Leading Light
Leading Light | |
---|---|
Sire | Montjeu |
Grandsire | Sadler's Wells |
Dam | Dance Parade |
Damsire | Gone West |
Sex | Colt |
Foaled | 6 March 2010[1] |
Country | Ireland |
Colour | Bay |
Breeder | Lynch-Bages Ltd |
Owner | Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor |
Trainer | Aidan O'Brien |
Record | 12: 8-1-0 |
Earnings | £760,981 |
Major wins | |
Gallinule Stakes (2013) Queen's Vase (2013) St Leger Stakes (2013) Vintage Crop Stakes (2014) Ascot Gold Cup (2014) Irish St Leger Trial Stakes (2014) | |
Awards | |
Cartier Champion Stayer (2014) |
Leading Light (foaled 6 March 2010) is an
Background
Leading Light is a bay
In October 2011, the yearling was consigned by the Glenvale Stud to the Tattersalls sales at Newmarket. He was bought for 520,000 guineas by the bloodstock agent Dermot "Demi" O'Byrne, acting on behalf of John Magnier's Coolmore organisation.[4] He was sent into training with Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle. Like many Coolmore horses, the details of Leading Light's ownership change from race to race. He has sometimes been registered as being owned by Derrick Smith, while on other occasions he races for the partnership of Smith, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor.
Racing career
2012: two-year-old season
Leading Light made his racecourse debut in a one-mile
2013: three-year-old season
Leading Light made his first appearance as a three-year-old in a minor race over ten furlongs at
On 14 September, Leading Light was one of eleven three-year-olds to contest the 237th running of the St Leger over 14+1⁄2 furlongs at Doncaster Racecourse. He was made the 7/2 favourite ahead of a field which included the filly Talent, winner of The Oaks and the colts Galileo Rock and Libertarian who had finished second and third in The Derby. O'Brien settled the colt in second place behind Cap o'Rushes before moving into the lead in the straight. He stayed on strongly in the closing stages to win by one and a quarter lengths and three-quarters of a length from Talent and Galileo Rock. O'Brien said: "he jumped a bit slowly and I could see a couple of horses going forward. I knew we weren't going to go much of a gallop, so I gave mine a kick just to get up there. I knew if I didn't hit him until a furlong and a half out he would win". Commenting on the colt's future, John Magnier said, "We will look at the Arc now – he's got plenty of speed. We will talk about that."[10]
On 3 October, Leading Light's owners paid a supplementary fee of €100,000 to enter the horse in the Arc de Triomphe. In the race on 6 October, the colt was never in contention and eventually finished twelfth of the seventeen runners behind Treve.
2014: four-year-old season
On his four-year-old debut, Leading Light started the even-money favourite for the Group Three Vintage Crop Stakes over fourteen furlongs at the Curragh. He took the lead approaching the final furlong and drew clear to win by three lengths from the 2012 Irish St. Leger winner Royal Diamond. After the race, O'Brien praised the colt's performance, saying, "I couldn't be happier. He had strengthened up over the winter and has been doing all the right things. He has progressed lovely... We haven't seen the bottom of him yet".[11]
On 19 June, Leading Light was moved up in distance for the 207th running of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. Ridden by O'Brien, he was made the 10/11 favourite, with his main opposition expected to come from the
Leading Light was brought back in distance for the Irish St. Leger Trial over one and three quarter miles at the Curragh on 24 August. He started at odds of 2/5 and won by one and a quarter lengths from Royal Diamond, having taken the lead a furlong and a half from the finish. The winning jockey, Joseph O'Brien commented "I was giving weight all round to decent horses and when he gets there he always has a good look. He always just does enough and he's a great horse".[14] In the Irish St. Leger over the same course and distance three weeks later, Leading Light started the 9/10 favourite against ten opponents. Held up by O'Brien in the early stages, he made progress in the straight but never looked likely to reach the lead and finished second, 6+1⁄2 lengths behind Brown Panther and a head in front of Encke. On 18 October, Leading Light started 2/1 favourite for the British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot. Racing on heavy ground, he failed to reproduce his best form after being badly hampered early in the race and finished seventh of the nine runners behind the Dermot Weld-trained Forgotten Rules. O'Brien later announced that the colt had sustained serious injuries to both front legs and would probably be retired.[15]
Assessment and awards
In November 2014 Leading Light was named
Pedigree
Sire Montjeu (IRE) 1996 |
Sadler's Wells 1981 |
Northern Dancer | Nearctic |
---|---|---|---|
Natalma | |||
Fairy Bridge | Bold Reason | ||
Special | |||
Floripedes 1985 |
Top Ville | High Top | |
Sega Ville | |||
Toute Cy | Tennyson | ||
Adele Toumignon | |||
Dam Dance Parade (USA) 1994 |
Gone West 1984 |
Mr. Prospector | Raise a Native |
Gold Digger | |||
Secrettame | Secretariat | ||
Tamarett | |||
River Jig 1984 |
Irish River | Riverman | |
Irish Star | |||
Baronova | Nijinsky | ||
Tsessebe (Family: 2-f) |
References
- ^ a b "Leading Light". Equineline. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "Leading Light image". sporthorse-data.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "Montjeu Stud record". Racing Post. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ "Tattersalls October Yearling Sale". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "Athassel House Stud EBF Maiden result". Racing Post. 7 October 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "Irish Stallion Farms EBF Race result". Racing Post. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "Gallinule Stakes result". Racing Post. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "Queen's Vase result". Racing Post. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ Stuart Riley (21 June 2013). "Royal Ascot Leading Light lands Queen's Vase". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "Leading Light wins for Aidan O'Brien at Doncaster". BBC. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ David Baxter (18 May 2014). "Navan Leading Light shines with Vintage Crop win". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ "Leading Light wins Gold Cup from Queen's Estimate". BBC. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ Tom Park (19 June 2014). "Leading Light denies Estimate in Gold Cup thriller". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ "Horse Racing News – Racing News As It Happens". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014.
- ^ "Horse Racing News – Racing News As It Happens". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014.
- Daily Telegraph.