white
Racing career
1997: two-year-old season
King of Kings raced five times at the
King of Kings had won four of his five races, but his performances had not lived up to his home reputation and his temperament had been questioned.[10] There were also doubts about the value of his form – none of his rivals in the National Stakes had won a Group race – and he was not highly rated by the international handicappers.[11] Roche, however, described King of Kings as "the best two-year-old I've ever ridden."[12]
1998: three-year-old season
On King of Kings' three-year-old debut he traveled away from the Curragh for the first time as he was sent to England for the
Following race O'Brien commented on the horse's growing maturity by saying that "he was a child last year, but is a man now". Addressing issues regarding the colt's attitude and style of racing, Kinane offered the opinion that "there is nothing wrong with his courage. He is just a bit of a showman."[10]
King of Kings did not run again before The Derby on 6 June. Doubts about his stamina led to him being passed over by Kinane who rode his stable companion Second Empire.[14] King of Kings was ridden by the veteran Pat Eddery and started the 11/2 third favourite behind the filly Cape Verdi and Second Empire. In the race King of Kings was never in contention and finished last of the fifteen runners behind High-Rise.[15] He was subsequently found to be lame and examinations revealed a recurrence of his old knee injury. His retirement from racing was announced later that month.[9]
Assessment
Despite his successes as a two-year-old, King of Kings was not highly regarded by the International Classification published in January 1998. His rating of 111 place him sixteen
Stud career
King of Kings was retired to stand as a stallion for his owners' Coolmore Stud organisation. He stood in Australia for one season and was then sent to the Ashford Stud at Versailles, Kentucky before returning to Australia in 2002. In November 2004 he was sold for an undisclosed sum to Gestut Sohrenhof in Switzerland.[16] King of Kings was later sold to stand at the Somerset Stud at Mooi River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.[17] His most successful offspring have been the Australian-bred Group One winners King's Chapel and Reigning to Win.[18]
King of Kings died of heart failure at the Fort Stud in South Africa on 23 February 2015. The stud's owner, Jill Fox said "I was very privileged to have had a horse like him in my care. He was super intelligent and loved his work when covering mares".[19]
Pedigree
Sire Sadler's Wells (USA) 1981 |
Northern Dancer 1961 |
Nearctic | Nearco |
---|---|---|---|
Lady Angela | |||
Natalma | Native Dancer | ||
Almahmoud | |||
Fairy Bridge 1975 |
Bold Reason | Hail to Reason
| |
Lalun | |||
Special | Forli | ||
Thong | |||
Dam Zummerudd (IRE) 1981 |
Habitat 1966 |
Sir Gaylord | Turn-To |
Somethingroyal | |||
Little Hut | Occupy | ||
Savage Beauty | |||
Ampulla 1974 |
Crowned Prince | Raise a Native | |
Gay Hostess | |||
A. 1 | Abernant | ||
Asti Spumante (Family:7) |
References
- ^ "Demi O'Byrne: Nobody does it better". Thoroughbred Times. 9 September 2000. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Tattersalls sales December 1996". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "King Of Kings race record". Racing Post. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Glengarrif EBF Maiden result". Racing Post. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Railway Stakes result". Racing Post. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Anglesey Stakes result". Racing Post. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Tyros Stakes result". Racing Post. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "National Stakes result". Racing Post. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ Glasgow Herald. 8 June 1998. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ a b Montgomery, Sue (3 May 1998). "Racing a new sport of Kings". The Independent. London. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ a b "O'Brien's the front runner". 14 January 1998. Retrieved 5 March 2012 – via The Free Library.
- ^ Road To Cheltenham (4 May 1998). "King right for Epsom crowning". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "2000 Guineas result". Racing Post. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ Exambrief Languages (6 June 1998). "Verdi to shoot down the colts". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Epsom Derby result". Racing Post. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Coolmore sells King of Kings to Swiss farm Gestut Sohrenhof". Thoroughbred Times. 30 November 2004. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Somerset Stud, Stud Farm & Stallions, South Africa". Directory of the Turf. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "King Of Kings Stud Record". Racing Post. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Live Horse Racing News | Racing News as It Happens | Racing Post". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.