Blue Wind (3 May 1978 – 21 June 1996) was an Irish Thoroughbred

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

best known for winning the classic Oaks Stakes in 1981. She showed promising form as a two-year-old in 1980 when she won two of her five races including the

Silken Glider Stakes The Silken Glider Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ye ...

. In the following year she finished second in the Irish 1,000 Guineas and then showed her best form when moved up in distance, winning the Oaks by seven

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and following up in the Irish Oaks a month later. In 1982 she was campaigned in the United States without success. She made no impact as a broodmare.

Background

Blue Wind was a dark chestnut mare with a white

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on her left hind leg bred in Ireland by Betty Laidlaw. She was sired by Lord Gayle, an American-bred stallion who won the

Prix Perth The Prix Perth is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take ...

in 1970. Lord Gayle's other winning progeny included Carroll House, Desirable, Gay Lemur ( Jockey Club Stakes) and the leading hurdler Pollardstown. Blue Wind's dam was a granddaughter of the broodmare Dunure, whose other descendants included the Irish Derby winner Dark Warrior and the St Leger winner

Bollin Eric Bollin Eric (18 February 1999 – 18 January 2020), was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from July 2001 until October 2003, he ran eighteen times and won four races. He recorded his most important success when ...

. As a yearling the filly was sold for 5,600 guineas and sent into training with Paddy Prendergast.

Racing career

1980: two-year-old season

Blue Wind finished unplaced over six furlongs on her racecourse debut, and then ran second over seven and a half furlongs. In August she recorded her first victory when she won a seven furlong

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

at Gowran Park by five

. In September she was moved up in class and distance for the

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Silken Glider Stakes over one mile at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

and won by two and a half lengths from the Dermot Weld-trained Overplay. Blue Wind was sent to France in October for the Group One Prix Marcel Boussac. She dead-heated for sixth place, two and a half lengths behind the winner Tropicaro. In November, the filly was sent to the Goffs Sales where she was bought for 180,000 guineas by representatives of the American owner and breeder Diana Firestone. Blue Wind was moved to the stable of Dermot Weld at the Curragh,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

1981: three-year-old season

Blue Wind made her first appearance as a three-year-old at Phoenix Park Racecourse in April when she won the Edenderry Stakes over one mile. On 23 May, she was ridden by Wally Swinburn in the Irish 1,000 Guineas over one mile at the Curragh Racecourse. Racing on heavy ground, she started at odds of 6/1 and finished second of the fifteen runners, a length behind the winner Arctique Royale. On 6 June, Blue Wind was one of twelve fillies to contest the 203rd running of the Oaks over one and a half miles at

Epsom Downs Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...

. Ridden by the veteran Lester Piggott she started 3/1 joint-favourite with Leap Lively, a filly who had won the Fillies' Mile and the Lingfield Oaks Trial. The other leading contenders were Go Leasing (third in the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

, 11/2), Tropicaro (6/1) and

Madam Gay Madam Gay (25 February 1978 – 1983) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed some promise as a two-year-old in 1980 before developing into a top-class middle distance performer in the following year. Her only victory in a thirteen r ...

(10/1). Leap Lively went into the lead from the start and set such a strong pace that most of the other runners were struggling before half distance and with three furlongs left to run only Blue Wind and Madam Gay were still in touch with the leader. At this point, Leap Lively began to struggle and Piggott sent the Irish filly into the lead approaching the final quarter mile. Blue Wind quickly established a clear lead and drew away in the closing stages to win by seven lengths from Madam Gay, who was in turn ten lengths clear of the exhausted Leap Lively. With the rest of the field separated by similarly wide margins Timeform described the finish as bearing "some resemblance to that of a three-mile

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

". Blue Wind's winning time of 2:40.93 was more than three seconds faster than that set by Shergar when winning the Derby over the same course and distance three days earlier. Blue Wind returned to Ireland for the Irish Oaks at the Curragh on 18 July. Ridden by Wally Swinburn, snr, she was made 4/6 favourite against nine opponents headed by Arctique Royale and the

Musidora Stakes The Musidora Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () at ...

winner Condessa. Blue Wind took the lead on the turn into the straight, went clear of the field, and held off the challenge of Condessa to win by two and a half lengths. Blue Wind's form was boosted by the performances of Madam Gay who won the Prix de Diane, and finished second to Shergar (beaten four lengths) in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. In late summer, Weld described Blue Wind as "the best I've ever trained ... a really super filly". Blue Wind was rested for two months before returning in the

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over ten furlongs at

in which she was matched against colts and older horses. She was made the 2/1 favourite but never looked likely to win and finished fourth of the twelve runners behind Kings Lake. On her final European start Blue Wind ran in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp Racecourse on 4 October. She started at odds of 13/2, being coupled in the betting with the other Firestone runner

April Run {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = April Run , image = , caption = , sire = Run the Gantlet , grandsire = Tom Rolfe , dam = April Fancy , damsire = No Argument , sex = mare , foaled = 1978 , country = Ireland , colour = Bay , breede ...

, but was never in contention and finished fifteenth of the twenty-four runners behind Gold River. Timeform's view was that the filly never fully recovered from her hard races in spring and summer.

1982: four-year-old season

In 1982, Blue Wind's owners brought her to race in the United States, where she was trained by Stanley M. Hough. She did not reproduce her European form, failing to win in seven races. Her best placings came when she finished third in Allowance races at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

(twice) and Saratoga.

Assessment

In 1980, the independent Timeform origination gave Blue Wind a rating of 110, fourteen pounds below their top-rated two-year-old filly Marwell. In the following year she was given a peak annual timeform rating of 127, six pounds behind Marwell. In the official International Classification she was rated the third-best three-year-old filly in Europe behind Marwell and April Run. In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Blue Wind an "average" winner of the Oaks.

Stud career

Blue Wind was retired from racing to become a broodmare for her owner's stud in Virginia but her record was very disappointing. She was exported to Japan in 1991 and died at the Taiki Farm in Hokkaido on 21 June 1996. She produced eight foals between 1984 and 1996, three that won minor races: *Legal Circles (bay colt, foaled in 1984, sired by Alleged) was unraced *Carefree Dancer (chestnut colt, foaled in 1987, sired by Nijinsky), won four races in Ireland *Sapphire Breeze (bay filly, foaled in 1988, sired by

Lyphard Lyphard (10 May 1969 – 10 June 2005) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and an important sire. Background American bred in Pennsylvania, Lyphard was a son of Northern Dancer out of the mare Goofed. He was auctioned ...

) failed to win in three races *Coast Wind (brown filly, foaled in 1989, sired by Chief's Crown) third in only race *Shinko Easter (chestnut colt, foaled in 1992, sired by Tony Bin) won one race in Japan *Taiki Mistral (bay colt, foaled in 1995, sired by Dancing Brave) raced in Japan and won one race

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1978 racehorse births 1996 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 4-d Epsom Oaks winners