European Horse of the Year

Honorees

Year	Horse	C Country A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...	Age	Trainer	Owner
2010	Goldikova Goldikova Goldikova is a champion Thoroughbred racemare based in France, although she has raced in North America and England. She has won fourteen group one races, with nine victories over colts and geldings. This puts her above the great Miesque as the only European-trained horse to have won more than 10...	Early Modern France	5	Freddy Head Freddy Head Freddy Head is a retired champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing and currently a horse trainer. Known also as "Freddie", his grandfather was a jockey as was his father Alec Head who also became a successful trainer and owner of Haras du Quesnay near Deauville...	Wertheimer et Frère Wertheimer et Frère Wertheimer et Frère is a Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding business partnership between brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer of France.The Wertheimer brothers are the owners of the House of Chanel in Paris...
2009	Sea the Stars Sea the Stars Sea The Stars is a champion Irish Thoroughbred colt racehorse. Regarded by many as one of the greatest racehorses of all time, he is best known for winning the 2,000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby, the Eclipse Stakes, - the first colt to accomplish this treble since 1989 champion Nashwan - the...	Republic of Ireland	3	John Oxx John Oxx John M. Oxx is a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. His stables are located on "The Curragh" of Kildare, the stables are named Currabeg Stables. His father, John Oxx Sr., was also a very successful trainer who won eight Irish classics and it was the younger Oxx's ambition to follow in his...	Christopher Tsui Christopher Tsui Christopher Tsui is a businessman and a Champion Thoroughbred racehorse owner. Educated in Paris and London, he graduated in 2008 from Cass Business School with a Masters in Management. He is also an accomplished professional golfer who qualified to play on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour...
2008	Zarkava Zarkava Zarkava is an undefeated French Thoroughbred racehorse whose wins included the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.Bred and raced by HH Aga Khan IV, she was sired by Group II winner Zamindar who also sired the multiple Group One winner, Darjina...	Early Modern France	3	Alain de Royer-Dupre Alain de Royer-Dupré Alain de Royer-Dupré is a leading French thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He grew up at the Haras de Saint Lô, a national stud farm in Normandy of which his father was Assistant Director and later Director, responsible for government-owned stallions based at farms in the local...	HH Aga Khan IV Aga Khan IV Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...
2007	Dylan Thomas Dylan Thomas (horse) Dylan Thomas is a Thoroughbred racehorse. He was trained in Ireland by Aidan O'Brien and owned by Sue Magnier and Michael Tabor. He was sired by Danehill out of Lagrion, a daughter of Diesis...	Republic of Ireland	4	Aidan O'Brien Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien is an Irish horse racing trainer. Since 1996, he has been the private trainer at Ballydoyle Stables near Cashel in County Tipperary for John Magnier and his Coolmore Stud associates....	Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor Michael Tabor Michael B. Tabor is a businessman and owner of Thoroughbred racehorses.-Thoroughbred racing career:...
2006	Ouija Board		5	Ed Dunlop	Lord Derby Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby Edward Richard William Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby is a British peer. He is known for ownership of the racehorse Ouija Board and for his controversial plans to build houses and an industrial estate on of greenfield land he inherited in Newmarket, Suffolk...
2005	Hurricane Run Hurricane Run Hurricane Run is a world champion thoroughbred racehorse.-Background:Hurricane Run was trained by André Fabre, and ridden in most of his races by jockey Kieren Fallon for owner Michael Tabor....	Early Modern France	3	André Fabre André Fabre André Fabre is a French thoroughbred horse racing trainer.The son of a diplomat, Fabre graduated from university with a law degree but then decided to pursue a career in thoroughbred horse racing. He began by working in the stables as a groom then as a schooling rider...	Michael Tabor Michael Tabor Michael B. Tabor is a businessman and owner of Thoroughbred racehorses.-Thoroughbred racing career:...
2004	Ouija Board		3	Ed Dunlop	Lord Derby Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby Edward Richard William Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby is a British peer. He is known for ownership of the racehorse Ouija Board and for his controversial plans to build houses and an industrial estate on of greenfield land he inherited in Newmarket, Suffolk...
2003	Dalakhani Dalakhani Dalakhani is a thoroughbred race horse owned and bred by Aga Khan IV and trained by Alain de Royer-Dupré. He was sired by Darshaan covering Daltawa and is therefore half-brother to Daylami....	Early Modern France	3	Alain de Royer-Dupre Alain de Royer-Dupré Alain de Royer-Dupré is a leading French thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He grew up at the Haras de Saint Lô, a national stud farm in Normandy of which his father was Assistant Director and later Director, responsible for government-owned stallions based at farms in the local...	HH Aga Khan IV Aga Khan IV Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...
2002	Rock of Gibraltar Rock of Gibraltar (horse) Rock of Gibraltar is a Champion racehorse and stallion owned by Coolmore, for whom he currently stands in Ireland and Australia .He is named after the Rock of Gibraltar, a monolithic limestone promontory located in Gibraltar on...	Republic of Ireland	3	Aidan O'Brien Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien is an Irish horse racing trainer. Since 1996, he has been the private trainer at Ballydoyle Stables near Cashel in County Tipperary for John Magnier and his Coolmore Stud associates....	Sue Magnier & Alex Ferguson Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
