Brian Boru (foaled 16 March 2000) is a retired

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 active

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 ...

who was bred in Britain but was trained in Ireland. In a career which lasted from June 2002 until December 2004, he ran eighteen times and won four races. Brian Boru was made favourite for The Derby after winning the

Racing Post Trophy The Futurity Trophy is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

in 2002. In September 2003 he recorded his most important win when winning the

St Leger 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 ...

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

Background

Brian Boru is a dark bay horse with a narrow white blaze bred by

Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms is a horse breeding farm, owned until his death on 12 January 2021 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. National Thoroughbred Racing Association"Juddmonte Farms, Inc.", profile. Retrieved October 16, 2007. Overview J ...

. He was sired by the thirteen time

Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of Horse racing, racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current (2023) cham ...

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

out of the

Park Hill Stakes The Park Hill Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards ...

winner Eva Luna (USA). Eva Luna later produced

Sea Moon Sea Moon (foaled 6 March 2008) is a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He was initially trained in Britain and as a three-year-old in 2011 he won the Great Voltigeur Stakes, was runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Turf and finished third in the St ...

, who won the

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 ...

and finished second in the

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 ...

. She was also the dam of Soviet Moon, who in turn produced the Epsom Derby winner

Workforce In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed): \text = \text + \text Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out ...

. Before his racing career began, Brian Boru was acquired by the Coolmore organisation. He was sent into training with

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

Ballydoyle Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud, and both are owned by John Magnier, son in law to the racehorse trainer Vincent O'Brien. The current trai ...

and raced in the colours of Susan Magnier, the wife of

John Magnier John Magnier (born 10 February 1948) is an Irish business magnate. He is a leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside the horse-breeding industry. Magnier was a senator in the upper house of the Oireachtas, ...

Racing career

2002: two-year-old season

Brian Boru began his racing career in a seven

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 ...

maiden race at the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Pollardstown Fen, the larges ...

on 28 June 2002. Ridden by

Mick Kinane Michael J. Kinane (born 22 June 1959) is an Irish former flat racing jockey. He had a 34-year career, retiring on 8 December 2009. A prolific winner of the Irish, English and French Classic races over two decades, Kinane h ...

he started slowly but took the lead a furlong from the finish and won by a neck from the filly Evelyn One. Brian Boru was immediately moved up to Group Two class for the

Beresford Stakes The Beresford Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take pla ...

for which he started 2/1 favourite. He took the lead in the straight but was caught in the closing stages and beaten a head by the future

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 dista ...

winner

Alamshar Alamshar (foaled 18 April 2000) is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He won five of his nine races in a career which lasted from September 2002 to September 2003. He is best known for his performances as a three-year-old wh ...

. On his final start of the year, Brian Boru was sent to England to contest the Group One

on 26 October. Brian Boru was made 11/8 favourite and was ridden by

Kevin Darley Kevin Darley (born 5 August 1960, in Penn, Wolverhampton) is a retired jockey, and a co-president of the Jockeys' Association of Great Britain. He was British flat racing Champion Apprentice in 1978 with 70 wins and Champion Jockey in 2000 wi ...

. Darley tracked the leaders into the straight but struggled to obtain a clear run until the final furlong. In the closing stages Brian Boru produced a "storming late run" to take the lead and won by one and a quarter lengths from his stable companion Powerscourt. Following the race he was made favourite for the following year's Epsom Derby.

2003: three-year-old season

Brian Boru began his three-year-old season in the

Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial The Leopardstown Derby Trial, currently run as the Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial, is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of ...

Leopardstown Leopardstown (), historically called Ballinlore, is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. With institutional lands and a large racecourse, it is divided by the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorw ...

on 11 May in which he finished third behind Alamshar and The Great Gatsby. In The Derby on 7 June, Brian Boru started the 9/2 third favourite in a field of twenty runners. He made no impression in the race and finished sixteenth behind

Kris Kin Kris Kin (5 March 2000 – 31 August 2012) was a thoroughbred race horse and active sire. He was bred in the United States but was trained in England during his racing career. In a career that lasted just over a year, from October 2002 to Octob ...

, The Great Gatsby and Alamshar. Three weeks later, Brian Boru finished fourth of the nine runners behind Alamshar and

Dalakhani Dalakhani (16 February 2000 – 15 January 2021) was an Irish thoroughbred race horse owned and bred by Aga Khan IV and trained by Alain de Royer-Dupré. therefore half-brother to Daylami. Racing career Dalakhani won four Group One races: Crité ...

in the

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 dista ...

. In August, Brian Boru took the lead in the straight in the

at York but was caught inside the final furlong and beaten a neck by Powerscourt. On 13 September Brian Boru started 5/4 favourite for the St Leger at Doncaster against eleven opponents. Ridden by

Jamie Spencer Jamie Spencer (born 8 June 1980, in County Tipperary) is an Irish flat racing jockey currently riding in the UK. He has been champion jockey in both Ireland and Britain and has won seven classics, five in Ireland and two in England.

, he was held up in the early stages before making his challenge in the straight and taking the lead a furlong from the finish. He "kept on well" in the closing stages to win by one and a quarter lengths from High Accolade with

Phoenix Reach Phoenix Reach (foaled 5 March 2000) is an Irish-bred, British-trained retired Thoroughbred racehorse and breeding stallion. Although he never won above Group Three level in Britain he was a highly successful international campaigner, competing ...

in third.

Brough Scott John Brough Scott, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 12 December 1942) is a British horse racing journalist, radio and television presenter, and former jockey. He is also the grandson and biographer of the noted First World War, Great War ...

writing in the ''

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

'', described the race as "ruthlessly run" and the finish as being "admirably committed". Spencer dedicated the win to his friend Kieran Kelly, a

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

jockey who had been killed in an accident at Kilbeggan Racecourse. In October, Brian Boru was sent to Canada to contest the

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses from three years of age and upwards on Turf. It is held annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is . History The Cana ...

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

. He started 5/4 favourite, but finished third of the ten runners to Phoenix Reach.

2004: four-year-old season

On his first start as a four-year-old, Brian Boru won the Listed Alleged Stakes at Leopardstown, beating Napper Tandy by three quarters of a length. The rest of Brian Boru's season was disappointing as he failed to win in eight subsequent races. His best efforts came when finishing second in the Irish St. Leger (to

Vinnie Roe Vinnie Roe is a retired Ireland, Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire (horse), sire. He won the Irish St. Leger for four years in succession (2001–2004) and was named Cartier Champion Stayer, European Champion Stayer in the Cartier Ra ...

) and the

Prix Kergorlay The Prix Kergorlay is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 3,000 metres (about miles), and it is scheduled to ...

and third (to

Sulamani Sulamani (April 9, 1999 – February 18, 2017) was an Irish-bred thoroughbred race horse who competed and won in Dubai, Europe and North America. A great-grandson of English Triple Crown champion, Nijinsky, he made his racing debut in April 2 ...

) in the Canadian International Stakes.

Stud career

Brian Boru was retired to stand at the Coolmore Stud, where he is marketed as a "dual-purpose" sire. He has had little success with his flat racers but has shown promise as a

stallion, siring the useful steeplechaser Bold Sir Brian.

Pedigree

References

{{St Leger Winners 2000 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 14-c St Leger winners