Mozart (horse)
Encyclopedia
Mozart was an Irish champion Thoroughbred
racehorse and sire. He was named European Champion Sprinter as a three-year-old in 2001, when his victories included two Group One
races in England, the July Cup
and the Nunthorpe Stakes
. He was retired to stud but died as a four-year-old in May 2002 after siring one crop of foals.
Newgate Stud. His sire Danehill
was one of the most successful stallions of his era, producing the winners of more than a thousand races including one hundred and fiftty-six at Group One
/Grade I
level. Among the best of his offspring have been Dylan Thomas
, Rock of Gibraltar
George Washington
, Duke of Marmalade
and North Light
. Mozart’s dam, Victoria Cross was an unraced daughter of the highly successful broodmare Glowing Tribute, making her a half sister of numerous winners including the Kentucky Derby
winner Sea Hero
.
Mozart was sent as a yearling to the Tattersalls
Houghton Sale in September 1999 where he was bought for 340,000gns
by the bloodstock agent Dermot “Demi” O’Byrne on behalf of John Magnier
and the Coolmore
organisation.
Mozart was sent into training with Aidan O'Brien
at Ballydoyle
and was ridden in eight of his ten races by Michael Kinane
.
in July, when he started at odds of 2/9 for a seven furlong
maiden race. Ridden by Seamus Heffernan he moved into the lead at half way and soon went clear, winning easily by eight lengths from Speirbhean, a filly who went on to win a Group Three
race and became the dam of Teofilo
. Mozart was then sent to England for Europe's most valuable two-year-olds contest, the £400000 Tattersalls Houghton Sales Stakes at Newmarket
, a race restricted to two-year-old sold at the previous year's Houghton sale. Mozart started the 11/10 favourite in a field of twenty-six and justified his position by taking the lead inside the final furlong and winning by a length from the previously unbeaten Norwegian-trained filly Pretty Girl. After the race his joint-owner Sue Magnier called him "a very smart horse" who would "definitely stay a mile" and the bookmakers offered him at odds of 20/1 for the following year's 2000 Guineas.
On his third and final start of the year Mozart returned to Newmarket for the Group One
Dewhurst Stakes, for which he started 11/4 second favourite. The colt failed to settle and raced prominently to dispute the lead two furlongs out but weakened in the closing stages to finish fourth of the ten runners, beaten just under two lengths behind Tobougg
.
in April, but finished third after leading in the early stages. Mozart was reported to be working "exceptionally well" at home but a second successive odds-on defeat followed three weeks later. In the Group Three Tetrarch Stakes
at the Curragh, he started at 2/5 and finished third to his stablemate Modigliani in a three way photo-finish. Mozart's reputation had fallen by the time of the running of the Irish 2000 Guineas
at the end of May and he started at odds of 20/1. The fact that Kinane chose to ride his stable companion Minardi suggested that Mozart was not expected to win and could be being used as a pacemaker. He was sent into the lead by Seamus Heffernan and opened up a clear lead before being caught inside the final furlong and beaten by another Ballydoyle colt, Black Minnaloushe, with Minardi third.
At Royal Ascot in June Mozart recorded his first Group race win in the Jersey Stakes
. Kinane sent him into the lead from the start and he ran on strongly in the closing stages to hold off the sustained challenge of Aldebaran by a neck. After the race O'Brien praised the colt and said that "the plan has always been to go back to sprinting."
From this point on Mozart was campaigned over sprint distances and had his two most important successes, beginning with the July Cup
at Newmarket. Before the race he narrowly missed being kicked in the head by another runner in the paddock and then almost ran away with Kinane when being ridden down to the start. Once the race began however, he was never in any danger as he led from the start before going clear inside the final furlong to win by three and a half lengths from the mare Cassandra Go The Racing Post
called him a "flying machine" and compared his performance favourably with that of Stravinsky
in 1999. The Telegraph described it as "one of the finest sprinting performances in the modern era" and reported that the colt was being "hailed as the new Dayjur
."
