Fascinating Rock (foaled 28 March 2011) is an Irish

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. After finishing unplaced on his only appearance as a juvenile he emerged as a high-class middle distance colt in the spring of 2014 with wins in the

Ballysax Stakes The Ballysax Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) at Leopard ...

and the

Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial The Leopardstown Derby Trial, currently run as the Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial, is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of ...

but was well-beaten in both The Derby and the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...

. In 2015 he won the Mooresbridge Stakes and the Enterprise Stakes before recording his biggest win in the

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong a ...

. In 2016 he won the

Tattersalls Gold Cup The Tattersalls Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 110 yards (2,1 ...

Background

Fascinating Rock is a bay horse with two 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. ...

bred by his owners, the Newton Anner Stud. He was sired by the Australian stallion Fastnet Rock who sired many leading horses including Foxwedge and Atlantic Jewel in the Southern hemisphere before moving to the

Coolmore Stud Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is the headquarters of one of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champio ...

in Ireland. Fascinating Rock's dam Miss Polaris won two minor races and is also the dam of the

Galway Hurdle The Galway Hurdle is a National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Galway over a distance of about 2 miles (2 miles and 11 yards, or 3,229 metres), ...

winner Quick Jack. Miss Polaris was descended from

Chief Singer Chief Singer (19 March 1981 – 2000) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. In a racing career which lasted from June 1983 until September 1984 he ran nine times and won four races. ...

's half-sister Querida whose other descendants have included Epiphaneia. The colt was sent into training with

Dermot Weld Dermot K. Weld (born 29 July 1948), in Kildare, is a former jockey, and one of Ireland's most successful racehorse trainers, setting the record in 2000 for the most winners trained in Ireland with 2,578. He won the Irish Flat Training Champion ...

and has been ridden in all of his races by

Pat Smullen Patrick Joseph Smullen (22 May 1977 – 15 September 2020), was an Irish jockey who won the Irish flat racing Champion Jockey title nine times. In a career running from 1992 to 2018 he rode 1,845 winners in Ireland and 47 in Britain. Amongst hi ...

Racing career

2013: two-year-old season

Fascinating Rock 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 one mile on very soft ground at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is a horse-racing course in Leopardstown, approximately south of Dublin city centre, in Ireland. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Built by Captain George Quin and modell ...

on 26 October. He finished fifth of the ten runners, ten and a half lengths behind the winner

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

2014: three-year-old season

On his three-year-old debut, Fascinating Rock started at odds of 9/1 in an eight-runner maiden over ten furlongs at Leopardstown on 30 March and won by a length from the

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

-trained Adjusted. At Navan Racecourse two weeks later the colt was moved up in class for the Group Three Ballysax Stakes and started 5/2 second favourite behind the

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born in Ōpunake, Taranaki, to Irish immigrants. Bef ...

-trained Answered. He produced a strong run on the outside in the straight to take the lead a furlong out and won by two and a half lengths from Answered. The colt's next race was the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial over ten furlongs at Leopardstown on 11 May, for which he started favourite against five opponents headed by 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 ...

winner Geoffrey Chaucer. After being held up at the rear of the six runner field he finished strongly but failed by a head to overhaul the

John Oxx John M. Oxx (born 14 July 1950) is a retired Irish trainer of thoroughbred racehorses. By the end of the 2009 season Oxx had trained 35 Group One winners over his career, including the winners of 11 Classic races. He is best known as the trai ...

-trained Ebanoran. He had been bumped by the "winner" in the closing stages and after a stewards' enquiry the placings of the first two finishers were reversed and the race awarded to Fascinating Rock. On 7 June, Fascinating Rock was sent to England to run in The Derby and started at odds of 12/1 in a field of sixteen runners. After being badly hampered approaching the straight he never looked likely to mount a challenge and finished eighth, more than eleven lengths behind the winner

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Fascinating Rock faced Australia again in the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...

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 ...

three weeks later but made no impact and finished last of the five runners.

