Oath (horse)
Oath | |
---|---|
Sire | Fairy King |
Grandsire | Northern Dancer |
Dam | Sheer Audacity |
Damsire | Troy |
Sex | Stallion |
Foaled | 1996 |
Country | Ireland |
Colour | bay |
Breeder | Mrs Max Morris |
Owner | The Thoroughbred Corp. |
Trainer | Henry Cecil |
Record | 7: 3-1-1 |
Earnings | £647,419 |
Major wins | |
Dee Stakes (1999) Epsom Derby (1999) | |
Last updated on August 24, 2007 |
Oath (foaled 22 April 1996) is a retired
Background
Oath was foaled on 22 April 1996 in Ireland.
His
As a yearling, Oath was sent to the Goffs sales in
He was originally sent into training with Roger Charlton at
Racing career
1998: two-year-old season
Oath made his racecourse debut in a maiden race at Goodwood in June. Ridden by Tim Sprake, he finished fifth of the eight runners, beaten two and a half lengths in a race which looked very good in retrospect: the winner Muqtarib won the Richmond Stakes in July, whilst the runner-up Compton Admiral went on to win the following year's Eclipse Stakes.[10]
At Yarmouth in September, he finished third in a field of seventeen on his debut for Cecil, after appearing to have "every chance".[11] Oath won at the third attempt in a maiden race at Nottingham in October. He led early and ran on strongly after being headed to win by two and a half lengths from modest opposition.[12]
His official end of season rating of 91 suggested that he had a future as a racehorse, but that he was around thirty pounds below top class.
1999: three-year-old season
Spring
Oath's three-year-old debut in a minor stakes race at
The first indication that he might be a top class colt came in his next start, in which he was tried in
The remaining Derby trials revealed no outstanding contenders, and Oath, who at least had solid winning form and seemed to be improving, was shortened to 6-1 joint-favourite by the end of the following week.[16]
Summer
The Derby of 1999, run in cold wet conditions,[17] was a very open race, with many lightly-tested colts and only one previous Group One winner, the Irish-trained Saffron Walden. The highly regarded, but untested Dubai Millennium started favourite at 5/1, with Oath and Lucido joint second in the betting at 13/2. Before the Derby, the horses are paraded in front of the stands. Fallon broke away from the parade early and took Oath, who was described as "restive" and "hot-headed" directly to the start.[18] In the race Oath was always in contention, and turned into the straight in fifth place behind the leader All The Way. Two furlongs out Daliapour was sent into the lead, and Fallon made his challenge on Oath. The two colts ran together for several strides before Oath pulled ahead and was driven out by Fallon to win by one and three quarter lengths.[19] After the race Fallon was penalised for breaking out of the parade, although Cecil revealed that the jockey was acting under his instructions and had been told to "not worry about the fine."[18]
The intention was that Oath would run in the
In the
The reason for Oath's poor run was revealed shortly afterwards as he came back lame. Examinations revealed that he had broken a bone in his knee.[25] The injury was so serious that the colt's connections said that it would be a "miracle" if he ran again that season,[26] although there were hopes that he could return as a four-year-old.
In October it was announced that Oath's racing career was over, and that he had been sold to Japanese breeders for $8,000,000.[27]
Race record
Date | Race | Dist (f) | Course | Class | Prize (£K) | Odds | Runners | Placing | Margin | Time | Jockey | Trainer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 June 1998 | EBF Hitachi Seiki Maiden Stakes | 6 | Goodwood | M | 4 | 6/1 | 8 | 5 | 2.5 | 1:11.54 | Tim Sprake | Roger Charlton |
16 September 1998 | EBF Fleggborough Maiden Stakes | 7 | Yarmouth | M | 3 | 9/4 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 1:27.30 | Kieren Fallon | Henry Cecil |
14 October 1998 | EBF Maiden Stakes | 8 | Nottingham | M | 3 | 4/5 | 8 | 1 | 2.5 | 1:52.80 | Kieren Fallon | Henry Cecil |
17 April 1999 | Compton Conditions Stakes | 10 | Newbury | 9 | 3/1 | 8 | 2 | Neck | 2:09.43 | Kieren Fallon | Henry Cecil | |
6 May 1999 | Dee Stakes | 10 | Chester | L | 28 | 2/1 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2:10.51 | Kieren Fallon | Henry Cecil |
5 June 1999 | Derby | 12 | Epsom | 1 | 611 | 13/2 | 16 | 1 | 1.7.5 | 2:37.43 | Kieren Fallon | Henry Cecil |
4 July 1999 | King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes | 12 | Ascot | 1 | 342 | 9/4 | 8 | 7 | 11.5 | 2:29.35 | Kieren Fallon | Henry Cecil |
.
