Irish Linnet (foaled 1988 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) is an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse who accomplished the very rare feat in Thoroughbred racing of winning five consecutive editions of the same

stakes race Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon ...

, doing it from 1991 through 1995. She was bred and raced by Austin Delaney, an Irish immigrant, who as a young man reportedly arrived in the United States with five

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s in his pocket and became a highly successful restaurateur. Irish Linnet was sired by

Seattle Song Seattle Song (February 19, 1981 – February 3, 1996) was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1983 Prix de la Salamandre and 1984 Washington, D.C. International Stakes. Background Bred in Kentucky, Seattle Song was sired by 1977 U. ...

, a son of 1977 U. S. Triple Crown champion,

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who became the tenth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only ...

, and out of the mare Royal Slip. In her final year of racing in 1995, Irish Linnet won the biggest race of her career, taking the

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

New York Handicap. She capped off her career with her fifth straight win in the

Yaddo Handicap The Yaddo Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the third week of August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The mile-and-an-eighth race on turf is open to fillies and mares, age three and old ...

as well as her second straight victory in the

Noble Damsel Handicap The Noble Damsel Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares age three-years-old and older run over a distance of one mile on the turf held annually in October at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event offers ...

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

. Retired to

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 ...

duty after her 1995 racing season, Irish Linnet has produced eight foals. Among others, she was bred to top

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" a ...

s such as Giant's Causeway,

Rahy Rahy (February 18, 1985 – September 22, 2011) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in England and the United States. Background Bred by Hill 'n' Dale Farms in Lexington, Rahy was a son of the very important sire Blushing Groom and out o ...

Red Ransom Red Ransom (foaled 1987 in Virginia, died 2009) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In his 2006 book ''Designing Speed in the Racehorse'', author Ken McLean wrote that Red Ransom "was a sensationally fast juvenile." Bred by Paul Mellon and r ...

and

Seeking The Gold Seeking The Gold (April 7, 1985 – July 28, 2016) was an American thoroughbred racehorse and a successful sire. Background and Family Seeking The Gold, a bay colt, was bred in Kentucky by Ogden Phipps, who also owned him. One of numerous t ...

.Progeny for Irish Linnet
/ref>

References

{{reflist 1988 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 14 Racehorses bred in New York (state) Racehorses trained in the United States