2001	Fantastic Light Fantastic Light Fantastic Light is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He was foaled in the United States but was trained in England and Dubai during his racing career, which ran from August 1998 to his retirement following the Breeders' Cup Turf on October 2001...	United States	5	Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor , is a horse racing trainer. Formerly a policeman, he took out his training license in 1994 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation....	Godolphin Stables
2000	Giant's Causeway Giant's Causeway (horse) Giant's Causeway is a Kentucky-bred thoroughbred racehorse who competed primarily in Europe. In 2000, he won five straight Group One races. His performance that year earned him European Horse of the Year honors....	United States	3	Aidan O'Brien Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien is an Irish horse racing trainer. Since 1996, he has been the private trainer at Ballydoyle Stables near Cashel in County Tipperary for John Magnier and his Coolmore Stud associates....	Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor Michael Tabor Michael B. Tabor is a businessman and owner of Thoroughbred racehorses.-Thoroughbred racing career:...
1999	Daylami Daylami Daylami is a retired Thoroughbred Champion racehorse and active sire who was bred in Ireland, but trained in France, Dubai and the United Kingdom. In a career which lasted from 1996 and 1999, he raced in five different countries and won seven Group 1/Grade I races...		5	Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor , is a horse racing trainer. Formerly a policeman, he took out his training license in 1994 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation....	Godolphin Stables
1998	Dream Well	Early Modern France	3	Pascal Bary Pascal Bary Pascal Bary is a French racehorse trainer.He has been training since 1981, having previously worked as an assistant to François Boutin...	Niarchos family Stavros Niarchos Stavros Spyros Niarchos was a Greek shipping tycoon, sometimes known as "The Golden Greek." In 1952, Stavros Niarchos built the first supertankers capable of transporting large quantities of oil, and subsequently earned millions of dollars as global demand for his ships increased.- Early life :He...
1997	Peintre Celebre Peintre Celebre Peintre Celebre, , is a champion thoroughbred racehorse.Bred and owned by Daniel Wildenstein , the renowned French art dealer and highly successful horseman, Peintre Celebre came from a line of outstanding thoroughbreds. He was a son of Nureyev, France's champion miler in 1980, who was in turn the...	Early Modern France	3	André Fabre André Fabre André Fabre is a French thoroughbred horse racing trainer.The son of a diplomat, Fabre graduated from university with a law degree but then decided to pursue a career in thoroughbred horse racing. He began by working in the stables as a groom then as a schooling rider...	Daniel Wildenstein Daniel Wildenstein Daniel Leopold Wildenstein was a French art dealer and scholar, as well as a leading thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder....
1996	Helissio Helissio Helissio is a Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Fairy King and a grandson of Northern Dancer. Owned by the Spanish businessman Enrique Sarasola, he was voted the European Horse of the Year for 1996...	Early Modern France	3	Elie Lellouche Elie Lellouche Elie Lellouche is a French trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses and jockeys.After having modest success as a jockey, in 1979 Lellouche obtained his horse trainer's license...	Enrique Sarasola Enrique Sarasola Enrique Sarasola was a Spanish industrialist, a major figure in his country's transition to democracy, and an owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses....
1995	Ridgewood Pearl Ridgewood Pearl Ridgewood Pearl was an Irish-based Thoroughbred racehorse who in 1995 won four Group/Grade 1 races in four different countries including over male horses in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York....	Republic of Ireland	3	John Oxx John Oxx John M. Oxx is a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. His stables are located on "The Curragh" of Kildare, the stables are named Currabeg Stables. His father, John Oxx Sr., was also a very successful trainer who won eight Irish classics and it was the younger Oxx's ambition to follow in his...	Anne Coughlan
1994	Barathea Barathea (horse) Barathea was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse, best known for winning the 1994 Breeders' Cup Mile at Churchill Downs. He went on to become a successful stallion.-Background:...		4	Luca Cumani Luca Cumani Luca M. Cumani is an Italian thoroughbred horse trainer. He has trained at Bedford House Stables in Newmarket, England since 1976...	Sheikh Mohammed Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:...  & Gerald Leigh
1993	Lochsong Lochsong Lochsong is a bay Thoroughbred filly who twice won the Cartier Award as Top European Sprinter and was voted 1993 European Horse of the Year....		5	Ian Balding Ian Balding Ian Balding emigrated with his family to England in 1945. He is the son of the polo player and racehorse trainer Gerald Barnard Balding, Sr. and the younger brother of trainer Toby Balding. Kingsclere became his home at the age of 26 and it is here that earned his reputation as an internationally...	Jeff C. Smith
1992	User Friendly User Friendly (horse) User Friendly is a European Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.-Background:Bred by Stetchworth Park Stud Ltd...		3	Clive Brittain Clive Brittain Clive Brittain is a British race-horse trainer. He began training as an apprentice in 1949, and on his own as a licensed trainer in the early 1970s. He currently trains at Carlburg Stables in Newmarket, Suffolk...	William J. Gredley
1991	Arazi	United States	2	Francois Boutin François Boutin François Boutin was a French Thoroughbred horse trainer. The son of a farmer, he was born in the village of Beaunay in the northerly Seine Maritime département. He began riding horses at a young age and competed in show jumping and cross-country equestrianism...	Allen Paulson Allen E. Paulson Allen Eugene Paulson was an American aviation entrepreneur, philanthropist, thoroughbred racehorse breeder and owner, and a self-made multi-millionaire.-Business career in aviation:Born in Clinton, Iowa, Allen E...  & Sheikh Mohammed Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:...

