Roland Gardens
Roland Gardens | |
---|---|
Sire | 2000 Guineas (1978) (1979)Philip Cornes Trophy |
Awards | |
Timeform rating 116 (1977), 122 (1978), 122 (1979) |
Roland Gardens (foaled 9 May 1975 – after 1993) was a British
Background
Roland Gardens was a tall bay colt with no white markings bred by C. A. Ryan. He was from the ninth crop of foals sired by Derring-Do, a horse whose wins included the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in 1965 and whose other offspring included the 2000 Guineas winners High Top, and the St Leger Stakes winner Peleid.[2] Roland Gardens dam, Katricia was a sprinter who went on the produce Anjuli, the dam of the Cartier Racing Award winner Kooyonga.[3]
As a yearling, Roland Gardens was offered for sale and bought for the modest sum of 3,200 guineas. The colt entered the ownership of John Hayter and was sent into training with Robert Armstrong at Newmarket, Suffolk.[4]
Racing career
1977: two-year-old season
In 1977, Roland Gardens finished unplaced in his first two races and then won the Knole Stakes, a minor event over seven furlongs at
At the end of the year a quarter share in the colt was bought by Tim Sasse who had him moved to the stable of his son Duncan.[5]
1978: three-year-old season
Roland Gardens began his three-year-old season in March, when he finished third to Camden Town and Roscoe Blake in the Roseberry Stakes over one mile at
In the 199th running of the
1979: four-year-old season
Roland Gardens remained his training as a four-year-old and ran four times. He recorded his only success in the
Assessment
In the Free Handicap for 1977, Roland Gardens was given a rating of 122, nine pounds behind the top-rated two-year-old Try My Best. He was rated fourteen pounds behind the same colt by the independent Timeform organisation, who rated him on 116. Timeform opinion of the colt's abilities was reflected in their comment felt the worst aspect of his run in the Horris Hill was that he had ruined his handicap rating for the following year.[4] In the following year, he was rated 122 by Timeform, sixteen pounds below the top-rated horse Alleged and eight pounds behind the leading miler Homing. In the official International Classification he was given a rating of 81, fourteen pounds below the leading three-year-old Ile de Bourbon.[5] Roland Gardens was again rated 122 by Timeform in 1979.[6]
In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Roland Gardens a "poor" winner of the 2000 Guineas.[7]
Duncan Sasse, in a letter to the Racing Post, expressed his view that the horse had been under-rated by Timeform, and that his correct rating should have been closer to 130. Sasse also pointed out that the colt was never able to show his best form on firm ground "as he turned out his front feet like Charlie Chaplin".[8]
Stud record
Roland Gardens was retired from racing as a four-year-old and exported to become a breeding stallion in South Africa. The best of his offspring were two fillies Enchanted Garden and Roland's Song, both of which were named South African Horse of the Year. Enchanted Garden won the Natal Oaks and the South African Oaks and was named South African Horse of the Year 1986, while Roland's Song was the first female horse to exceed ZAR1m in prize money and South African Horse of the Year in 1989. He sired two good colts one of which was also named South African Horse of the Year in 1993, Pas de Quoi, who won the Cape Derby and Champion Stakes. Wild West was South Champion Three-Year-Old colt in 1984 and won the South African Two Thousand and Metropolitan Stakes.
His last known foals were born in 1994.[9]
Pedigree
Sire Derring-Do (GB) 1961 |
Darius (GB) 1951 |
Dante | Nearco |
---|---|---|---|
Rosy Legend | |||
Yasna | Dastur | ||
Ariadne | |||
Sipsey Bridge (GB) 1954 |
Abernant | Owen Tudor | |
Rustom Mahal | |||
Claudette | Chanteur | ||
Nearly | |||
Dam Katricia (GB) 1968 |
Skymaster (GB) 1958 |
Golden Cloud | Gold Bridge |
Rainstorm | |||
Discipliner | Court Martial
| ||
Edvina | |||
Anxious Call (IRE) 1963 |
Whistler | Panorama | |
Farthing Damages | |||
Julie | Denturius | ||
Justitia (Family 19)[3] |
References
- ^ a b "Roland Gardens pedigree". Equineline. 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
- ^ "Top Ville: A top broodmare sire – just like his father". Thoroughbredinternet.com. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2013-01-31.
- ^ a b "Thoroughbred Bloodlines – Davill's Old Woodcock Mare – Family 19". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
- ^ ISBN 0-900599-25-1.
- ^ ISBN 0-900599-27-8.
- ^ ISBN 0-900599-29-4.
- ISBN 978-1-901570-15-1.
- ^ "Letter: Roland Gardens deserved better". Racing Post. 4 May 2004. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
- ^ "Enchanted Garden". The Racing Museum. Retrieved 2014-05-19.