To-Agori-Mou
To-Agori-Mou | |
---|---|
Sire | Waterford Crystal Mile (1981) (1981)Queen Elizabeth II Stakes |
Awards | |
Timeform rating: 133 (1980, 1981) Top-rated British two-year-old (1980) |
To-Agori-Mou (22 April 1978 – 1990) was an Irish-bred, British-trained
Background
To-Agori-Mou was a "big, rangy, attractive"[2] dark brown horse with no white markings[3] bred by the Rathduff Stud in County Tipperary, Ireland. His sire, Tudor Music, was a top-class sprinter whose wins included the July Cup: as a breeding stallion his record was not impressive, with his only previous Group Race winner being Orchestra, whose wins included the John Porter Stakes. To-Agori-Mou was by far the best horse produced by Sarah Van Fleet, a mare who won five races over hurdles. Sarah Van Fleet was a great granddaughter of the influential broodmare Sister Sarah, whose other descendants include St. Paddy, Flying Water, Russian Rhythm, Workforce, Nearctic, Shadayid, Swain, Love Divine, Brian Boru and Sixties Icon.[4]
As a
Racing career
1980: two-year-old season
To-Agori-Mou made his racecourse debut in a
In October, To-Agori-Mou contested Britain's most important races for two-year-olds, the
1981: three-year-old season
Spring
When Storm Bird was ruled out of the classics by a series of problems, To-Agori-Mou became a strong favourite for the 2000 Guineas. He began his three-year-old season in the
On 16 May, To-Agori-Mou was sent to Ireland and started 9/10 favourite for the
Summer
The rematch between To-Agori-Mou and Kings Lake came in the St James's Palace Stakes over one mile at
The fourth and final match between To-Agori-Mou and Kings Lake came in the
Autumn
In late September, To-Agori-Mou ran in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. The race was then a Group Two event, and weight penalties meant that he had to race at level weights against older horses, but he nevertheless started the 5/4[7] favourite. Ridden by Lester Piggott (Starkey was serving a suspension for careless riding),[12] he was held up at the back of the field before moving up to take the lead inside the final furlong. He won by a length from the four-year-old Cracaval, who was subsequently disqualified for causing interference in the closing stages. In October, To-Agori-Mou was moved up in distance to contest the Champion Stakes over ten furlongs at Newmarket. He started 5/1 favourite, but after travelling well for most of the race he was unable to make any progress in the closing stages and finished fifth of the sixteen runners behind the French-trained colt Vayrann.[8]
1982: four-year-old season
In 1982, To-Agori-Mou was sent to race in the United States where he was trained by
Assessment
To-Agori-Mou was rated 133 by the independent Timeform organisation in 1980, making him the second best two-year-old of the season, one pound behind Storm Bird. He was also rated second to Storm Bird in the official International Classification.[2] In the following season he was again rated 133 by Timeform, while in the International Classification he was rated the equal-fourth-best three-year-old colt in Europe behind Shergar, Bikala and Cut Above.[8] In their book A Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated To-Agori-Mou an "average" 2000 Guineas winner and the forty-first best two-year-old trained in Britain or Ireland in the 20th century.[14]
Stud career
To-Agori-Mou was retired to become a breeding stallion in the United States, but appears to have attracted little interest. The most successful of his offspring was the sprinter Answer Do, who won fifteen races including the Grade II
Pedigree
Sire Tudor Music (GB) 1966 |
Tudor Melody (GB) 1956 |
Tudor Minstrel | Owen Tudor |
---|---|---|---|
Sansonnet | |||
Matelda | Dante | ||
Fairly Hot | |||
Fran (GB) 1959 |
Acropolis | Donatello | |
Aurora | |||
Madrilene | Court Martial | ||
Marmite | |||
Dam Sarah Van Fleet (GB) 1966 |
Cracksman (IRE) 1958 |
Chamossaire | Precipitation |
Snowberry | |||
Nearly | Nearco | ||
Lost Soul | |||
La Rage (GB) 1954 |
Mieuxce | Massine | |
L'Olivete | |||
Hell's Fury | Dante | ||
Sister Sarah (Family:14-c)[4] |
References
- ^ a b "To-Agori-Mou pedigree". equineline.com. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ ISBN 0-900599-31-6.
- ^ "To-Agori-Mou image". sporthorse-data.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Pretty Polly - Family 14-c". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ Brough Scott. "Dancing Brave". BroughScott.com. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-873626-15-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-900599-33-2.
- Evening Times. 15 June 1981. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Martin Gale" (24 September 1986). "Bitter clash of Longchamp rivals". Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Thoroughbreds racing for $1,000,000 in prize money". Bonham Daily Favorite. 31 July 1981. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Greville Starkey banned". Evening Times. 15 September 1981. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "To-Agori-Mou Statistics". Equibase.com. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ISBN 1-901570-15-0.
- ^ "Answer Do Statistics". Equibase.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "To-Agori-Mou sales results". equineline.com. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ Staff (15 November 1990). "To-Agori-Mou and the 2000". Evening Herald (Dublin).