2015: four-year-old season

Fascinating Rock began his third season in the Listed Heritage Stakes over one mile at Leopardstown on 15 April. Starting the odds-on favourite on his first start for almost nine months, he recovered from a poor start to win by one and three quarter lengths from the five-year-old mare Alive Alive Oh. On 4 May the colt started 2/5 favourite for the Group Three Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh against three opponents headed by the 2011

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mi ...

winner Parish Hall. He raced in second before taking the lead approaching the final furlong and won by one and three quarter lengths from Parish Hall. In a strongly-contested

at the same course three weeks later he was beaten a neck by

Al Kazeem Al Kazeem (foaled 15 April 2008) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed promise as a two-year-old in 2010 and became a consistently successful performer in the following year. In 2012 he won the Jockey Club Stakes on his seasonal debut b ...

, with Postponed third,

The Grey Gatsby The Grey Gatsby (foaled 14 March 2011) is an Irish-bred racehorse who was trained in Britain and Ireland. In 2014 he established himself as one of the best colts of his generation in Europe by winning the Dante Stakes and the Prix du Jockey Club ...

fourth and Parish Hall fifth. After a three-month break, Fascinating Rock returned for the Winter Hill Stakes at

Windsor Racecourse Windsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is near the M3 and the M4 and the town has two railway stations. It is one of only two figure-of-eight ...

in England on 29 August. He started the 6/5 favourite but finished fifth of the eight runners behind the Godolphin three-year-old Racing History. In the Enterprise Stakes over one and a half miles at Leopardstown on 12 September the colt started second favourite behind Answered in a field which also included the one time Derby favourite

John F Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his assassination in 1963. He was the first Catholic Chur ...

. After racing in third place, he took the lead in the last quarter mile and drew away from his rivals to win by six lengths from the

gelding A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...

Panama Hat. On 17 October Fascinating Rock was sent to England for the third time and started at odds of 10/1 for the Group One Champion Stakes over ten furlongs at

Ascot Racecourse 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 Grade ...

. The Irish Derby winner

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882 – 21 December 1963) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master", he is widely regarded ...

started favourite ahead of Found, whilst the other runners included Vadamos (

Prix Niel The Prix Niel is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), in September each ...

Oettingen-Rennen The Oettingen-Rennen is a Group 2 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late August or e ...

), The Corsican ( Arc Trial), Ribbons (

Prix Jean Romanet The Prix Jean Romanet is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Deauville in ...

), Racing History, Sumbal (

Prix Greffulhe The Prix Greffulhe is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Saint-Cloud in May. History The ev ...

), Air Pilot (

International Stakes The International Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards ...

) and Tullius ( Sandown Mile, York Stakes). Smullen restrained the colt towards the middle of the thirteen runner field as the

pacemaker A pacemaker, also known as an artificial cardiac pacemaker, is an implanted medical device that generates electrical pulses delivered by electrodes to one or more of the chambers of the heart. Each pulse causes the targeted chamber(s) to co ...

Maverick Wave made the running from Jack Hobbs. He began to make progress in the straight, overtook Jack Hobbs inside the final furlong and held off the late challenge of Found to win by one and a quarter lengths. Jack Hobbs finished third ahead of Racing History and Air Pilot. After the race, Weld said "He likes this ground and I've thought this race would suit him for a while. I was very impressed with the way he won at Leopardstown and after that we stuck with the original plan, which was always today. The way he was ridden today was also always the plan, from off the pace. I had a fair idea they would go a pretty good gallop so I told Pat to take him time and hunt away as I knew the horse would come home for him. He'll be a better five-year-old as well."

2016: five-year-old season

Fascinating Rock began his third season in the Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh on 2 May. He was made the 11/10 favourite, but was unable to quicken in the closing stages and finished third behind Found and Success Days. Three weeks later he faced Found and Success Days again as he made his second attempt to win the Tattersalls Gold Cup. Starting the 9/4 second favourite he tracked the leader Success Days before taking the lead two furlongs out. He drew away in the closing stages to win by three and three quarter lengths from Found.Racing Post
/ref>

Stud career

Fascinating Rock was retired from racing at the end of 2016 and began his career as a breeding stallion in 2017 at the Ballylinch Stud.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist

External links

– ''Fascinating Rock'' 2011 racehorse births Racehorses trained in Ireland Racehorses bred in Ireland Thoroughbred family 16-a