Most Improved (foaled 3 May 2009) is an Irish

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 ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...

who won the 2012

St James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs and 213 yards (1,603 metres). It is sche ...

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 a ...

. He was owned by Iraj Parvizi and trained by Brian Meehan, before being purchased by Derrick Smith,

Sue Magnier Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits islan ...

and

Michael Tabor Michael Barry Tabor (born 28 October 1941) is a British businessman, bookmaker, gambler and owner of thoroughbred racehorses. Tabor regularly appears on the ''Sunday Times Rich List'' of the richest people in Britain. In 2012 his fortune ...

and transferred to

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

Background

Most Improved is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

horse bred by Skymarc Farm Inc and foaled on 3 May 2009. He was sired by

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 ...

winner Lawman. Most Improved's dam is Tonnara, a daughter of

Poule d'Essai des Poulains Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency. Classification Wurm (1975) placed it as an independent branch of Trans–New Guinea, but Ros ...

winner Linamix.

Racing career

2011: Two-year-old season

In early August 2011 Most Improved made his first racecourse appearance and finished second in a Newmarket maiden, failing to win by a

short head ''Short Head'' (French: '' Courte tête'') is a 1956 French comedy film directed by Norbert Carbonnaux, written by Michel Audiard and starring Fernand Gravey, Micheline Dax and Jean Richard. The film is known under the alternative title ''Ph ...

. Three weeks later he raced in another Newmarket maiden, this time winning by five

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the In ...

. He then started in one of the top two-year-old races, the

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres ...

. He finished third in the race, which ended in a bunch finish with only 1½ lengths separating first from fifth. Most Improved was ¾ length behind winner Parish Hall.

2012: Three-year-old season

During the early spring of 2012 Most Improved was backed into second favourite for the

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year ...

. However he did not make it to the start of the Guineas, due to an injury sustained shortly before his intended prep run in the

Craven Stakes The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres ...

. He made his first appearance as a three-year-old in the

. In a race with a lot of interference he could not get a clear run and ended up finishing a distant fourteenth. He then went to

for the

. He was ridden near the front of the field by jockey

Kieren Fallon Kieren Francis Fallon (born 22 February 1965 in Crusheen, County Clare, Ireland) is a retired Irish professional flat racing jockey and was British Champion Jockey six times. Career Stable jockey to Henry Cecil In ...

and took the lead with two furlongs left to run. He stayed at the front and went on to win by ¾ length from Hermival, in a field that also included

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas 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 distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it i ...

winner

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may ...

and

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf is an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses, run on a grass course at a distance of one mile. It is part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North ...

winner Wrote. On his next appearance, Most Improved ran poorly in the

Prix Jacques Le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mil ...

, being virtually pulled up in the closing stages by Fallon, as he finished last of the eleven runners behind Excelebration. In the

Joel Stakes The Joel Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it i ...

at Newmarket he finished in seventh place, over 7 lengths behind winner Penitent.

2013: Four-year-old season

In his first race for

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

, Most Improved finished third of four runners in the

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 (2 ...

The Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the f ...

, about ten lengths behind winner Flying the Flag. In Most Improved's final race, he finished last of the ten runners in the Concorde Stakes, which was won by Sruthan.

Stud career

Most Improved was retired to

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

, where he now stands for a stud fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

6,000.Racing Post
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References

{{reflist 2009 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 6-e