Free Eagle (foaled 4 May 2011) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He was very lightly campaigned in his early career, appearing four times in two years. As a juvenile he won impressively on his debut but was comprehensively beaten by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on his only other start. After a lengthy absence he returned in September 2014 to win the

Enterprise Stakes The Kilternan Stakes, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Paddy Power Stakes, is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a di ...

by seven lengths and then finished third 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 and 2 furlong ...

. On his first appearance as a four-year-old he defeated a world-class field to win the Prince of Wales's Stakes.

Background

Free Eagle is a bay colt with a white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

bred in Ireland by his owner

Moyglare Stud Walter Haefner (13 September 1910 – 19 June 2012) was a Swiss businessman and a thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder in Ireland. As a young man Haefner went to work in the auto industry as an employee of the Swiss division of General Mo ...

. His sire High Chaparral won The Derby in 2002 and the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

in 2002 and 2003. His other progeny have included So You Think,

Dundeel Dundeel, or It’s a Dundeel as he is known in Australia, is a champion New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the fifth and most recent winner of the Australian Triple Crown. Background Dundeel is a bay colt trained by Murray Baker and An ...

and Toronado. Free Eagle's dam, Polished Gem won one minor race from five attempts, but has been a successful broodmare, producing several other winners including the Sandown Mile winner Custom Cut. Polished Gem is a daughter of the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Trusted Partner. Throughout his racing career, Free Eagle was trained at the Curragh by Dermot Weld and was ridden most of his races by Pat Smullen.

Racing career

2013: two-year-old season

Free Eagle made his racecourse debut in a one-mile

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 se ...

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

on 15 August 2013. He started the 11/4 favourite against nine opponents and won "very easily" by five and a half lengths from Orchestra, a colt who went on to win the Chester Vase. After the race Smullen commented "I don't get too bullish about them normally because that's not my style but this lad has been exciting us all year. He's a lovely horse... We are very excited about his future". Despite race's modest status, Free Eagle was made 8/1 favourite for the following year's

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

. Three weeks later the colt was moved up in class to contest the

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Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Trial over the same course and distance. Starting the 2/5 favourite, he took the lead in the straight but proved no match for the Aidan O'Brien-trained

, and finished second, six lengths behind the winner.

2014: three-year-old season

In April 2014 it was announced that Free Eagle had had a "training setback" and would miss both the Epsom Derby and the Irish Derby. Weld said that the colt would be reserved for an autumn campaign. After an absence of more than a year, Free Eagle returned in the Group Three Enterprise Stakes over ten furlongs at Leopardstown on 13 September 2014 in which he was opposed by the Solonaway Stakes winner Brendan Brackan and 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 metres) ...

winner Hall of Mirrors. Starting the 9/10 favourite, he took the lead inside the last quarter mile and accelerated clear of his rivals in the closing stages to win by seven lengths from Elleval. On his only other run of the season, Free Eagle was sent to England to contest 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 and 2 furlong ...

at Ascot Racecourse on 18 October. Starting the 5/2 second favourite, he stayed on strongly in the straight to finish third behind Noble Mission and

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 bu ...

, with the unplaced horses including Cirrus des Aigles and Ruler of the World.

2015: four-year-old season

Free Eagle was expected to make his 2015 debut in the Tattersalls Gold Cup but was ruled out of the race with what was described as a "head cold". He did not appear as a four-year-old until June, when he started 5/2 favourite for the Prince of Wales's Stakes over ten furlongs at

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

. The race attracted a strong international field including The Grey Gatsby from England, Ectot from France, Spielberg ( Tenno Sho) from Japan and Criterion ( Queen Elizabeth Stakes) from Australia. Smullen tracked the leaders before sending the colt into the lead in the straight and held off a strong late challenge from The Grey Gatsby to win by a short head. Weld commented "When you’ve got a good horse it makes the training easy, but it hasn’t been easy with him. He got a heavy head cold a few weeks ago and I thought today was very much in doubt, but we got him right on the day that mattered". Free Eagle was off the course for almost three months before returning for the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in September and started 100/30 second favourite behind the Epsom Derby winner Golden Horn. Pat Smullen settled the colt in fourth before moving up to challenge Golden Horn in the straight. He moved alongside the Derby winner but was badly hampered a furlong out when Golden Horn jinked sharply to the right. He dropped back as a result and finished third behind Golden Horn and Found. Free Eagle was sent to France in October and was moved up in distance for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe over 2400 metres at Longchamp Racecourse. Starting the 16.8/1 fourth choice in the betting he stayed on in the straight despite being slightly hampered and finished sixth, just over four lengths behind the winner Golden Horn.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Free Eagle'' 2011 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 9-f