Media Puzzle (May 7, 1997 – June 22, 2006), foaled in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

was an Irish

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

best known for his win in the 2002

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

Background

Media Puzzle was bred by Walter Haefner's Moyglare Stud Farm and owned by Dr. M. W. Smurfit. He was sired by

Theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communic ...

, the 1987 U.S. Champion Male Turf Horse, and out of the mare Market Slide by

Gulch A gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Sudden intense rainfall upstream may produce flash floods in the bed of the gulch. In eastern Can ...

, the 1988 U.S. Champion Sprint Horse. Media Puzzle is the half brother of

Refuse to Bend Refuse To Bend (17 March 2000 – 10 February 2012) was a Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and sire (horse), sire. Background Refuse To Bend was a bay horse with a white star (horse marking), star and white sock (horse marking), socks o ...

, a four-time group 1 winning entire 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 ...

Racing career

At age three, Media Puzzle's best showings were third-place finishes in the

Gallinule Moorhens—sometimes called marsh hens—are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family (Rallidae). Most species are placed in the genus ''Gallinula'', Latin for "little hen." They are close relatives of coots. They are ...

and St. Leger Stakes. Plagued by tendon problems throughout his career, after a difficult 2001, Media Puzzle had his best year in 2002. Taken to

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 ...

, his winning time of 2.25.90 in the 2400-metre Geelong Cup broke the course record for the race. He went on to win the 2002

with Damien Oliver on board. Oliver's brother Jason had died one week before the Melbourne Cup win in 2002.

Death

Media Puzzle was put down after shattering a leg at the

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4 ...

.Media Puzzle is put down at Ascot
- ''The Border Mail'', 2006-06-24

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Media Puzzle's pedigree and partial racing stats

1997 racehorse births 2006 racehorse deaths Horses who died from racing injuries Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in Ireland Melbourne Cup winners Thoroughbred family 10-a {{Racehorse-stub