A month later he moved down to the minimum distance of five furlongs (1000m) for the first time for the Nunthorpe Stakes
at York
. Mozart stumbled as the stalls opened causing his saddle to slip back over his hindquarters and making it impossible for Kinane to ride a normal race. Despite this handicap, Mozart was prominent throughout the race and moved into the lead two furlongs out. He ran on strongly in the closing stages to beat the reigning Champion Sprinter Nuclear Debate
by two lengths. O'Brien called it an "amazing performance" and praised Kinane, saying that the slipped saddle must have made the experience "like riding a camel."
Mozart was off the course for more than two months, bypassing the usual sprinters' targets such as the Haydock Sprint Cup
, before being sent to the United States
for the Breeders' Cup Sprint
at Belmont Park
for which he was reportedly well-fancied. Racing on dirt for the first time, Mozart started slowly and was never in contention, finishing eleventh of the fourteen runners behind Squirtle Squirt
.
In the 2001 Cartier Racing Awards he was named European Champion Sprinter.
. On 11 May 2002 the colt fell ill, and "acute non-responsive colitis
" was diagnosed. He received intensive veterinary treatment but his condition worsened and he died the following morning. His only crop of foals produced more than fifty runners who won over a hundred races. His most notable progeny were Amadeus Wolf (Middle Park Stakes
), Dandy Man (Palace House Stakes
) and Rebellion (Commonwealth Stakes). His stud fee at the time of his death was IR£
30,000
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse and sire. He was named European Champion Sprinter as a three-year-old in 2001, when his victories included two Group One
Conditions races
Conditions 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...
races in England, the July Cup
July Cup
The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July....
and the Nunthorpe Stakes
Nunthorpe Stakes
The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August....
. He was retired to stud but died as a four-year-old in May 2002 after siring one crop of foals.
Background
Mozart was bred in Ireland by Fahd Salman'sFahd bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Prince Fahd bin Salman bin Abdulaziz was a member of the Saudi Arabia royal family, the son of the Governor of Riyadh Province, Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz....
Newgate Stud. His sire Danehill
Danehill (horse)
Danehill was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was bred in the United States. During his phenomenal stud career Danehill became a champion sire on both sides of the Equator...
was one of the most successful stallions of his era, producing the winners of more than a thousand races including one hundred and fiftty-six at Group One
Conditions races
Conditions 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...
/Grade I
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
level. Among the best of his offspring have been 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...
, 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...
George Washington
George Washington (horse)
George Washington was a thoroughbred racehorse foaled in Ireland by champion sire Danehill out of Bordighera, also the dam of the high class colt Grandera. Bred by Roy and Gretchen Jackson, he was trained at Ballydoyle by Aidan O'Brien and owned by Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith...
, Duke of Marmalade
Duke of Marmalade
Duke of Marmalade is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He is best known for winning five consecutive Group One races in 2008, for which he was named European Champion Older Horse...
and North Light
North Light
North Light is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse, and active sire, bred in Ireland but trained in the United Kingdom. He is best known as the winner of the Epsom Derby in 2004. He currently stands at the Adena Springs Stud in Aurora, Ontario, Canada.-Background:North Light was bred in Ireland by...
. Mozart’s dam, Victoria Cross was an unraced daughter of the highly successful broodmare Glowing Tribute, making her a half sister of numerous winners including the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
winner Sea Hero
Sea Hero
Sea Hero is an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He won the 1993 Kentucky Derby as an almost 13:1 longshot. It marked the first Derby win for jockey Jerry Bailey and for 71-year-old trainer MacKenzie Miller...
.
Mozart was sent as a yearling to the Tattersalls
Tattersalls
Tattersalls is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall , who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. The first premises occupied were near Hyde Park Corner, in what was then the outskirts of London...
Houghton Sale in September 1999 where he was bought for 340,000gns
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
by the bloodstock agent Dermot “Demi” O’Byrne on behalf of John Magnier
John Magnier
John Magnier is Ireland's leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside of the horse breeding industry....
and the Coolmore
Coolmore Stud
Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, South Tipperary in Ireland, is the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. It was established in 1975....
organisation.
Mozart was sent into training with 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....
at Ballydoyle
Ballydoyle
Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud, and both are owned by John Magnier...
and was ridden in eight of his ten races by Michael Kinane
Michael Kinane
Michael J. Kinane is a former flat racing jockey. He had a 34-year career, retiring on 8 December 2009....
.
