Empire Glory (foaled April 8, 1981) was a

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 sold for a world record price as a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the ...

in 1982. He proved to be just short of top class in a brief racing career, winning the

Royal Whip Stakes The Royal Whip Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metre ...

and finishing second in the

Irish St Leger The Irish St Leger is a Conditions races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh Racecourse, Curragh ...

. He made little impact as a breeding stallion.

Background

Empire Glory was a bay or brown horse bred in Kentucky by Mortin Levy & Myron Rosenthal's Glencoe Farm. His dam Spearfish had won 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 ...

in 1966 and had produced the leading North American racehorse

King's Bishop King's Bishop (1969–1981) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background King's Bishop was a bay horse bred in Kentucky by Warner L. Jones, Jr. He was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Round Table. He was out of the mare Spe ...

and the

Irish 1000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is schedule ...

winner Gaily. Through Gaily, she was also the ancestor of Pilsudski. Empire Glory was sired by the Triple Crown winner

Nijinsky Vaslav or Vatslav Nijinsky (12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer of Polish ancestry. He is regarded as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century. Nijinsky was celebrated for his virtuosity and f ...

. In 1982 he was consigned by Glencoe Farm to the

Keeneland Sales Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres (0.59 km2) of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene. A division o ...

where he was sold for a record-setting $4.25 million ($ million inflation adjusted) to the bloodstock agents BBA (Ireland) on behalf of the British businessman

Robert Sangster Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004) Towards the end of his life he spent much of his time in Barbados and Australia. Death Sangster died of pancreatic cancer in London, on 7 April 2004, aged 67. British Classic Race wins * 1, ...

after a prolonged bidding battle with representatives of Sheikh Mohammed. The colt was sent to Europe and was trained by

Vincent O'Brien Michael Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish race horse trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in a worldwide poll hosted by the ''Racing Pos ...

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 ...

Racing career

Empire Glory raced only as a three-year-old in the 1984 season. After refusing to enter the starting stalls on his first racecourse appearance he finished second in his first completed race and then won 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 ...

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 ...

by six lengths. He was then stepped up in class for the Grade Three Royal Whip Stakes over one and a half miles at the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse is a flat racecourse in County Kildare, Ireland. The racecourse is home to Ireland’s five most important flat races, known as the Irish Classic Races, Classics. Racing takes place 23 days each year from the end of March ...

in July. Ridden by Pat Eddery, he won by three quarters of a length from

Sondrio Sondrio (; ; ; archaic or ; ) is an Italian city, ''comune'' and administrative centre for the province of Sondrio, located in the heart of the Valtellina. , Sondrio counted approximately 21,876 inhabitants. In 2007, Sondrio was named the Alpine ...

and Yawa. In his two remaining races, Empire Glory was equipped with blinkers. He finished third to Arctic Lord in 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 ...

and then produced his best effort when finishing second, a neck behind the filly Opale, in the Group One Irish St Leger.

Stud record

Empire Glory stood as a breeding stallion in the USA. He sired several minor winners but nothing of top class. He died in 2001.

Pedigree

*Empire Glory was

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 ...

4 × 4 to Nearco, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{s-end 1981 racehorse births 2001 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 11