Park Express
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Park Express (25 March 1983 – 2006) was an Irish
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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...
and
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 ...
. She showed promise as a two-year-old in 1985, before developing into a top-class middle-distance performer in the following season. Racing against horses of her own age and sex she won the
Lancashire Oaks The Lancashire Oaks is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 175 yards ...
and
Nassau Stakes The Nassau Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to Filly, fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at ...
before recording her biggest success against
colts Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States * Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United State ...
and older horses in the Phoenix Champion Stakes. She retired from racing with a record of five wins and five places from fourteen races. She later became an extremely successful broodmare, producing several good winners. Most importantly, she was the dam of The Derby winner
New Approach New Approach (foaled 18 February 2005) is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active stallion. In a racing career which lasted from July 2007 to October 2008 he ran eleven times and won eight races. He was undefeated in five races as a tw ...
, a colt foaled at a time when Park Express was completely blind. She died in 2006 at the age of 23.


Background

Park Express was a "big, rangy", dark brown mare bred in Ireland by Peter Clarke. She was sired by
Ahonoora Ahonoora (1975–1989) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1977 to 1979 he ran sixteen times and won seven races. Ahonoora was a sprinter who specialised in races over five and six furlongs, with his most i ...
, whose other offspring included The Derby winner
Dr Devious Dr Devious (10 March 1989 – 7 March 2018) was an Irish-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred horse racing, race horse and Sire (horse), sire. In a career which lasted from May 1991 until November 1992, he ran fifteen times and won six races. H ...
. Ahonoora was a representative of the
Byerley Turk The Byerley Turk (), also spelled Byerly Turk, was the earliest of three Stallion (horse), stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock (the other two are the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian).Ahnert, ...
sire line, unlike more than 95% of modern thoroughbreds, who descend directly from the
Darley Arabian The Darley Arabian (–1730) was one of three dominant foundation sires of modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock. The other two founders were the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk. This bay Arabian horse was bought in Aleppo, Syria ...
. Park Express's dam Matcher was bred in Canada by
E. P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989), was a Canadians, Canadian business tycoon, investor, and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred horse racing, r ...
and produced several other winners including Myra's Best ( Firth of Clyde Stakes) and the successful
hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...
Wing and a Prayer. The filly was sent to the sales as a foal and sold for 17,000 Irish
guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
. In the following year she was sold again for 42,000 guineas, this time to John Warren, acting on behalf of the father and son team of Paddy and Seamus Burns of the Lodge Park Stud. She was sent into training with
Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born in Ōpunake, Taranaki, to Irish immigrants. Bef ...
at Coolcullen in
County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...
. Park Express usually raced in a sheepskin noseband.


Racing career


1985: two-year-old season

Park Express began her racing career at
Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is a horse-racing course in Leopardstown, approximately south of Dublin city centre, in Ireland. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Built by Captain George Quin and modell ...
in September 1985, when she won a 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 ...
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 ...
by five lengths. She was then moved up abruptly in class when she was sent to England for 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 ...
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 ...
over six furlongs at
Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...
. She finished fifth of the fourteen runners, three lengths behind the winner Embla. In late October she started odds-on favourite for the Leopardstown Stakes, but was beaten a head by the colt Toca Madera.


