Dylan Mouth (foaled 13 March 2011) is an Irish-bred,

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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

who was trained in Italy and England. After winning both of his races as a juvenile he improved to become the best horse of his generation in Italy, taking the Premio Emanuele Filiberto,

Derby Italiano The Derby Italiano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Capannelle over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year ...

Premio Federico Tesio and

Gran Premio del Jockey Club The Gran Premio del Jockey Club is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in October. T ...

. In 2015 he won the Premio Carlo d'Alessio,

Gran Premio di Milano The Gran Premio di Milano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June. The event ...

, Premio Federico Tesio and

Premio Roma The Premio Roma is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Capannelle over a distance 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in November. History The e ...

. After being transferred to race in England in 2106 he won a second Gran Premio di Milano but failed to reproduce his best form in his subsequent races that year. He went on to win the

Old Newton Cup The Old Newton Cup is a flat Handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses of four-year-old and up. It is run at Haydock over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 175 yards (2,373 metres), ...

in 2017 and the

John Smith's Silver Cup Stakes The John Smith's Silver Cup Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 5 furlongs and 188 yards (2,7 ...

in 2018 before being retired to stud.

Background

Dylan Mouth is a bay horse bred in Ireland by the Italian breeding company Azienda Agricola Mariano. Dylan Mouth was sent into training with Stefano Botti in Italy. He was ridden in the majority of his early races by Fabio Branca. He was sired by

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

, who won the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...

and the

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 2007. His dam Cottonmouth showed good racing form in Italy, winning at least five races in Italy including the

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: * Group 3 element, chemical element classification * Group 3 (motorsport), FIA classification of cars used in auto racing and rallying * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image ...

Premio Verziere in 2009. She was a great-granddaughter of Nilmeen, a half-sister to the dam of

Shergar Shergar (3 March 1978 – ) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After a very successful season in 1981 he was retired to the Ballymany Stud in County Kildare, Ireland. In 1983 he was stolen from the stud, and a ransom of ...

Racing career

2013: two-year-old season

Dylan Mouth made his racecourse debut 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 ...

over 1700 metres at the

Capannelle Racecourse Capannelle Racecourse () is a horse racing venue in Rome, Italy. The course was constructed in 1881, and it was rebuilt in 1926 to a design by Paolo Vietti-Violi. It was recently the venue of two Conditions races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat race ...

in Rome in October and won by four lengths. In November he followed up in the Premio Furigolo at the same course, beating Mewat by five lengths.

2014: three-year-old season

Dylan Mouth began his second season in Rome, winning the Premio Lodi Vecchio in March and the Listed Premio Emanuele Filiberto in April. He was moved up in class in May for the Group Two

San Siro Racecourse The Hippodrome of San Siro () is a horse racing venue in Milan, Italy, which takes its name from the San Siro, Milan, neighborhood of the same name in which it is located. History Designed in 1913 to replace the then-used Trotter in Via Padova, ...

in May. He started the 2.1/1 favourite and took the lead in the lasr 50 metres to win by one and a half lengths from his stablemate Autre Qualite. He was then sent to England for the

King Edward VII Stakes The King Edward VII Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 m ...

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 ...

but failed to cope with the firm ground and finished unplaced behind Eagle Top. In September, Dylan Mouth returned to Italy and won the Group Two Premio Federico Tesio, beating Biz The Nurse by three lengths. On his final appearance of the season he started odds-on favourite for the Group One

over 2400 metres at San Siro on 19 October. He took the lead 700 metres from the finish and won by four lengths from Duca di Mantova with a gap of fourteen lengths back to Biz The Nurse in third.

2015: four-year-old season

On his debut as a four-year-old, Dylan Mouth started 1/5 favourite for the Group Three Premio Carlo d'Alessio at Capannelle and won by three lengths from Bertinoro. In the Group One Gran Premio di Milano on 7 June, he again started at long odds-on and won by five lengths from Billabong. On his second venture outside Italy, Dylan Mouth was sent to England to contest the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...

at Ascot. He finished last of the seven runners behind Postponed. In September he completed a second victory in the Premio Federico Tesio with a five length victory over Bertinoro. He ended the season in excellent form, finishing second in the

in October and winning the Premio Roma in November.

