Fleeting Spirit
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Fleeting Spirit is a retired, 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 who was trained in the United Kingdom during a racing career which lasted from 2007 to 2010. She was a specialist sprinter, running all of her races over five and six
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 ...
s. Fleeting Spirit was the highest-rated British-trained two-year-old filly of 2007 and went on to win the Group Two
Temple Stakes The Temple Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled ...
at
Haydock Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 11,416 Haydock's historic area covers the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook ward. Haydo ...
in 2008 and 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 ...
July Cup The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 me ...
in 2009. In the last named year she was awarded the title of European Champion Sprinter at the
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 ...
.


Background

Fleeting Spirit, a "delightful little" 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 ...
, was bred at
Kilcullen Kilcullen (), formally Kilcullen Bridge, is a small town on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Its population of 3,815 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census made it the 13th largest settlement in County Kilda ...
,
County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...
, Ireland by Bernadette Hayden. The success of Fleeting Spirit led to Mrs Hayden being named as outstanding small breeder of 2007 by the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association. Fleeting Spirit's
sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...
Invincible Spirit Invincible Spirit (foaled 17 February 1997) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old, he won two out of his four races, but as a three-year-old, he only raced twice and was unsuccessful on both occasions. In 20 ...
was a sprinter who won the Haydock Sprint Cup in 2002. He has gone on to be a "leading" sire, getting the winners of more than five hundred races including
Moonlight Cloud Moonlight Cloud (foaled 5 March 2008) is a British– bred, French- trained Thoroughbred racehorse who has won the Prix Maurice de Gheest three times and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. In a famous race for the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in 2012, sh ...
, Lawman (
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 ...
), Hooray (
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 ...
) and
Vale of York The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the northeast of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north–south transport corridor for Northern England. The Vale of York is a broad area of flat land in northe ...
(
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 ...
). Fleeting Spirit was sent as a yearling to the Goffs sales in September 2006 where she was bought for €35,000 by Con Marnane, a bloodstock agent who specialised in "pinhooking"– buying horses at auction and then selling them on at a profit. Seven months later, Marnane's investment paid off at the
Tattersalls Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founding It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. ...
"breeze-up" sale where the filly was sold for 90,000 gns to Anthony Stroud acting on behalf of "The Searchers", a five-member syndicate which included Andy Stewart and Paul Roy. She was trained throughout her career at
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 ...
by
Jeremy Noseda Jeremy Noseda (born 17 September 1963) is a retired British racehorse trainer and a British Classic winner. Over his career he recorded 14 Group One and grade one wins, as well as 871 wins in 5294 races in Britain across his 23 years he spent t ...
.


Racing career


2007: two-year-old season

Fleeting Spirit made her 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 ...
at
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
in June. Ridden by Frankie Dettori, she led from the start and was never headed, winning by two lengths. Fleeting Spirit was prevented from running at
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 ...
after contracting an infection and Jeremy Noseda decided to wait for
Glorious Goodwood Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in late ...
where she was moved up to Group Three class to run against colts in 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 ...
. Fleeting Spirit tracked the leaders before moving up to dispute the lead with Kingsgate Native .The two horses raced together in the final
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 ...
before Fleeting Spirit gained the advantage and prevailed by a neck. The filly was moved up to six furlongs for her next start in 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 ...
at
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 ...
, but after leading at the two furlong mark she was caught in the closing stages and finished third behind Nahoodh and the subsequently disqualified Visit. Just over an hour after her defeat, the form of her Goodwood win was boosted when Kingsgate Native defeated a field of older sprinters to win the
Nunthorpe Stakes The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is sc ...
. In September, Fleeting Spirit returned to five furlongs and started 5/4 favourite for the
Flying Childers Stakes The Flying Childers Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 5 furlongs and 3 yards (1,008 metres), and it is sch ...
at
Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...
. Dettori sent the filly into the lead a furlong out and she beat Spirit of Sharjah by one and three quarter lengths. The result confirmed her status as "one of the fastest juveniles in training" Among the unplaced horses was the colt Dark Angel, who won the Group One
Middle Park Stakes The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it i ...
on his next start. On her final start of the year Fleeting Spirit again attempted six furlongs in the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes. She failed by a neck to catch the front-running, French-trained
Natagora Natagora was a French champion Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare, named after a Belgian NGO. She won five of her seven starts as a two-year-old including the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes and the Group Two Prix Robert Papin. She was named E ...
, with the two fillies finishing four lengths clear of the rest of the field. Noseda was positive in defeat saying that it was "disappointing to get beat but she's run a huge race.


