Culture Vulture was an American-bred, British-trained champion

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. At the inaugural

Cartier Racing Awards The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races (40%) plus the votes cast by British racing journalists (30%) and readers of th ...

in 1991, she was named European Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. In her championship season she won four of her six races including two at

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

level: the

Fillies' Mile The Fillies' Mile 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 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is sc ...

in England and the

Prix Marcel Boussac The Prix Marcel Boussac is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is s ...

in France. As a three-year-old she became the first British-trained filly to win the

Poule d'Essai des Pouliches The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) ...

Background

Although Culture Vulture was trained in England, her pedigree was entirely North American (see

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). She was bred at

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 ...

by Holtsinger Inc. She was sired by Timeless Moment out of the Far North mare Perfect Example. Timeless Moment was a sprinter who won the Princeton Handicap and the Nassau County Handicap. Apart from Culture Vulture, his progeny included the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup W ...

winner Gilded Time and the

Hollywood Oaks The Summertime Oaks is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in June at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The Grade III event is open to three-year-old fillies willing to race on dirt at a distance of one and one-sixteenth mil ...

winner Moment To Buy. Perfect Example produced nine other winning foals including Purrfectly, the dam of the Hollywood Oaks winner Santa Catarina. Culture Vulture was trained throughout her career by

Paul Cole Paul F. I. Cole (born 11 September 1941) is a British racehorse trainer. Since 1987 he has been based at Whatcombe Estate in Berkshire, the former stables of Dick Dawson and Arthur Budgett. He was British flat racing Champion Trainer in 19 ...

at Whatcombe, near

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire, it has been a ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. She was ridden in all but one of her races by Cole's stable jockey Richard Quinn. She was owned by Chris Wright, the founder of

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British independent record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ell ...

Racing career

1991: two-year-old season

Culture Vulture began her career in a

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 s ...

at Newbury in May. She won by three and a half lengths after taking the lead a

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 ...

out. She was immediately stepped up to

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

class for the

Queen Mary Stakes The Queen Mary Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ...

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 ...

. Culture Vulture finished strongly after being unable to find a clear run in the last quarter mile to finish a length second to Marling, a filly who went on to win four Group One races. Two months later, Culture Vulture was moved up to Group Two level for the

Lowther Stakes The Lowther Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at York over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ea ...

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 ...

. She was made second favourite behind the

Molecomb Stakes The Molecomb Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled to take plac ...

winner Sahara Star but was never in danger of defeat, taking the lead at half way and pulling clear to win by four lengths. In the Autumn Culture Vulture was stepped up in class and distance for the Group One

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

, for which she was made favourite, just ahead of the

Henry Cecil Sir Henry Richard Amherst Cecil (11 January 1943 – 11 June 2013) was a British flat racing horse trainer. Cecil was very successful, becoming Champion Trainer ten times and training 25 domestic Classic winners. These comprised four winners o ...

-trained Midnight Air. The two fillies both made their challenges two furlongs out and Culture Vulture was "badly bumped" as

Pat Eddery Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...

pulled Midnight Air to the outside. Midnight Air crossed the line three quarters of a length in front but a Stewards' Inquiry disqualified her for causing interference and awarded the race to Culture Vulture. Culture Vulture's last European race of the season was the

at Longchamp in which she faced a strong field including the previous Group race winners Kenbu, Guislaine and Verveine, as well as other promising fillies such as Red Slippers and

Hatoof Hatoof (born January 26, 1989, in Versailles, Kentucky) is a Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who competed internationally out of a base in Chantilly, France, under trainer Criquette Head for owner Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Racing a ...

. Quinn settled the filly in the early stages before taking the lead in the straight. Culture Vulture ran on under strong pressure to hold off a challenge from Hatoof by a short head. Kenbu, in fifth, was beaten a length further than she had been beaten by Arazi in the

Prix Morny The Prix Morny is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is schedule ...

. On her final start of the year, Culture Vulture was sent to America for her first start on dirt, and finished ninth of the fourteen runners in the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a -mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the Un ...

. Cole noted that Culture Vulture effectively "refused to race" on the surface.

1992: three-year-old season

Culture Vulture began her three-year-old season by running third to the unbeaten Musicale in the

Fred Darling Stakes The Fred Darling Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs () at Newbury in April. History ...

at Newbury and then finished fifth behind Hatoof, Marling and Kenbu 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 ...

. In her next race, she was sent back to France for the

and produced what was probably her best performance. After turning into the straight in eighth place, she quickened to take the lead a furlong from the finish and was driven out by Richard Quinn to win the Group One race by half a length from Hydro Calido, with Hatoof and Kenbu sixth and seventh respectively. She was the first foreign-trained filly to win the race and her winning time of 1:37.00 was a race record. At around this time, Culture Vulture's owners reportedly turned down an offer of $1,500,000 for the filly from the Japanese owner Mitsuo Haga. Although there were seven runners for the

Coronation Stakes The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is sche ...

the betting suggested that the contest was effectively a match between Culture Vulture and Marling, and the two fillies dominated the race as expected. Marling took the lead a furlong out and held off Culture Vulture's persistent challenge to win by three-quarters of a length with the other runners at least six lengths further back. Culture Vulture was then off the racecourse for almost four months, missing an intended run in the Prix du Moulin, before running a disappointing third in a Listed race at Ascot. Another unsuccessful attempt at the Breeders's Cup ended her year, as she finished unplaced behind

Paseana Paseana (August 23, 1987 – June 21, 2006) was an Argentine-bred Thoroughbred racemare who competed very successfully in Argentina and in the United States, where she won 10 Grade 1 races. She received two Eclipse Awards and was also elected t ...

in the

Distaff A distaff (, , also called a rock"Rock." ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989.) is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly use ...

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1993: four-year-old season

Culture Vulture was kept in training at four and showed early promise by running third in the

Lockinge Stakes The Lockinge Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at New ...

on her debut. She followed up with her last important victory, beating Prospective Ruler by a neck in the Premio Emilio Turati in Milan. She was the beaten favourite in a Group Two race at the Curragh three weeks later, and in July finished third to Niche in the

Falmouth Stakes The Falmouth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ( ...

. She was fourth of ten behind Bigstone in the

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), a ...

before ending her career by running unplaced in the

Prix du Moulin The Prix du Moulin de Longchamp is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is s ...

Race record

Assessment

Culture Vulture was named European Champion Two-Year-Old Filly in the inaugural

. She was the highest-rated two-year-old filly to race in France in 1991. As a four-year-old she was the highest-rated older filly or mare in England and Italy.

Stud career

Culture Vulture produced three known foals and one winner, the filly Japan (by

Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...

). Her last known foal was born in 1998.

Pedigree

* Apart from My Babu all of Culture Vulture's ancestors in the first four generations of her pedigree were bred in North America.

References

{{reflist 1989 racehorse births 1998 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 8-h Cartier Award winners