Cloth of Stars (foaled 6 April 2013) is an Irish-bred, French-trained
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. He showed good ability as a two-year-old in 2015, winning the
Prix des Chênes
The Prix des Chênes is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is sche ...
and being placed in both the
Prix de Condé and the
Critérium de Saint-Cloud
The Critérium de Saint-Cloud is a Conditions races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud R ...
. In the following spring he won the
Prix La Force
The Prix La Force is a Group 3 (horse racing), Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (abo ...
and the
Prix Greffulhe before finishing eighth when strongly fancied for the
2016 Epsom Derby.
Background
Cloth of Stars is a bay horse bred in Ireland by Peter Anastasiou. He is from the third crop of foals sired by
Sea the Stars who won the
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
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 over a distance ...
in 2009. His other have included
Taghrooda and
Sea The Moon. Cloth of Stars's dam Strawberry Fledge never raced, but was a granddaughter of the outstanding racemare
Northern Trick whose other descendants have included
Light Shift,
Main Sequence
In astronomy, the main sequence is a classification of stars which appear on plots of stellar color index, color versus absolute magnitude, brightness as a continuous and distinctive band. Stars on this band are known as main-sequence stars or d ...
and
Dodging Bullets.
In October 2014 the
yearling colt was sent to the
Tattersalls
Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Founding
It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. ...
sales and was bought for 400,000
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 ...
by John Ferguson Bloodstock on behalf of
Sheikh Mohammed's
Godolphin organisation. Despite his price he was only the fifth most expensive horse that John Ferguson (subsequently Godolphin's Chief Executive and Racing Manager) bought for the Sheikh at the sale. He was sent into training with
André Fabre in France and has been ridden in all of his races by
Mickael Barzalona.
Racing career
2015: two-year-old season
Cloth of Stars began his racing career in the Prix de Montaigu for unraced colt and geldings over 1600 metres at
Deauville Racecourse on 22 August. Starting the
1.9/1 favourite in a twelve-runner field he took the lead 300 metres from the finish and won "readily" by three quarters of a length from Atlantide. Three weeks later he was stepped up in class for the
Group Three Prix des Chênes over 1600 metres at
Longchamp Racecourse
The Longchamp Racecourse (, ) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for ...
He started second favourite behind the
Aga Khan
Aga Khan (; ; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imām of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ilism, Ismāʿīli Shia Islam, Shias. The current holder of the title is the ...
's Vedevani with the other two runners being Sixth Sense (
Winkfield Stakes) and Marasquin. He raced in second before taking the lead in the last 200 metres and winning by one and a quarter lengths from Vedevani. Cloth of Stars started odds-on favourite for the
Prix de Condé over 1800 metres at
Chantilly Racecourse
Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred grass, turf race track, racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris.
Chantilly Racecourse is located in the ...
but sustained his first defeat as he pulled hard in the early stages and finished third to the British-trained Robin of Navan. Cloth of Stars met Robin of Navan again in the Group One
Critérium de Saint-Cloud
The Critérium de Saint-Cloud is a Conditions races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud R ...
over 2000 metres on 1 November when the two colts started second and third in the betting behind the
Aidan O'Brien
Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland)[ Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...](_blank)
-trained Idaho. After being restrained towards the rear of the field Cloth of Stars made steady progress in the straight and finished second to Robin of Navan.
2016: three-year-old season
On his first run as a three-year-old, Cloth of Stars started the
7/10 favourite for the Group Three Prix La Force over 2000 metres at
Saint-Cloud Racecourse
Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France. During World War 1, the race course site housed the No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospita ...
on 8 April. Racing on
heavy ground he appeared to be under pressure in the straight but stayed on well to take the lead 200 metres out and won by one and a quarter lengths from Viserano. Five weeks later, over the same course and distance, Cloth of Stars met Robin of Navan for the third time, when the colts started joint favourites for the Group Two Prix Greffulhe. After racing at the rear of the five-runner field, Cloth of Stars began to make progress in the last 300 metres. He overtook his rival 120 metres from the finish before drawing away to win by two and a half lengths. After the race John Ferguson said "I had a word with André Fabre afterwards and our thinking is to go for the Epsom Derby. We will have to supplement him for the Epsom Derby which is the same weekend as the
Prix du Jockey Club, so everything depends on how Cloth Of Stars trains between now and then. Today's victory was over a mile and a quarter, but both Mickael Barzalona and Andre said the colt will be suited by a mile and half. Cloth Of Stars is also the kind of horse to act on the course at Epsom and improving all the time, winning going away today."
On 31 May Godolphin paid a supplementary fee of £75,000 to enter Cloth of Stars in the Epsom Derby. Four days later Cloth of Stars started 8/1 fourth choice in a sixteen-runner field for the Derby. He tracked the pacemaker Port Douglas and turned into the straight in second place before taking the lead approaching the final quarter mile. He was soon overtaken and faded badly to finish eighth, sixteen lengths behind the winner
Harzand.
2017: four-year-old season
In January 2017, Daniel Lee, a US Born businessman based in Monte Carlo, bought a large share of the horse for an undisclosed amount. A spokesperson stated to Equida that the horse would stay with André Fabre for 2017.
On Sunday 19 March 2017, Cloth Of Stars made his season debut in the Group 3 Prix Exbury at Saint-Cloud. Mickael Barzalona was on board as the pair accounted for eight rivals including the E P Taylor Stakes third Banzari and William Muir's Restorer who finished last. Restrained in midfield early, the son of Sea the Stars quickened to put the bed in the straight and win by a comfortable length and a quarter from Star Victory. "He had conditions to suit", Barzalona told www.paris-turf.com. "He quickened really well in the finish. He's a super horse who answers every question." Trainer André Fabre praised connections for allowing him to keep the horse in training in France. Cloth Of Stars was completing a double on the card for trainer André Fabre & owner Danny Lee, following the debut success of Lady Frankel in the opener.
2018: five-year-old season
Assessment and honours
In the
2017 World's Best Racehorse Rankings, Cloth of Stars was rated the seventh-best horse in the world and the best horse trained in France. He was also rated world Champion older stayer in 2017
Pedigree
*Cloth of Stars in
inbred
Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...
3 × 4 to Mr. Prospector, meaning that this stallion appears in both the third and fourth generation of his pedigree.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart– ''Cloth Of Stars''
2013 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in Ireland
Racehorses trained in France
Thoroughbred family 4-m