Bustino (foaled 1971) was a British

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. Thoroughbreds are ...

Champion racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from August 1973 until July 1975 he ran nine times and won five races. He was the best British three-year-old of 1974, when his wins included the

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

St Leger, as well as the

Sandown Classic Trial The Sandown Classic Trial is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 209 yards ...

Lingfield Derby Trial The Derby Trial Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 133 yards () ...

and

Great Voltigeur Stakes The Great Voltigeur Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 1 ...

. As four-year-old he won the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2 ...

in record time and finished second to Grundy in the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot o ...

in what was described as the Race of the Century.

Background

Bustino was a bay horse bred by Edgar Cooper Bland. He was sired by 1967 British Horse of the Year, Busted, out of the mare Ship Yard. As a descendant of the mare Rose Red, Bustino was related to the British Classic winners Larkspur,

Alycidon Alycidon (1945–1963) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was described as "one of the greatest stayers in history". In a career which lasted from the autumn of 1947 until September 1949 he ran seventeen times and won eleven races. He w ...

and My Babu as well as the Belmont Stakes winner Celtic Ash. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

he was sent to the sales at Newmarket where he was bought for 21,000

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

Lady Beaverbrook Marcia Anastasia Aitken, Baroness Beaverbrook (''née'' Christoforides, previously Lady Dunn; 27 July 1909 – 28 October 1994) was a British philanthropist, an art collector, and racehorse owner. Early life and first marriage Born in Sutton, ...

. Lady Beaverbrook was considered an eccentric character who gave most of her horses names consisting of one word with seven letters (Bustino,

Terimon Terimon (foaled 20 April 1986) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. His most successful year was 1991, when he won the International Stakes at York and was named European Champion Older Horse at the inaugural Cartier Racing Awards. He ...

, Boldboy, Niniski, Mystiko,

Petoski Petoski (24 February 1982–2003) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career that lasted from June 1984 to July 1986, he ran twelve times and won four races. Petoski is most notable for his win against a strong international f ...

), as this was the most common form for Derby winners. Bustino was sent into training with

Dick Hern William Richard Hern (20 January 1921 – 22 May 2002) was an English Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and winner of sixteen British Classic Races between 1962 and 1995, and was Champion Trainer on four occasions. Following his early career ...

West Ilsley West Ilsley is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was 332. Location and amenities It is situated in West Berkshire, north of Newbury on the Berkshire Downs. The companion village ...

in Berkshire.

Racing career

1973: two-year-old season

Like many of Hern's best horses, Bustino was not highly tried at two. He made his only appearance in the

Acomb Stakes The Acomb Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at York over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each yea ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in August and finished third.

1974: three-year-old season

As a three-year-old in 1974, the colt began by winning the

Sandown Classic Trial The Sandown Classic Trial is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 209 yards ...

from the future Epsom Derby winner

Snow Knight Snow Knight (28 February 1971 – 15 September 1992) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who won Britain's most prestigious race in 1974, the Derby, then the following year earned an Eclipse Award as the American Champion Male Turf Horse. Backgrou ...

, who was carrying five pounds more in weight. In the

he again defeated Snow Knight, this time at level weights. At Epsom, he seemed to be unsuited by the firm ground and finished fourth in the Derby, behind Snow Knight, Imperial Prince and

Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo, ...

. Bustino was then sent to France for the

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and i ...

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced ...

, in which he finished second of the eighteen runners, beaten two lengths by Sagaro. Back in England, he won the

in August, beating

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) 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 ...

winner

English Prince English Prince (1971–1983) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted four months in the spring and summer of 1974 he ran six times and won four races. After being beaten on his ra ...

. At

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

in September, Bustino started the 11/10 favourite for the

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

. He was assisted by his stable companion Riboson, who set a strong pace, before Bustino took the lead in the straight and won by three lengths from Giacometti.

1975: four-year-old season

Sent back to the track in 1975 at age four, Bustino won the Group One

at Epsom Downs Racecourse then was an integral part of what the British racing world and major newspapers dubbed the "Race of the Century."

Britain's "Race of the Century"

Bustino was up against a very solid field in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes that was open to older horses. The participants included Eclipse Stakes winner, Star Appeal, Nelson Bunker Hunt's mare,

Dahlia Dahlia (, ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Asteraceae (former name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower, ...

, one of the greatest female horses in world Thoroughbred racing history, and the three-year-old Grundy, a winner of both the

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

and

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) 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 ...

s. Trainer Dick Hern knew Bustino had the stamina for the 2,414 metre race (1½ miles) and started two of Bustino's stablemates to set a blistering early pace designed to wear down Grundy. With half a mile left to run, Bustino and jockey

Joe Mercer Joseph Mercer, OBE (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an English football player and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa, Manchester City and Engl ...

moved into the lead. He was ahead by four lengths by the time they entered the top of the straight when

Pat Eddery Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...

on Grundy mounted a charge. The two horses began pulling away from the rest of the field and with a

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

left to run, Grundy passed Bustino, who soon retook the lead. Fifty yards from the finish line, Grundy fought back and recaptured the lead, holding off Bustino's continued furious effort to win by half a length with Dahlia another five lengths behind in third. The winning time of 2:26.98 beat the race record by almost two and a half seconds, a record that lasted for 35 years. As sometimes happens, a race of this nature took a toll on both horses. Grundy ran only once more without success, and Bustino never raced again. In

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

newspaper's list of the "''10 greatest horse races of all time''," the match between Bustino and Grundy in the

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...

on 26 July 1975, was ranked number two: number one was the race between

Quashed Quashed (foaled 1932) was a British-bred and British-trained racehorse, winner of The Oaks in 1935. For many years, the Verdict family was not accepted into the British Stud Book because Quashed's dam was effectively a half-bred and it was ...

and Omaha for the 1936 Ascot Gold Cup. Bustino was being prepared for the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

when he sustained an injury to his foreleg which ended his racing career. He was retired to stud with a valuation of £600,000.

Assessment

Bustino was awarded a rating of 136 by Timeform. A rating of 130 is considered the mark of an above average Group One winner. In their book ''A Century of Champions'', John Randall and Tony Morris rated Bustino the eighty-seventh best racehorse of the 20th century and the thirty-eighth best British horse.

Stud career

Retired to stud (animal), stud duty, Bustino proved a very successful sire. His offspring include: * Easter Sun (b. 1977), won 1982 Group 1

* Height of Fashion (horse), Height of Fashion (b. 1979), as a two-year-old won the

, May Hill Stakes and Fillies' Mile and as a three-year-old the Lupe Stakes and Princess of Wales's Stakes, beating Ardross (horse), Ardross. She was also dam of the Group One winning colts Nashwan and Nayef (horse), Nayef, as well as the multiple Group winner and leading sire Unfuwain. She was also the grand dam of the One Thousand Guineas winner Ghanaati * Stufida (b. 1981), won Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio * Rakaposhi King (b. 1982), multiple stakes winner * Supreme Leader (b. 1982), a flagship National Hunt stallion for Coolmore Stud who, between 1987 and 2001, covered 3,416 mares(not including the non-Thoroughbred mares he covered) * Paean (horse), Paean (b. 1983), won the 1987 Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup *

(b. 1986), won the 1991 Group 1 International Stakes, Juddmonte International Stakes Bustino was notably the damsire of a number of successful horses including Nashwan and Vintage Crop. In 1989, he was the Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland in 1989.

Pedigree

References

Thoroughbred Times article on Supreme Leader

Video at YouTube of the "''Race of the Century''"
{{Authority control 1971 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom British Champion Thoroughbred broodmare sires Thoroughbred family 1-w St Leger winners