Ahonoora (1975–1989) was a British

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...

. In a career that lasted from 1977 to 1979 he ran sixteen times and won seven races. Ahonoora was a sprinter who specialised in races over five and six

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 any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

s, with his most important wins coming in the Stewards's Cup at Goodwood and the Group Two William Hill Sprint Championship (now a Group One race) at

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

. He is primarily notable for his achievements at stud, where his progeny, including Dr Devious, Park Express and Indian Ridge, made him one of the most significant modern representatives of the

Byerley Turk The Byerley Turk (), also spelled Byerly Turk, was the earliest of three Stallion (horse), stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock (the other two are the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian).Ahnert, ...

sire line.

Background

Ahonoora was bred in England by the Wyld Court Stud near the village of Hampstead Norreys in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

and sold as a yearling for 7,600

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 ...

to Essa Alkhalifa. His sire, Lorenzaccio was a high-class racehorse who won the

July Stakes The July Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and ...

and the Prix Jean Prat in his early career, but was principally famous for his defeat of the Triple Crown winner Nijinsky as a five-year-old in the 1970

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong a ...

Racing career

Ahonoora was sent into training with Brian Swift at Loretta Lodge,

Epsom Epsom is a town in 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 Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

. As a three-year-old, Ahonoora recorded his first major win when he took the Strewards' Cup as a 50/1 outsider. As a four-year-old, Ahonoora moved to the Fitzroy stable of Frankie Durr at

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 14 miles west of Bury St Edmunds and 14 miles northeast of Cambridge. In 2021, it had a population of 16,772. It is a global ...

and made a successful transition from handicaps to

Conditions races Conditions races are horse racing, horse races in which 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 th ...

. In spring he finished second to Double Form in the Temple Stakes at

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and in June he was second again to the same horse in the

King's Stand Stakes The King Charles III Stakes (formerly the King's Stand Stakes) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 fu ...

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Gra ...

. He returned to Goodwood to win the Group Three King George Stakes in July. In August he recorded his most important success when he was awarded the William Hill Sprint Championship at York on the disqualification of

Thatching Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

. In September he finished second to Double Form for the third time in the Vernons Sprint Cup at Haydock.

Stud career

Ahonoora was retired to the Irish National Stud in 1980 at a fee of £2,250. He soon exceeded all expectations, and, despite his racing career as a pure sprinter, he proved capable of siring top class performers at a wide range of distances. Ahonoora proved to be one of the most successful and important representatives of the Byerley Turk line in the modern era. His notable winners include: * Park Appeal (1982)-

Cheveley Park Stakes The Cheveley Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres) and is ...

* Park Express (1983)-

Irish Champion Stakes The Irish Champion Stakes ( Irish: Curadh-Dhuais na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2 ...

* Don't Forget Me (1984)-

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...

* Indian Ridge (1985)-

, leading sire of

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, Domedriver, Indian Haven, Namid, Sleeping Indian, Linngari, Ridgewood Pearl and

Indian Ink India ink (British English: Indian ink; also Chinese ink) is a simple black or coloured ink once widely used for writing and printing and now more commonly used for drawing and outlining, especially when inking comic books and comic strips. In ...

*Ruby Tiger (1987)- E. P. Taylor Stakes * Dr Devious (1989)-

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

, sire of Collier Hill and Kinnaird. *Inchinor (1990)- sire of Notnowcato and Orientor He is the damsire of: *

New Approach New Approach (foaled 18 February 2005) is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active stallion. In a racing career which lasted from July 2007 to October 2008 he ran eleven times and won eight races. He was undefeated in five races as a tw ...

(2005)-

, sire of Dawn Approach *

Cape Cross Cape Cross (Afrikaans: ''Kaap Kruis''; German: ''Kreuzkap''; Portuguese: ''Cabo da Cruz'') is a headland in the South Atlantic in Skeleton Coast, western Namibia. History In 1484, Portuguese navigator and explorer Diogo Cão was ordered by ...

(1994)- sire of Sea The Stars,

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and Awtaad. * Azeri (1998)-

Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, three years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United Stat ...

* Leroidesanimaux (2000)- sire of Animal Kingdom *

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(1999) - sire of Dark Angel, Equiano, Marsha and Harbour Watch In 1989, Ahonoora was bought by the

Coolmore Stud Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is the headquarters of one of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champio ...

. He was shuttled to stand in Australia for the southern hemisphere breeding season. He died after sustaining a broken hind leg in a paddock accident at Segenhoe Stud in the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its ...

, Australia on 14 October 1989.

Sire line tree

*AhonooraByerley Turk Line
/ref>
/ref> **Leysh **Nashamaa ***Cool Edge ** Don't Forget Me ***Irish Memory ***My Memoirs ***Insatiable **** Remember Rose ***Rudy's Pet ***Wild Eagle ** Indian Ridge ***Island Magic ***Ridgewood Ben ***

Definite Article In grammar, an article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English, both "the" ...

****Grammarian ****Greenhope ****Non So ****Thesis **** Vinnie Roe ***** Vintage Vinnie *****Noah And The Ark ****Supreme Rabbit ****Lochbuie ****Black Jack Blues ****The Real Article ****Definitely Red ****Pingshou ***Kierkegaard ***

****Boogie Street **** Borderlescott ****Intrepid Jack ****Godfrey Street ****Prolific **** Deacon Blues ****Fortune Knight **** Pearl Secret ***Handsome Ridge ***Indian Rocket **** Captain Chop ***Namid ****Blue Dakota ****Resplendent Glory ****Morgan Drive ****Total Gallery ***Luna Ridge ***Nicobar **** Dunaden *** Domedriver ****Domeside ***High Pitched ***Indian Creek ***Munir ****Mariol ***Sights On Gold *** Indian Haven ****Asram ****Beachfire ***Imperial Stride *** Relaxed Gesture ***Sleeping Indian ***Snow Ridge ***Tahreeb ***Linngari ***Sunday's Brunch ***Daytona *** Luck MoneyToward a Single Bloodline in Stallions
/ref> ***Patkai ***Libano ***Rayeni ***Rosendhal **Project Manager **Statoblest ***I Cried For You **Armanasco **Topanoora **Additional Risk **Sbarlusc **Ball Park ** Dr Devious *** Collier Hill ***Day Walker **Idris **Inchinor *** Summonor ***Umistim ***Bannister ***Beauchamp Pilot ***

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

***Orientor ***On The Acorn *** Notnowcato ****Custom Cut ****Fast Or Free ****Long Dog ****Redkirk Warrior ***Satchem ***Yasoodd **Visto Si Stampi

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1975 racehorse births 1989 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 1-m Byerley Turk sire line