High Chaparral is a racehorse, winner of the
Epsom DerbyThe Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
in 2002, and the winner of the
Breeders' Cup TurfThe Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...
in 2002 and 2003 (dead-heating in the latter).
2001: Two-year-old season
High Chaparral failed to make a winning debut, beaten by a short-head in a maiden at
PunchestownPunchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is home of the National Hunt Festival of Ireland....
. He went on to win twice as a two year old, including the
Group 1Conditions races are horse races where the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to; the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the age of the runners, with younger horses receiving...
Racing Post TrophyThe Racing Post Trophy is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October....
at
DoncasterDoncaster Racecourse is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 31 Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy.- History :...
.
2002: Three-year-old season
After winning a couple of prominent
Derby trialsTrial races for the Epsom Derby are horse races during April and May which are contested by three-year-olds likely to run in the Epsom Derby in early June....
the following season, he was set on course for the
2002 Epsom DerbyThe 2002 Epsom Derby was a horse race which took place at Epsom Downs on Saturday June 8, 2002. It was the 223rd running of the Derby, and it was won by High Chaparral. The winner was ridden by Johnny Murtagh and trained by Aidan O'Brien...
, where he would take on stablemate
Hawk WingHawk Wing is a Thoroughbred racehorse trained by Aidan O'Brien.-2001: Two-year-old career:He was the top two-year old of 2001 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, by virtue of a two and a half length win in the National Stakes. He was not undefeated at two, however, having earlier finished second in...
, an unlucky second in the 2,000 Guineas, and Bandari, who had won the
Lingfield Derby TrialThe Lingfield Derby Trial is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Lingfield Park over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 106 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May.The event was established in 1932, and...
by over ten lengths. The race proved to be of the two-horse variety, with the O'Brien pair fighting it out, and High Chaparral proving Hawk Wing's better by a couple of lengths. The two were twelve lengths clear of the rest of the starters.
High Chaparral went on to win the
Irish DerbyThe Irish Derby is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July.It is Ireland's equivalent of the Epsom Derby,...
, and came back from a disappointing third place in the
Prix de l'Arc de TriompheThe Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...
by winning the
Breeders' Cup TurfThe Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...
.
2003: Four-year-old season
Contrary to the trend of retiring three year old champions, High Chaparral was kept in training at four, winning the
Irish Champion StakesThe Irish Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.-History:The event was established in 1976, and...
from
FalbravFalbrav is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire, bred in Ireland but trained in Italy and the United Kingdom during his racing career which ran from 2000 to 2004...
at
LeopardstownLeopardstown Racecourse is an Irish horse-racing venue. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Located in Leopardstown, County Dublin, 8km south of the Dublin city centre. The course was built by Captain George Quin and modeled on Sandown Park Racecourse...
, but once again failing in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Once again, however, he bounced back to win the Breeders' Cup Turf, dead-heating with Johar (
FalbravFalbrav is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire, bred in Ireland but trained in Italy and the United Kingdom during his racing career which ran from 2000 to 2004...
a close 3rd).
He was voted the
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf HorseThe American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. In 1971 it became part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to a Colt or Gelding, regardless of age, for their performance on grass race courses....
in 2002 and 2003.
Stud record
During the 2005 Northern Hemisphere winter High Chaparral was a shuttle stallion at
Windsor Park StudWindsor Park Stud is a New Zealand Thoroughbred stud farm that was established in 1998 near Cambridge, in the Waikato region of the North Island. It has a number of top quality stallions including New Zealand six times champion sire Volksraad.-External links:...
in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. In 2006 he stood at
Coolmore StudCoolmore Stud, in Fethard, South Tipperary in Ireland, is the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. It was established in 1975....
, Fethard, South Tipperary for a service fee of €25,000.
His first New Zealand crop includes the 2009 and 2010
Cox PlateThe W.S. Cox Plate is an Australian Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne every October by the Moonee Valley Racing Club to honour W.S. Cox, the club's founder. For three-year-olds and over, the race is considered to be the Weight for Age championship of Australasia...
winner,
So You ThinkSo You Think is a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse, now majority owned by Coolmore Stud of Ireland. So You Think came to prominence through winning the 2009 and 2010 Cox Plates, Australia's premier weight for age race. His second Cox Plate win came at just his tenth career start...
, the 2009
Victoria DerbyThe Victoria Derby is an Australian Thoroughbred horse race held annually on the first day of Melbourne's annual Spring Racing Carnival, Victorian Derby Day, held at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. A Group One race for three-year-old horses, it is raced on a left-handed turf course at a...
and
Spring Champion StakesThe Spring Champion Stakes is a Group 1 Australian Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at set weights. First run in 1971, it is raced over a distance of 2000 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney in October...
winner, Monaco Consul, 2010
Randwick GuineasThe Randwick Guineas is a Group One Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run at set weights over a distance of 1600 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. This race replaces the former Canterbury Guineas which was discontinued after the 2005 running...
, the Australian Derby winner Shoot Out and 2010
Caulfield CupThe Caulfield Cup, one of Australia's richest Thoroughbred horse races and the richest of its type in the world is held annually by the Melbourne Racing Club. The race is a handicap like the Melbourne Cup, which means that horses that compete in the Caulfield Cup are capable of running on the...
winner Descarado.
During the 2010 Australian stud season High Chaparral stood for AU$88,000 at Coolmore Stud near Jerrys Plains, New South Wales in Australia after Coolmore retained
MontjeuMontjeu , is a thoroughbred horse racing World Champion colt and sire of champions. Sired by Sadler's Wells from the dam Floripedes, Montjeu is a grandson of Northern Dancer....
, in Ireland.
Tabulated pedigree
External links