Waya
Encyclopedia
Waya was a French
Thoroughbred
World Record holding
filly
racehorse
who competed successfully in France and was a Champion
in the United States. She was bred by the prominent French horseman Daniel Wildenstein
through his breeding company, Dayton Ltd. Out of the mare War Path, her sire was Wildenstein's stallion
Faraway Son, a Group 1
winner and the 1971 French Champion Miler.
-born trainer Angel Penna
, a future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
inductee. A winner in her debut at Saint-Cloud Racecourse
, Waya also won the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont
at Chantilly
and the Group 2 Prix de l'Opéra
at Longchamp. She ended her French racing career in October of 1977 with a record of three wins, two seconds, and a third from her eight starts.
circuit, where she won the Flower Bowl Handicap
and the Diana Handicap
against fillies. In winning the Diana Handicap, she equaled the world record
of 1:45 2/5 for 1⅛ miles on grass. She then beat her male counterparts in the Aqueduct Turf Classic Invitational Stakes and the Man o' War Stakes
. Against a mostly male field of top American and European horses in the Washington, D.C. International Stakes at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland
, Waya ran third behind winner Mac Diarmida
, whom she beat in the Man o' War Stakes.
and Peter Brant
, who campaigned her in 1979. Under new trainer David Whiteley
, she continued to perform at top levels despite being assigned high weights of as much as one hundred and thirty-one pounds. Of her five major wins that year, she once again defeated her male counterparts in the Edgemere Handicap
and in her first-ever race on dirt, won the Top Flight Handicap
at New York's
Aqueduct Racetrack
. She was voted the 1979 Eclipse Award
as the American Champion Older Female Horse.
including Red Ransom
, Danzig
, Seattle Slew
, Riverman
, Alydar
, and twice to Gulch
, Mr. Prospector
and Nijinsky
. Her first foal by Nijinsky was a filly named Vidalia, who raced in Italy
and was the 1983 Italian Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. Of her ten other runners, Waya produced eight winners, of which one earned a graded stakes
victory.
As a result of complications from laminitis
, the twenty-seven-year-old Waya was humanely euthanized
at Derry Meeting Farm on December 12, 2001.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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...
World Record holding
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
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 competed successfully in France and was a 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...
in the United States. She was bred by the prominent French horseman 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....
through his breeding company, Dayton Ltd. Out of the mare War Path, her sire was Wildenstein's 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...
Faraway Son, a Group 1
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...
winner and the 1971 French Champion Miler.
Racing in France
In 1977, the three-year-old Waya competed in France for Daniel Wildenstein, where she was conditioned for racing by the ArgentineArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
-born trainer Angel Penna
Angel Penna, Sr.
Angel A. Penna, Sr. was an Argentine-born U. S. Racing Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse trainer. Penna was an international trainer who worked and raced on three continents...
, a future 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. A winner in her debut at Saint-Cloud Racecourse
Saint-Cloud Racecourse
Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France...
, Waya also won the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont
Prix de Royaumont
The Prix de Royaumont is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late May or early June.-History:...
at Chantilly
Chantilly Racecourse
Chantilly Racecourse is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris....
and the Group 2 Prix de l'Opéra
Prix de l'Opéra
The Prix de l'Opéra is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early October.The event was established in 1974, and it was...
at Longchamp. She ended her French racing career in October of 1977 with a record of three wins, two seconds, and a third from her eight starts.
Sent to the United States
For the 1978 racing season, Waya and her trainer Angel Penna competed on the New York Racing AssociationNew York Racing Association
The New York Racing Association, Inc. is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest thoroughbred horse-racing tracks in the state of New York. It runs Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island , and Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga...
circuit, where she won the Flower Bowl Handicap
Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes
The Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes is an American Grade I race for thoroughbred fillies and mares run in early October at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York...
and the Diana Handicap
Diana Handicap
The Diana Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race. Named for the mythological goddess Diana, the race is run each year at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inaugurated in 1939, it is open to fillies and mares age three and up willing to race the one and one-eighth miles on...
against fillies. In winning the Diana Handicap, she equaled the world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
of 1:45 2/5 for 1⅛ miles on grass. She then beat her male counterparts in the Aqueduct Turf Classic Invitational Stakes and the Man o' War Stakes
Man O' War Stakes
The Man o' War Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Now Raced in July, it is a Grade I event offering a purse of $500,000 and is open to horses three-years-old and up. Run at one and three-eighths mile on the grass, the race sometimes attracts top European horses...