2000: two-year-old season
Mozart made his first appearance at the CurraghCurragh Racecourse
The Curragh Racecourse, usually abbreviated to The Curragh, is Ireland's most important Thoroughbred race track. It is situated on the Curragh plain near Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland.- History :...
in July, when he started at odds of 2/9 for a seven furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
maiden race. Ridden by Seamus Heffernan he moved into the lead at half way and soon went clear, winning easily by eight lengths from Speirbhean, a filly who went on to win a Group Three
Conditions races
Conditions 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...
race and became the dam of Teofilo
Teofilo (horse)
Teofilo is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active stallion who was bred and trained in Ireland. He is best known for being the European Champion Two-Year-Old of 2006, and retiring undefeated after five starts. He won two Group One races: the National Stakes in Ireland and the Dewhurst Stakes...
. Mozart was then sent to England for Europe's most valuable two-year-olds contest, the £400000 Tattersalls Houghton Sales Stakes at Newmarket
Newmarket Racecourse
The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...
, a race restricted to two-year-old sold at the previous year's Houghton sale. Mozart started the 11/10 favourite in a field of twenty-six and justified his position by taking the lead inside the final furlong and winning by a length from the previously unbeaten Norwegian-trained filly Pretty Girl. After the race his joint-owner Sue Magnier called him "a very smart horse" who would "definitely stay a mile" and the bookmakers offered him at odds of 20/1 for the following year's 2000 Guineas.
On his third and final start of the year Mozart returned to Newmarket for the Group One
Conditions races
Conditions 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...
Dewhurst Stakes, for which he started 11/4 second favourite. The colt failed to settle and raced prominently to dispute the lead two furlongs out but weakened in the closing stages to finish fourth of the ten runners, beaten just under two lengths behind Tobougg
Tobougg
Tobougg is a retired thoroughbred racehorse and active sire, who was bred in Ireland, but trained in England and Dubai during a racing career which lasted from 2000 to 2002. He was named European Champion Two-Year-Old Colt for 2000 at the Cartier Racing Awards...
.
2001: three-year-old season
Mozart disappointed on his first start of 2001, when he started 1/4 favourite for the 2000 Guineas Trial at LeopardstownLeopardstown Racecourse
Leopardstown 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...
in April, but finished third after leading in the early stages. Mozart was reported to be working "exceptionally well" at home but a second successive odds-on defeat followed three weeks later. In the Group Three Tetrarch Stakes
Tetrarch Stakes
The Tetrarch Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early May....
at the Curragh, he started at 2/5 and finished third to his stablemate Modigliani in a three way photo-finish. Mozart's reputation had fallen by the time of the running of the Irish 2000 Guineas
Irish 2000 Guineas
The Irish 2,000 Guineas 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 it is scheduled to take place each year in May.-History:...
at the end of May and he started at odds of 20/1. The fact that Kinane chose to ride his stable companion Minardi suggested that Mozart was not expected to win and could be being used as a pacemaker. He was sent into the lead by Seamus Heffernan and opened up a clear lead before being caught inside the final furlong and beaten by another Ballydoyle colt, Black Minnaloushe, with Minardi third.
At Royal Ascot in June Mozart recorded his first Group race win in the Jersey Stakes
Jersey Stakes
The Jersey Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
. Kinane sent him into the lead from the start and he ran on strongly in the closing stages to hold off the sustained challenge of Aldebaran by a neck. After the race O'Brien praised the colt and said that "the plan has always been to go back to sprinting."
From this point on Mozart was campaigned over sprint distances and had his two most important successes, beginning with the July Cup
July Cup
The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July....
at Newmarket. Before the race he narrowly missed being kicked in the head by another runner in the paddock and then almost ran away with Kinane when being ridden down to the start. Once the race began however, he was never in any danger as he led from the start before going clear inside the final furlong to win by three and a half lengths from the mare Cassandra Go The Racing Post
Racing Post
The Racing Post is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting newspaper, appearing in print form and online.From 30 May 2011 - 3 July 2011 it had a circulation of 56,507.-History:...
called him a "flying machine" and compared his performance favourably with that of Stravinsky
Stravinsky (horse)
Stravinsky-Background:Stravinsky is a powerfully built bay horse standing 15.3 hands high, with a white star and a white sock on his near foreleg. He was sired by the disqualified 2000 Guineas winner Nureyev out of the mare Fire The Groom...
in 1999. The Telegraph described it as "one of the finest sprinting performances in the modern era" and reported that the colt was being "hailed as the new Dayjur
Dayjur
Dayjur was an American-bred racehorse who was trained by Dick Hern in the United Kingdom. He was beaten only four times out of eleven starts and of those, one was because he did not stay the trip, and another in the most freakish circumstances...