Assessment
Oath has been considered to be one of the least distinguished winners of the Derby. John Randall, writing in the Racing Post rated him the second-worst Derby-winner since 1945.[28]
Immediately after the Derby, Oath was rated an "average" Derby winner, with a rating of 123.[29] His injury meant that unlike many Derby winners, he never had the opportunity to improve on this assessment. When the International Classification for the year were released in January, Oath's rating placed him twelve pounds below the European champion Montjeu (135).[30]
Stud career
Oath began his career at stud by standing at the Yushun Stallion Station in Hokkaido Japan, where he is reported to have had limited success.
In 2006 he was returned to Ireland, with the intention that he would stand at the Coolagown Stud in
According to one report in 2011, he sired winners in India.[32] He currently stands at the Pratap Stud in Gujarat.[33]
Pedigree
Sire Fairy King (USA) 1982 |
Northern Dancer 1961 |
Nearctic | Nearco |
---|---|---|---|
Lady Angela | |||
Natalma | Native Dancer | ||
Almahmoud | |||
Fairy Bridge 1975 |
Bold Reason | Hail To Reason | |
Lalun | |||
Special | Forli | ||
Thong | |||
Dam Sheer Audacity (IRE) 1984 |
Troy 1976 |
Petingo | Petition |
Alcazar | |||
La Milo | Hornbeam | ||
Pin Prick | |||
Miss Upward 1964 |
Alcide | Alycidon | |
Chenille | |||
Aiming High | Djebe | ||
Annie Oakley (family 1-k) |
References
- ^ "Profile of Oath". Famous Racehorses. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- ^ a b Edmondson, Richard (7 May 1999). "Oath affirms Cecil's Derby strength". The Independent. London. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Oath". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Fairy King Stud Record". Racing Post. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ "Prix ganay 1995". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Sheer Audacity (GB)". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.[dead link]
- ^ "Prince Ahmed bin Salman dead at age 43". Horse-races. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
- ^ "Now Anthem bids to hit right note". The Racing Post. 16 June 1998. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
- ^ "Oath". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "EBF Hitachi Seiki Maiden Stakes". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "EBF Fleggborough Maiden Stakes". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "EBF Maiden Stakes". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Compton Stakes". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Dee Stakes Derby trial". Epsom-derby.net. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ "Dee Stakes". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ Edmondson, Richard (13 May 1999). "Elsworth's Express a Derby dream". The Independent. London. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ Jones, Ken (7 June 1999). "Derby slip in rankings but upholds its allure". The Independent. London.
- ^ a b Montgomery, Sue (6 June 1999). "Oath summons Classic finish". The Independent. London. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Derby result". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ Wood, Greg (7 June 1999). "Racing: Big trials lie ahead to test Oath's talent". The Independent. London.
- ^ "Derby winner Oath favourite for King George". 23 June 1999. Retrieved 16 September 2011 – via The Free Library.
- ^ "Oath out of showdown at the Curragh". The Independent. London. 24 June 1999. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes". Racing Post. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Racing: Daylami team cashing in". The Independent. London. 26 July 1999.
- ^ "Cracked knee may rule out Oath for season". 27 July 1999. Retrieved 24 December 2011 – via The Free Library.
- ^ "Oath's future in the balance; Injured Derby winner needs a `miracle' to race again this season". Retrieved 24 December 2011 – via The Free Library.
- ^ "Oath price confirmed at $8m". Retrieved 16 September 2011 – via The Free Library.
- ^ "Morston tops six worst Derby winners". The Racing Post. 2 June 2004. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ Wood, Greg (8 June 1999). "Racing: Oath heads Montjeu on bookies' card". The Independent. London. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "International Classifications: Montjeu ranks among greats". The Racing Post. 19 January 2000. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
- ^ "Horse Racing: Derby winner Oath sold for EUR205,000 to stand in India". The Racing Post. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Rolf Johnson on Harry Herbert's visit to India on behalf of the BBM". Highclere Racing. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ Staff. "Stallions in India". Indian Studbook. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
External links
- Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart – Oath