Rhythm (horse)
Encyclopedia
Rhythm was an American
Champion
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. Regally bred in Kentucky
, he was out of the Grade I
winning mare
Dance Number who was a daughter of the Champion British and American sire
and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
inductee, Northern Dancer
. Rhythm's father was a North American Champion sire
, the influential Mr. Prospector
, himself a son of the important sire, Raise a Native
.
Owned, bred, and raced by Ogden Mills Phipps
of the famous horse-racing Phipps family
, Rhythm was trained by future Hall of Famer, Shug McGaughey. The colt started five times in 1989, finishing his two-year-old campaign with a record of 3-1-1. His one second-place finish was to stablemate Adjudicating in the Grade I Champagne Stakes. In the most important race of the year for his age group, jockey Craig Perret
rode Rhythm to a two-length victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile
in a year when it was held at Florida's
Gulfstream Park
. The colt's performances earned him 1989 U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt honors.
In 1990, three-year-old Rhythm made ten starts, winning three times. An increasingly difficult temperament combined with a throat problem that necessitated surgery
resulted in the colt's handlers having to skip the U.S. Triple Crown series. By mid summer, Rhythm was getting back in shape and ran second in the Dwyer Stakes
and third in both the Woodward Stakes
and in the Haskell Invitational Handicap
before scoring his most important victory of the year in the prestigious Grade I Travers Stakes
.
Retired from racing after five winless starts in 1991, Rhythm was sold for US$5.5 million to Japan
ese breeders. He entered stud
in 1992 at Arrow Stud at Hokkaidō
from where he would be shuttled to breeders in New Zealand
and Australia
before returning to the United States in 1997 to stand at Ashford Stud
near Versailles, Kentucky
. In 2000, Rhythm was sent to Diamond F Ranch in Grass Valley, California
where on September 4, 2007 he is reported to have fractured a leg in a paddock accident and had to be euthanized
.
As a stallion
, Rhythm sired 24 stakes winners. His most successful progeny were in New Zealand and Australia where he was the sire of three Southern Hemisphere
champions including the outstanding filly Ethereal
whose four Group One
wins included three of the most important staying races in Australian racing: the Caulfield Cup
, the Melbourne Cup
and The BMW Stakes.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Champion
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
Thoroughbred
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
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. Regally bred in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, he was out of the 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...
winning mare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
Dance Number who was a daughter of the Champion British and American sire
Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
The list below shows the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1751. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season.----- References :* -See also:...
and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
inductee, Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....
. Rhythm's father was a North American Champion sire
Leading sire in North America
The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...
, the influential Mr. Prospector
Mr. Prospector
Mr. Prospector was a thoroughbred racehorse foaled in Kentucky, whose descendants have been dominant in the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. He won half of his 14 career races.-Background:...
, himself a son of the important sire, Raise a Native
Raise a Native
Raise a Native was an undefeated Thoroughbred racehorse that was named 1963 champion two-year-old colt in the Turf and Sport Digest poll. He sired 74 stakes winners, including Majestic Prince and Alydar...
.
Owned, bred, and raced by Ogden Mills Phipps
Ogden Mills Phipps
Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps is a retired American financier and prominent Thoroughbred racehorse industry executive and a Thoroughbred owner/breeder...
of the famous horse-racing Phipps family
Phipps family
The Henry Phipps family of the United States was founded by Henry Phipps, Jr., the son of an English shoemaker who emigrated in the early part of the 19th century to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before settling in Pittsburgh. When a child, Henry Phipps was a friend and neighbor to Andrew Carnegie...
, Rhythm was trained by future Hall of Famer, Shug McGaughey. The colt started five times in 1989, finishing his two-year-old campaign with a record of 3-1-1. His one second-place finish was to stablemate Adjudicating in the Grade I Champagne Stakes. In the most important race of the year for his age group, jockey Craig Perret
Craig Perret
Craig Perret is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding horses at age five and by seven was riding quarter horses in match races...
rode Rhythm to a two-length victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile
Breeders' Cup Juvenile
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....
in a year when it was held at Florida's
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Gulfstream Park
Gulfstream Park
Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans December through April, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America....
. The colt's performances earned him 1989 U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt honors.
In 1990, three-year-old Rhythm made ten starts, winning three times. An increasingly difficult temperament combined with a throat problem that necessitated surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
resulted in the colt's handlers having to skip the U.S. Triple Crown series. By mid summer, Rhythm was getting back in shape and ran second in the Dwyer Stakes
Dwyer Stakes
The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade II stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over a distance of 1 1/16-miles on dirt...
and third in both the Woodward Stakes
Woodward Stakes
The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. Named for prominent racehorse owner, George Nicholas Woodward, it is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt for a purse of $750,000.The Woodward was run as a handicap in...
and in the Haskell Invitational Handicap
Haskell Invitational Handicap
The Resorts Casino & Hotel Haskell Invitational is an American Grade I race for thoroughbred horses. In 1968, the Board of Directors of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey honored its former President and Chairman Amory L. Haskell with the Amory L. Haskell Handicap, a race for older...
before scoring his most important victory of the year in the prestigious Grade I Travers Stakes
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...
.
Retired from racing after five winless starts in 1991, Rhythm was sold for US$5.5 million to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese breeders. He entered stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
in 1992 at Arrow Stud at Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
from where he would be shuttled to breeders in New Zealand
New Zealand
New 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...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
before returning to the United States in 1997 to stand at Ashford Stud
Ashford Stud
Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky is the American arm of the international commercial Thoroughbred horse breeding operation Coolmore Stud of County Tipperary in the Republic of Ireland.Twelve stallions will stand at Ashford Stud in 2011....
near Versailles, Kentucky
Versailles, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...
. In 2000, Rhythm was sent to Diamond F Ranch in Grass Valley, California
Grass Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Grass Valley had a population of 12,860. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Grass Valley was 11,493 White, 46 African American, 208 Native American, 188 Asian, 9 Pacific Islander, 419 from other...
where on September 4, 2007 he is reported to have fractured a leg in a paddock accident and had to be euthanized
Animal euthanasia
Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...
.
As a stallion
Stallion (horse)
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded .Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to...
, Rhythm sired 24 stakes winners. His most successful progeny were in New Zealand and Australia where he was the sire of three Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
champions including the outstanding filly Ethereal
Ethereal (horse)
Ethereal is a New Zealand Thoroughbred mare who was a very successful racehorse. She was owned and bred by brothers, Peter and Phillip Vela who own Pencarrow Stud and New Zealand Bloodstock. Ethereal was sired by the 1989 U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt and Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, Rhythm . Her...
whose four Group One
Group One
Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...
wins included three of the most important staying races in Australian racing: the Caulfield Cup
Caulfield Cup
The 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...
, the Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
and The BMW Stakes.