."
A month later he moved down to the minimum distance of five furlongs (1000m) for the first time for the Nunthorpe Stakes
Nunthorpe Stakes
The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August....
at York
York Racecourse
York Racecourse is a horse racing track in the southwest of the city of York in North Yorkshire, England with a spectator capacity of 60,000. The most famous race to be held at York on an annual basis is the Ebor Handicap, which is run during the Ebor Festival meeting in August...
. Mozart stumbled as the stalls opened causing his saddle to slip back over his hindquarters and making it impossible for Kinane to ride a normal race. Despite this handicap, Mozart was prominent throughout the race and moved into the lead two furlongs out. He ran on strongly in the closing stages to beat the reigning Champion Sprinter Nuclear Debate
Nuclear debate
The nuclear debate can refer to:*Nuclear power debate*Nuclear weapons debate*Uranium mining debate...
by two lengths. O'Brien called it an "amazing performance" and praised Kinane, saying that the slipped saddle must have made the experience "like riding a camel."
Mozart was off the course for more than two months, bypassing the usual sprinters' targets such as the Haydock Sprint Cup
Haydock Sprint Cup
The Sprint Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early September....
, before being sent to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for the Breeders' Cup Sprint
Breeders' Cup Sprint
The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs , the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World...
at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
for which he was reportedly well-fancied. Racing on dirt for the first time, Mozart started slowly and was never in contention, finishing eleventh of the fourteen runners behind Squirtle Squirt
Squirtle Squirt
Squirtle Squirt is an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was out of the mare Lost The Code, by the multiple Grade I winner, Lost Code. He was sired by the 1991 Hollywood Gold Cup winner Marquetry who also sired the 1999 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner, Artax...
.
Assessment
As a two-year-old, Mozart was given a rating of 115 by the International Classification, making him the fourteenth best colt of his generation, eight pounds behind his stable companion Minardi. In 2001 his rating of 125 was the second highest for a European three-year-old colt and the highest for any European sprinter by a margin of six pounds.In the 2001 Cartier Racing Awards he was named European Champion Sprinter.
Stud career
Mozart was retired to stand as a stallion at his owners’ Coolmore StudCoolmore Stud
Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, South Tipperary in Ireland, is the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. It was established in 1975....
. On 11 May 2002 the colt fell ill, and "acute non-responsive colitis
Colitis
In medicine, colitis refers to an inflammation of the colon and is often used to describe an inflammation of the large intestine .Colitides may be acute and self-limited or chronic, i.e...
" was diagnosed. He received intensive veterinary treatment but his condition worsened and he died the following morning. His only crop of foals produced more than fifty runners who won over a hundred races. His most notable progeny were Amadeus Wolf (Middle Park Stakes
Middle Park Stakes
The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September or early October.The event was established...
), Dandy Man (Palace House Stakes
Palace House Stakes
The Palace House Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 5 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late April or early May.The event is named after...
) and Rebellion (Commonwealth Stakes). His stud fee at the time of his death was IR£
Irish pound
The Irish pound was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the usual notation was the prefix £...
30,000
Pedigree
- Mozart’s pedigree contains a large amount of inbreedingInbreedingInbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
. He is inbred 4x4 to the stallion RibotRibot (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...
and to the mares NatalmaNatalmaNatalma was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the Blue Hen Dam of the most important sire, and sire of sires, of the 20th Century, Northern Dancer. Bred in Virginia, she was purchased by Canadian business mogul E. P...
and Flower BowlFlower BowlFlower Bowl was an American Thoroughbred Filly racehorse and an outstanding broodmare. Bred and raced by Isabel Dodge Sloane's Brookmeade Stable, she was out of the mare Flower Bed and sired by the unraced British stallion Alibhai, who became a significant sire in the United States of other good...
. This means that each of these horses appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.