Astra (foaled January 25, 1996, in Kentucky) was an American

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 ...

racemare The following is a glossary of North American horse racing. Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical term ...

who won four

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

races on

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

Background

She was bred and raced by

Allen Paulson Allen Eugene Paulson (April 22, 1922 – July 19, 2000) was an American businessman. Business career in aviation Born in Clinton, Iowa, Allen E. Paulson was on his own at age 13, supporting himself selling newspapers and doing janitorial wo ...

who also owned and raced her dam and her sire. Her dam was Savannah Slew, a daughter of the 1977 U.S. Triple Crown champion

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who became the tenth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only ...

, and her sire was

Theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communic ...

, winner of the 1987

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 ...

Racing career

Following the death of Allen Paulson on July 19, 2000, Astra raced for the Allen E. Paulson Living Trust. In mid-2001, trainer Simon Bray retired and her race conditioning was then turned over to Laura de Seroux who went on to match the two Grade I and the single Grade II wins that Bray had had with Astra. In winning her second edition of the

Beverly Hills Handicap The Red Carpet Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually (as of 2014) during Del Mar racetrack's fall meet which has been created to accommodate the overflow of established races from closing of Hollywood Park. The Grade III i ...

in 2002 for de Seroux, Astra set a new stakes record of 1:58.56 - for a mile and a quarter on turf.

Broodmare

Astra was boarded at

Ashford 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 champions ...

near

Versailles, Kentucky Versailles is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 10,534 according to 2024 ce ...

. She produced three foals, all of which raced but with only limited success, before her untimely death on June 12, 2007, at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute near Lexington as a result of complications from

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content ou ...

.BloodHorse.com - June 21, 2007
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Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1996 racehorse births 2007 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 9-b Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Grade 1 Stakes winners