Previous honorees

• 1986 : Dancing Brave
  Dancing Brave
  Dancing Brave was a thoroughbred racehorse, foaled in 1983, a bay colt sired by Lyphard out of Navajo Princess. He was purchased as a yearling by Khalid Abdullah for US$200,000 in Kentucky....
  
  
• 1981 : Shergar
  Shergar
  Shergar was an acclaimed Irish racehorse, and winner of the 1981 Epsom Derby by a record 10 lengths, the longest winning margin in the race's 226-year history. This victory earned him a spot in The Observer newspaper's 100 Most Memorable Sporting Moments of the Twentieth Century...
  
  
• 1980 : Moorestyle
• 1977 : Alleged
  Alleged (horse)
  Alleged was a champion American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best remembered as winning back-to-back Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes in 1977 and 1978. Trained by Vincent O'Brien in Ireland and ridden by Lester Piggott, this front-running horse was undefeated in all but one of his appearances, that being...
  
  
• 1975 : Star Appeal
  Star Appeal
  Star Appeal was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred who became the only German-trained racehorse ever to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He was initially raced in Ireland, where his first trainer was John Oxx. He then moved to Germany where he achieved success with his third trainer, Theo Grieper.Star...
  
  
• 1972 : Brigadier Gerard
• 1971 : Mill Reef
  Mill Reef
  Mill Reef was a Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was bred in the United States but was trained in the United Kingdom throughout his racing career which lasted from 1970 to 1972. Mill Reef won twelve of his fourteen races and finished second in the other two...
  
  
• 1970 : Nijinsky
  Nijinsky II
  The racehorse Nijinsky was one of the greatest horses in Thoroughbred horse-racing history. He won the U.K. Triple Crown of racing. Retired to stud he became the Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland and the Leading broodmare sire in North America.He was bred at E. P...
  
  
• 1965 : Sea Bird II
  Sea Bird II
  Sea Bird II is considered by many to be the greatest post-war European flat racehorse. His Timeform rating of 145 is still the highest ever flat figure awarded by that publication. Sea Bird II is most famous for his breathtaking victories in two of Europe's most prestigious races: the Epsom Derby...
  
  
• 1958 : Ballymoss
  Ballymoss
  Ballymoss was an Irish Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. The son of Mossborough, his grandsire was the extremely important Nearco. Out of the mare Indian call, the damsire of Ballymoss was Singapore whose sire was the 1918 U.K. Triple Crown winner Gainsborough.Ballymoss was sold by his breeder at...
  
  
• 1956 : Ribot
  Ribot (horse)
  Ribot was an Italian bay Thoroughbred racehorse, considered the strongest horse of all time.Undefeated in 16 races, he won over distances ranging from 5 furlongs to 1m 7f , in three different countries and in all types of track conditions...
  
  
• 1955 : Ribot
  Ribot (horse)
  Ribot was an Italian bay Thoroughbred racehorse, considered the strongest horse of all time.Undefeated in 16 races, he won over distances ranging from 5 furlongs to 1m 7f , in three different countries and in all types of track conditions...