2008: three-year-old season

Instead of being aimed at the one mile
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 ...
, Fleeting Spirit was aimed at the top sprint races as a three-year-old. Noseda explained that "she is so fast and to try to get a mile is to destroy her natural asset". On her first start in May, she raced against colts and older horses in the Temple Stakes over five furlongs at Haydock Park. Ridden by Ryan Moore she broke from the stalls in a "sluggish" fashion and was behind in the early stages. Moore moved the filly up to challenge a furlong out and she quickened clear, winning by two lengths from Borderlescott who went on to win the next two runnings of the
Nunthorpe Stakes The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is sc ...
. The winning time of 57.15 broke the track record by more than a second. Fleeting Spirit was then made 15/8 favourite for the Group One
King's Stand Stakes The King Charles III Stakes (formerly the King's Stand Stakes) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 fu ...
at
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 ...
in June. She again started slowly before producing a sustained late run to finish third, beaten half a length and a neck by Equiano and
Takeover Target Takeover Target (27 September 1999 – 20 June 2015) was a much-travelled Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won top sprinting races in each of the five major cities in Australia as well as in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Singapore. He ...
. Noseda later explained that Fleeting Spirit was a "sick" horse after the race, and that she never fully recovered in 2008. Fleeting Spirit was off the course for almost four months before running in a bizarre renewal of the
Prix de l'Abbaye The Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged two years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,000 metres (about 5 furlon ...
at Longchamp. At the start of the race, Fleeting Spirit's stall failed to open, leaving the filly banging her head against the gate as the other runners set off. A false start was called, but several runners, headed by the Hungarian Champion
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ignored the recall and completed the race. The "result" was set aside and the race was re-run later in the afternoon although the connections of three of the runners who had completed the course declined to take part. Racing on soft ground for the first time, Fleeting Spirit looked outpaced at one stage, but finished strongly to be fifth of the seventeen runners, beaten just over three lengths by Marchand d'Or. On her final start of the year she finished fourth, beaten just over two lengths in the inaugural
Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint The Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint is a Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up. As its name implies, it is a part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North American ...
at
Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...
.


2009: four-year-old season

Fleeting Spirit made a belated start to her championship season, first appearing in the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. Not for the first time she made a slow start and was towards the back of the field for the first half of the race. She finished strongly however, to finish second of fifteen starters, beaten three quarters of a length by the Australian-trained
Scenic Blast Scenic Blast (foaled 2004) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trained in Australia. His first group races, group win was in the HDF McNeil Stakes. In 2009, he won three group one races, the Lightning Stakes, Newmarket Handicap and the King's Stand Stak ...
. The July Cup at Newmarket attracted a strong international field, including Takeover Target and Scenic Blast from Australia, J J the Jet Plane from South Africa and African Rose (
Haydock Sprint Cup The Sprint Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), a ...
) from France. Apart from Fleeting Spirit, the British runners included Equiano,
Paco Boy Paco Boy (foaled 24 March 2005) is a retired Irish thoroughbred racehorse who was trained by Richard Hannon Sr. He won three Group 1 races including Prix de la Forêt, Queen Anne Stakes and Lockinge Stakes. Paco Boy was known as a hold up hors ...
, King's Apostle (
Prix Maurice de Gheest The Prix Maurice de Gheest is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,300 metres (about 6½ furlongs), and it is s ...
) and Art Connoisseur (
Golden Jubilee Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. Three-year-olds foaled in the Southern Hemisphere are also eligible. It i ...
). Ridden by
Tom Queally Tom Queally (born 8 October 1984) is an Irish flat racing jockey based in Britain. He rode Frankel in his unbeaten 14-race career. Background Born Thomas P. Queally in Dungarvan, County Waterford, Ireland, Queally is the son of trainer Declan Q ...
, Fleeting Spirit tracked the leaders before moving up to take the lead a furlong out. Although she veered first left and then right in the closing stages she ran on strongly to win by a length and a quarter from Main Aim in a time of 1:09.58. There was a stewards' inquiry into possible interference caused by Fleeting Spirit but the result was allowed to stand. Noseda paid tribute to the filly saying that,"she is back to her very best and that's the best she has ever run in her life. She is a very tough and talented filly." Racing on soft ground in the Haydock Sprint Cup in September, Fleeting Spirit started the 100/30 favourite and took the lead a furlong out but was caught in the closing stages and beaten half a length by Regal Parade. A month later in the Prix de l'Abbaye she made her customary slow start and before finishing strongly, failing by a neck to catch Total Gallery. On her final start of the year she was sent back to Santa Anita, this time to contest the
Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in t ...
on the artificial Pro-Ride surface. She was unable to reach the lead but, in finishing seventh, she was beaten less than two and a half lengths by Dancing in Silks. Noseda felt that she had failed to settle in her unfamiliar surroundings and announced that she would stay in training for 2010.


2010: five-year-old season

Fleeting Spirit did stay in training at five, but ran only twice and failed to recapture her best form as she struggled to overcome ankle injuries. She finished fourth to the Australian-bred
Starspangledbanner Starspangledbanner is an Australian-bred and internationally raced Thoroughbred racehorse who won six of his sixteen group or listed race starts including the group one (G1) Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, G1 July Cup at Newmarket, G1 Oak ...
in the Golden Jubilee Stakes in June and fifth behind the same horse in the July Cup. Her retirement was announced in September by Jeremy Noseda who said that "the wear and tear from so many big runs has taken its toll and she owes us absolutely nothing, so it seems the right thing to do to retire her."


Assessment

In the 2007 International Classification for two-year-olds Fleeting Spirit was rated the best British-trained filly and the third best filly in Europe behind
Zarkava Zarkava (foaled 31 March 2005 in Ireland) is an undefeated French Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2008 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Background Bred and raced by HH Aga Khan IV, Zarkava was sired by Group II winner Zamindar who also sired th ...
and Natagora. In the 2009
World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (LWBRR), known as World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings (WTRR) before 2012, are horseracing's equivalent to World Rankings by other major sporting organizations such as ATP Tennis Rankings, World Golf R ...
Fleeting Spirit's rating of 118 was the highest for any European-trained sprinter. She had been rated 115 in the previous year. in the 2009
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 ...
she was named European Champion Sprinter.


Breeding record

In her first season at stud, Fleeting Spirit was sent to be covered by 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 ...
winner
Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
. In April 2011 it was announced that a scan had confirmed she had conceived successfully and was "in foal". In February 2011, Fleeting Spirit produced her first foal, a filly by Galileo.


Pedigree


References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Cartier Award winners 2005 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 2-e