2016: five-year-old season

For the 2016 season Dylan Mouth was transferred to England where he was trained by Stefano Botti's brother,

Marco Botti Marco Botti (born 23 December 1976) is an Italian horse racing, racehorse trainer who is based in Great Britain, working from his stable ''Prestige Place'' in Newmarket, Suffolk. Botti is the son of Alduino Botti, a champion racehorse trainer in I ...

, at Newmarket. On his first appearance of 2016 he was back in Italy and won the Gran Premio di Milano by five and a half lengths but on his second start of the season was beaten into tenth of eleven runners in the

Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is ...

. He was subsequently well beaten in the

Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), taking plac ...

and

2017: six-year-old season

In the early part of 2017 Dylan Mouth was sent to race in Dubai and ran three times on turf at

Meydan Racecourse Meydan Racecourse is a racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The grandstand is a half mile in length, and can accommodate over 60,000 spectators. Meydan opened on 27 March 2010, replacing Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, which formerly occu ...

, finishing second in the Jebel Ali Trophy and third in the Meydan Hotel before coming home fifth behind Prize Money in the

Dubai City of Gold The Dubai City of Gold is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1998 at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Given the nickname for the city of Dubai, the Group 2 race is open to Northern and Southern Hemisphere bred hor ...

over 2400 metres on 4 March. On his return to Europe he finished seventh in the

John Porter Stakes The John Porter Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs ( ...

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's List of ...

and was then stepped up in distance and finished third in a race over fourteen furlongs on the synthetic

polytrack The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...

surface at

Chelmsford City Racecourse Chelmsford City racecourse, originally known as Great Leighs Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Great Leighs near Braintree, Essex, England. When it opened in April 2008, it was the first entirely new racecourse in the ...

on 10 May. After coming home seventh in the Grand Cup over the same distance at

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

later that month he was dropped to handicap class for the

over one and a half miles at

Haydock Park Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Merseyside, North West England. The racecourse is set in an area of parkland bounded by the towns of Haydock to the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield to the north, Golborne to the east and Newton-le-Willows ...

on 8 July. Ridden by Harry Bentley he was assigned top weight of 136 pounds and started a 25/1 outsider in a sixteen-runner field. After being restrained in the early stages he "weaved" his way through the field, took the lead approaching the final furlong and won by two and a quarter lengths from Soldier In Action. Bentley commented: "He is a proper horse... he has done everything very well today. He's a big, solid horse so the weight's not been a problem. I got a good run through... It all went smoothly." After his win at Haydock Dylan Mouth was leased by the American businessman

Earle I. Mack Earle Irving Mack (born July 11, 1936) is an American businessman and former United States Ambassador to Finland. Mack was a senior partner of The Mack Company, a real estate development, investment, and management firm, and was a founding board ...

with the intention of campaigning the horse in Australia. In his two remaining starts of 2017, the horse finished tenth in the Legacy Cup at Newbury and third in the Floodlit Stakes at Chelmsford on 6 November.

2018: seven-year-old season

Dylan Mouth remained in Mack's ownership for the 2018 season. On his seasonal debut he came home last of the six runners behind

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

in the

Ormonde Stakes The Ormonde Stakes is a Group races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 5&n ...

Chester Racecourse Chester Racecourse, also known as the Roodee, is a racecourse located in Chester, England. The horse racing venue is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the "oldest racecourse still in operation". Horse racing in Chester dates ...

in May and then finished runner-up to Second Step in the Fred Archer Stakes at

Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom, licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London; it is 13 miles ...

in June. On 12 July Dylan Mouth contested the Group 3

over fourteen furlongs at York and went off the 8/1 fourth choice in a five-runner field. Ridden by

Dane O'Neill Dane O'Neill (born 1 August 1975) is a retired Irish jockey, who won over 1,800 races in Great Britain over a 25-year career, including the 2015 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. Career O'Neill was born in Dublin, but brought up in Monksto ...

he came from the back of the field to take the lead a furlong out and held off the challenge of the odds-on favourite Dal Harraild to win by a neck. On his final racecourse appearance, Dylan Mouth finished unplaced when carrying a weight of 136 pounds in the

Ebor Handicap The Ebor Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 5 furlongs and 188 yards (2,787 metres). It i ...

on 25 August.

Stud record

At the end of the 2018 season Dylan Mouth was retired to become 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 ...

breeding stallion at the Worsall Grange Stud in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2011 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Italy Thoroughbred family 9-c Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom