Fair Salinia (18 March 1975 – 31 March 2004) was a British

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

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

best known for winning the

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 y ...

in 1978. In a racing career which lasted from September 1977 until September 1978 she won four of her eight races. As a two-year-old in 1977 she won on her debut before finishing second in the

Cheveley Park Stakes The Cheveley Park Stakes 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 6 furlongs (1,207 metres) and is ...

. As a three-year-old she finished second 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 ...

before being moved up in distance and winning the Oaks,

Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks 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 and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it ...

and

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile ...

. She was retired to stud at the end of the season and had some influence as a broodmare. She died in 2004 at the age of twenty-nine.

Background

Fair Salinia was a bay mare with a small white

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

and white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...

on her hind legs bred in Ireland by Major John de Brugh's Oldtown Stud. She was sired by

Petingo Petingo (1965–1976) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. In a racing career which lasted from June 1967 until August 1968 he ran nine times and won six races. In 1967 he was unbeaten in three starts including the G ...

, the leading English two-year-old of 1967 when he was rated the best horse in Europe by the independent

Timeform Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by th ...

organisation. His other progeny included the 1979 Derby winner

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

. Fair Salinia's dam, Fair Arabella was an American-bred mare who was a half-sister to 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 ...

winner Faraway Son and the

Prix d'Harcourt The Prix d'Harcourt is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Longchamp in ...

winner Liloy. As a descendant of the broodmare Judy O'Grady, Fair Arabella came from the same branch of Thoroughbred family 16-c which also produced

Green Dancer Green Dancer (14 April 1972 – 5 December 2000) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A son of the British Tiple Crown winner Nijinsky, he won the French 2000 Guineas in 1975. Later he became a very successful sire. B ...

Solemia Solemia (foaled 20 February 2008) is an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2012 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Before her win in the Arc, Solemia had won four of her twelve races, with her biggest win coming ...

Authorized Authorization or authorisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences), in information security, computer security and identity management, IAM (Identity and Access Managemen ...

, Dream Well and

Makfi Makfi (foaled 4 March 2007) is a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 2010 he won the 2000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois. Background Makfi's sire is Irish 2,000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Dubawi. ...

. 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 ...

, Fair Salinia was offered for sale and bought by Sven Hanson for 13,000

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 ...

. Hanson later explained had not intended to spend more than 7,000 guineas and was looking to buy only colts, but decided to bid for the filly as she was "the spitting image of Liloy". The filly, who was named in honour of the Hanson family's interests in the salt business, was sent into training with

Michael Stoute Sir Michael Ronald Stoute (born 22 October 1945) is a Barbadian British Thoroughbred horse trainer in flat racing. Career Stoute, whose father was the Chief of Police for Barbados, left the island in 1964 at the age of 19 to become an assis ...

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 14 miles west of Bury St Edmunds and 14 miles northeast of Cambridge. In 2021, it had a population of 16,772. It is a global ...

Racing career

1977: two-year-old season

Fair Salinia made her racecourse debut in early September 1977 when she contested the Gancia Stakes over seven

furlongs 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 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains, or approximately 201 metres. It is no ...

Sandown Park Racecourse Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt racing, National Hunt races and one Group One, Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Sta ...

for which started a 20/1 outsider. The race was open to both colts and fillies but was restricted to horses that had not run before 3 August. Fair Salinia took the lead on the turn into the straight, went clear of the field approaching the final furlong and won by two lengths from the colt Tom Noel. At the end of the month the filly was moved up sharply in class for the

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 ...

Cheveley Park Stakes over six furlongs at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

. She appeared outpaced for most of the race but stayed on strongly in the closing stages to finish third behind Sookera and Petty Purse. Following inquiry by the racecourse stewards she was promoted to second after Petty Purse was disqualified for causing interference.

1978: three-year-old season

Fair Salinia ran disappointingly on her three-year-old debut, finishing fourth behind Shapina 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 ...

. She then contested the classic 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile course at Newmarket in which she produced a much better performance, finishing strongly to take second place in a field of sixteen fillies, a length behind Enstone Spark. A month later, Fair Salinia was moved up in distance for the 200th running of the Oaks Stakes over one and a half miles at

Epsom Downs Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 including ...

. Some observers doubted that she would stay the distance, as most of her family had excelled as milers. Ridden by

Greville Starkey Greville Michael Wilson Starkey (21 December 1939 – 14 April 2010) was an English jockey who rode almost 2,000 winners during a 33-year career on the flat. Starkey scaled the heights of his profession during his 33-year career in which ...

, she started at odds of 8/1 in a field of fifteen fillies, with the French-trained

Dancing Maid Dancing Maid (29 April 1975 – 1982) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. After winning one of her two races as a two-year-old she emerged as one of the best fillies in Europe in 1978, winning the Prix Vanteaux, Poule d'Essai ...

starting favourite after having won 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) ...

. Fair Salinia had a good position throughout the race and tracked Dancing Maid when the French filly went to the front a quarter of a mile from the finish. Under a strong ride from Starkey, Fair Salinia moved alongside the favourite and went gained the advantage in the final stride to win by a short head. Stoute was winning the race for the first time, whilst Starkey completed a notable double, having won the

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

Shirley Heights Shirley Heights (1 March 1975 – 17 March 1997) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and winner of the Derby in 1978. The colt had previously won the Royal Lodge Stakes and the Dante Stakes, and he went on to win the Irish Derby before his ra ...

three days earlier. 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 ...

on 15 July, Fair Salinia started 3/1 favourite for the Irish Oaks. She turned into the straight in fifth place and made steady headway to move into second place behind the John Oxx-trained filly Sorbus a furlong from the finish. She could make no further progress, however, and finished second, beaten a length by Sorbus who had hung to the left in the closing stages, with the

Ribblesdale Stakes The Ribblesdale Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metres), and it i ...

winner Relfo close behind in third place. Following an objection by Starkey and an inquiry by the local stewards Sorbus was disqualified for causing interference to the runner-up in the final furlong and the race was awarded to Fair Salinia. Timeform felt that Fair Salinia was lucky to be awarded the race, whilst Oxx, who lodged an unsuccessful appeal against the verdict later referred to "that infamous day". Fair Salina and Sorbus met again in the Yorkshire Oaks 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 ...

in August. Relfo started favourite at odds of 7/4 ahead of Sorbus (4/1) with Fair Salinia third choice in the betting on 5/1. In a change of tactics, Starkey sent the filly into the lead six furlongs from the finish and sent her clear of the field early in the straight. She appeared to be tiring in the closing stages but held on to win by one and a half lengths from Sorbus, with Be Sweet in third. In the following month, Fair Salinia was sent to France to contest the

Prix Vermeille The Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles) ...

over 2400 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 ...

on 17 September in which she was opposed by Dancing Maid and Relfo. Starting at odds of 13/1 she led from the start and set a very strong pace but was overtaken in the straight and finished fifth, three and a half lengths behind the winner Dancing Maid.

Assessment

As a two-year-old, Fair Salinia was given a rating of 114 by Timeform, eleven pounds below their top-rated two-year-old filly Cherry Hinton. In the Free Handicap, a rating of the best two-year-olds to race in Britain, she was allotted a weight of 120 pounds, seven pounds behind Cherry Hinton, making her the fourth highest-rated filly of her generation. In the following year, she was given a rating of 125 by Timeform, four pounds behind their top-rated three-year-old filly

Swiss Maid Swiss Maid (13 February 1975 – after 1992) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare, who was rated the best three-year-old filly in Europe in 1978. Unraced as a two-year-old, she won only one of her first eight races in 1978 and ap ...

. She was rated eleven pounds behind the same filly in the official International Classification. In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Fair Salinia an "average" winner of the Oaks.

Breeding record

Fair Salinia was retired from racing to become a broodmare at her owners stud. She produced at least eleven foals and six winners. *Warren Hill (bay colt, foaled in 1980, sired by

Nonoalco Nonoalco (1971–1992) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He won 2000 Guineas in 1974. Background He was out of the mare Seximee, a daughter of the 1954 Preakness Stakes winner Hasty Road. His sire was the very impor ...

) *Fair Habit (bay filly, 1981, by

Habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

), failed to win in three races *Legend of Arabia (bay filly, 1983, by

Great Nephew Great Nephew (1963 – 31 May 1986) was a British thoroughbred who became a champion miler in France. He was also a very successful sire, producing two Derby winners.

), unraced, dam of Nomadic (

Morgiana Hurdle The Morgiana Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Ireland which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years or older. It is run at Pun ...

) *Horn Dance (bay colt, 1986, by

), won one race *Impact (brown colt, 1988, by

Green Desert ''Green Desert'' is the twenty-seventh major release and the fifteenth studio album by electronic artists Tangerine Dream. The music was recorded in Berlin in 1973, during a period when Peter Baumann had temporarily left Germany to tour Nepal and ...

), won one race *Perfect Circle (brown filly, 1989, 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 ...

), won two races including the

Sceptre Stakes The Sceptre Stakes is a Group 3 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 7 furlongs and 6 yards (1,414 metres ...

*Perfect Vintage (bay gelding, 1990, by

), won four races including the

Prix Quincey The Prix Quincey is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to ta ...

*Crespo (bay colt, 1992, by

Kris The kris or is a Javanese culture, Javanese asymmetrical dagger with a distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade, although ma ...

), won one race *On Fair Stage (bay filly, 1993, by

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 ...

), won two races, dam of French Opera ( Game Spirit Chase,

Celebration Chase The Celebration Chase is a Grade One National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 1 mile 7½ furlongs (1 mile, 7 ...

), and

Reliable Man Reliable Man (foaled 27 March 2008) is a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Initially trained in France, he won two minor races in the spring of 2011 before defeating a strong field to win the Prix du Jockey Club. After losing his unb ...

(

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly ov ...

) *Rivelino (bay filly, 1995, by

), failed to win in four races *Tall Order (bay colt, 1998, by

), failed to win in two races On the morning of 31 March 2004, Fair Salinia was unable to get to her feet in her stable at Hanson's Haras de Vieux Pont. Her condition did not improve and she was

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...

that evening.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1975 racehorse births 2004 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 16-c Epsom Oaks winners