Theatrical is an Irish-bred

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 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...

 who won the 1987 Breeders' Cup Turf

Breeders' Cup Turf

The 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...

 and is a successful sire

Father

A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...

.

A son of Nureyev

Nureyev (horse)

Nureyev was a Kentucky-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and champion sire. As a racehorse he was best known as the disqualified "winner" of the 2000 Guineas in 1980.-Background:...

, who in turn was sired by 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"....

, out of the mare Tree Of Knowledge who won the 1974 Hollywood Gold Cup

Hollywood Gold Cup

The Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...

, Theatrical was bred by Bertram & Diana Firestone at their Gilltown Stud in Kilcullen

Kilcullen

Kilcullen , formally Kilcullen Bridge, is a small town on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Ireland. Its population of 2,985 makes it the 12th largest settlement in County Kildare and the fastest growing in the county, having doubled in population from 1,483 in the census of 2002...

, County Kildare

County Kildare

County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

.

Racing at age three on the turf

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

, under jockey Michael Kinane

Michael Kinane

Michael J. Kinane is a former flat racing jockey. He had a 34-year career, retiring on 8 December 2009....

 he won the 1985 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial

Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial

The Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May.-History:...

 and finished second in the Irish Sweeps Derby to Law Society. Late in the year he was sent to the United States to compete in the Breeders' Cup Turf

Breeders' Cup Turf

The 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...

 at Aqueduct Racetrack

Aqueduct Racetrack

Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 where he finished a very disappointing eleventh. Theatrical returned to race in the 1986 Turf and in a race where the heavily favored 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....

 finished fourth, Theatrical was beaten by a neck in finishing second to Manila

Manila (horse)

Manila is an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame Champion racehorse. He was sired by Northern Dancer's son Lyphard, out of the mare Dona Ysidra. He was bred by Filipino food and beverage magnate Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr...

.

In 1987, Theatrical was brought to the United States and conditioned by new trainer

Horse trainer

In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...

 Bill Mott. Under the future 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...

 trainer, the colt won the Hialeah Turf Cup Handicap

Hialeah Turf Cup Handicap

The Hialeah Turf Cup Handicap is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race open to horses aged three and older that was run each year at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida until the track closed at the end of the 2001 racing season...

, the Turf Classic Invitational Stakes

Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational

The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational is an American Grade I stakes race on turf established in 1977 for Thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up. Currently held at Belmont Park, New York at the end of September, it is named in honor of Joe Hirsch, the award-winning racing columnist and...

 and defeated Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

The 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...

 winner Trempolino

Trempolino

Trempolino was an French Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1987. He was bred by Marystead Farm, the American arm of French horseman Paul de Moussac, owner of the Haras du Mezeray stud farm at Ticheville in the Lower Normandy Region of France...

 to win the Breeders' Cup Turf

Breeders' Cup Turf

The 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...

 and claim the Eclipse Award

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...

 for American Champion Male Turf Horse.

Retired, in 1988 Theatrical stood at 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...

 at Hill 'n' Dale Farms

Hill 'n' Dale Farms

Hill 'n' Dale Farms is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Canada and the United States. It was founded in 1960 in Aurora, Ontario in 1960 by John Sikura, Jr., who died mysteriously in an unsolved 1994 car fire. The Canadian operation is now run by his son, R. Glenn...

 near Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

. He has sired 18 Grade I stakes race

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...

 winners and his progeny have earned more than $65 million in purse money. Among his progeny, Theatrical sired Media Puzzle

Media Puzzle

Media Puzzle , foaled in the United States was an Irish horse bred by Walter Haefner's Moyglare Stud Farm and owned by Dr. M. W. Smurfit. He was sired by Theatrical, the 1987 U.S. Champion Male Turf Horse, and out of the mare Market Slide by Gulch, the 1988 U.S. Champion Sprint Horse...

, the 2002 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...

 winner, and Royal Anthem

Royal Anthem (horse)

Royal Anthem is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire bred in the United States.-Background:A son of Theatrical, Royal Anthem's grandsire was Nureyev and his damsire was U.S...

, whose wins include the Canadian International Stakes

Canadian International Stakes

The Canadian International Stakes is a $2 million Grade I Canadian stakes race on Turf for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario....

 (1998) and the International Stakes

International Stakes

The International Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 88 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August....

 (1999)

Theatrical is also the damsire of Rail Link

Rail Link (horse)

Rail Link is a thoroughbred racehorse trained by André Fabre, and was ridden by jockey Christophe Soumillon or Stéphane Pasquier for owner Khalid Abdullah....

, 2006 winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

The 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...

.