. Against a mostly male field of top American and European horses in the Washington, D.C. International Stakes at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland
Laurel, Maryland
Laurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County, Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Incorporated in 1870, the city maintains a historic district including its Main Street...
, Waya ran third behind winner Mac Diarmida
Mac Diarmida
Mac Diarmida was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse.-Background:Mac Diarmida was bred by John Hartigan at his Cashel Stud farm in Ocala, Florida. Sired by Minnesota Mac, he was out of the mare Flying Tammie, a daughter of the 1958 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, Tim Tam.As a...
, whom she beat in the Man o' War Stakes.
New owners and a Championship year
Waya was sold to Americans George StrawbridgeGeorge W. Strawbridge, Jr.
George W. Strawbridge, Jr. is an American educator, historian, investor, sportsman, and philanthropist.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania he was the son of Margaret Dorrance and stockbroker George W. Strawbridge, Sr.. He studied at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut where he...
and Peter Brant
Peter M. Brant
Peter M. Brant is an American industrialist, businessman and entrepreneur, worth an estimated $2.4 billion. He is also a major art collector, movie producer, and avid horseman...
, who campaigned her in 1979. Under new trainer David Whiteley
David A. Whiteley
David A. Whiteley is a retired American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer who trained three Champions and who in 1979 won the third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown.The son of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Frank Y...
, she continued to perform at top levels despite being assigned high weights of as much as one hundred and thirty-one pounds. Of her five major wins that year, she once again defeated her male counterparts in the Edgemere Handicap
Red Smith Handicap
The Red Smith Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A race on turf open to horses age three and older, it is run in the first week of November over a distance of 1⅜ miles ....
and in her first-ever race on dirt, won the Top Flight Handicap
Top Flight Handicap
The Top Flight Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The Grade II event is run in late November and is open to fillies and mares, age three and older...
at New York's
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...
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:...
. She was voted the 1979 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...
as the American Champion Older Female Horse.
As a broodmare
In early 1980, Waya was retired to broodmare duty at Derry Meeting Farm near Cochranville, Pennsylvania. She was bred to some of the world's top stallionsStallion (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...
including Red Ransom
Red Ransom
Red Ransom is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In his 2006 book Designing Speed in the Racehorse, author Ken McLean wrote that Red Ransom "was a sensationally fast juvenile."...
, Danzig
Danzig (horse)
Danzig was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is best known as a leading sire. He was purchased for $310,000 by Henryk de Kwiatkowski at the 1978 Saratoga Yearling Sale...
, Seattle Slew
Seattle Slew
Seattle Slew was an American Thoroughbred race horse who won the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1977, the tenth of eleven horses to accomplish the feat. He remains the only horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated. In the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S...
, Riverman
Riverman
This article is about the racehorse. For the song by Nick Drake, see Five Leaves Left.Riverman was a French Thoroughbred racehorse. Foaled in Kentucky, he was bred by Harry F. Guggenheim of the prominent American Guggenheim family...
, Alydar
Alydar
Alydar was a chestnut colt and an American thoroughbred race horse who was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a feat not achieved before or repeated since.-Racing career:Trained by John M...
, and twice to Gulch
Gulch (horse)
Gulch was an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. Owned and bred by Peter M. Brant, he was sired by the outstanding North American stud and graded stakes race winner Mr...
, 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:...
and 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...
. Her first foal by Nijinsky was a filly named Vidalia, who raced in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and was the 1983 Italian Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. Of her ten other runners, Waya produced eight winners, of which one earned a graded stakes
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...
victory.
As a result of complications from laminitis
Laminitis
Laminitis is a disease that affects the feet of ungulates. It is best known in horses and cattle. Symptoms include lameness, and increased temperature in the hooves...
, the twenty-seven-year-old Waya was humanely 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...
at Derry Meeting Farm on December 12, 2001.