1986: three-year-old season

Park Express began her three-year-old season by winning a minor race at Leopardstown, but when moved up in class she finished tenth behind Sonic Lady in the Irish 1000 Guineas. She was then moved up in distance and finished fourth behind Gull Nook in the
Ribblesdale Stakes The Ribblesdale Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metres), and it i ...
over one and a half miles 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 ...
. John Reid took over as Parke Express's rider for the Lancashire Oaks at
Haydock Park Racecourse Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Merseyside, North West England. The racecourse is set in an area of parkland bounded by the towns of Haydock to the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield to the north, Golborne to the east and Newton-le-Willows ...
and adopted new tactics, riding her much closer to the lead than at Ascot. She showed much improved form to record her first Group race success, winning by one and a half lengths from Mill on the Floss, who had finished ahead of her in the Ribblesdale. On 2 August Park Express returned to England for the Group Two Nassau Stakes at
Goodwood Racecourse 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 l ...
where she was opposed by Maysoon, a filly who had been placed in both the
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 ...
and the
Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 y ...
. Park Express started third favourite at odds of 7/1 and won by three lengths from Maysoon and Asteroid Field. Later that month in the Group One
Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile ...
she started third choice in the betting behind Colorspin (the winner of the
Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it ...
) and Gull Nook. She took the lead in the straight and rallied after being overtaken to finish second, three quarters of a length by Untold. Park Express then contested the third running of Ireland's most valuable
weight-for-age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rou ...
race, the Phoenix Champion Stakes at
Phoenix Park Racecourse Phoenix Park Racecourse was a horse racing venue in Ireland. It was located in the townlands of Ashtown, Dublin, Ashtown and Castleknock in the civil parish of Castleknock on the northern edge of the Phoenix Park in Dublin. The course was foun ...
on 7 September. She started 11/2 third favourite in a race which attracted a strong French challenge headed by 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 ...
winning four-year-olds
Triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...
and Baillamont (winner of the
Prix Jean Prat The Prix Jean Prat is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is s ...
,
Prix Ganay The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at L ...
and
Prix d'Ispahan The Prix d'Ispahan is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,850 metres (about 1 mile and 1¼ furlongs), ...
). Park Express took the lead two furlongs from the finish and won decisively by two and a half lengths from Double Bed, with Triptych another two and a half lengths back in third. Reid commented: "She really won her race easily. There was never a moment's concern." Later that month, Park Express started the odds-on favourite for the
Blandford Stakes The Blandford Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2 ...
at the Curragh, but was beaten half a length by the four-year-old colt Nemain. In October she started favourite for 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 1 furlong a ...
at Newmarket, where she finished third behind Triptych and Celestial Storm. She was then sent to the United States to run in the
Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, three years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United Stat ...
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 ...
. She worked promisingly on the dirt course after being prepared for the surface in Ireland by being galloped on sawdust, but was withdrawn after contracting
colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content ou ...
shortly before the race and was subsequently retired.


Assessment

In 1985, the independent Timeform organisation gave Park Express a rating of 111, thirteen pounds below the top-rated two-year-old filly Femme Elite. In the official International Classification for two-year-olds, she was given a rating of 72, eight pounds behind the top-rated filly Baiser Vole. In the following year she was given a rating of 123 by both Timeform and the International Classification. She was the highest-rated three-year-old of either sex trained in Ireland and the highest-rated filly of her generation in Europe over ten furlongs.


Stud record

Park Express was retired from racing to become a broodmare at her owner's Lodge Park Stud in
County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...
. She proved to be very successful, producing at least eleven foals and being the ancestor of many good winners: *Lady Express (chestnut filly, foaled 1990, sired by
Soviet Star Soviet Star (20 April 1984 – 7 October 2014) was an American-bred French-trained Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and sire (horse), sire. He was bred in Kentucky, sold as a yearling for $310,000 and sent to race in Europe where he proved to ...
) *Park Heiress (bay filly, foaled 1991, sired 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 ...
) *Shinko Forest (brown colt, foaled 1993, sired by
Green Desert ''Green Desert'' is the twenty-seventh major release and the fifteenth studio album by electronic artists Tangerine Dream. The music was recorded in Berlin in 1973, during a period when Peter Baumann had temporarily left Germany to tour Nepal and ...
), won Grade I
Takamatsunomiya Kinen The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres (approximately 6 furlongs) at Chukyo Racecourse in late March. The forerunner of this race was the . It was started ...
*Green Seraphim (chestnut filly, foaled 1995, sired by
Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...
) *Dazzling Park (brown filly, foaled 1996, sired by Warning), won three races including the Matron Stakes. *Innocent Affair (filly, foaled 1997, sired by
Night Shift The shift plan, rota or roster (esp. British) is the central component of a schedule (workplace), shift schedule in shift work. The schedule includes considerations of shift overlap, shift change times and alignment with the clock, vacation, train ...
) *Alluring Park (brown filly, foaled 1999, sired by
Green Desert ''Green Desert'' is the twenty-seventh major release and the fifteenth studio album by electronic artists Tangerine Dream. The music was recorded in Berlin in 1973, during a period when Peter Baumann had temporarily left Germany to tour Nepal and ...
), won one race, dam of The Oaks winner Was, and the filly Al Naamah who was sold for 5m guineas as a yearling in 2013. *Tycoon King (brown colt, foaled 2000, sired by
Last Tycoon Last Tycoon (9 May 1983 – 27 May 2006) was an Irish bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the Breeders' Cup Mile and as a leading sire in Australia. Background Last Tycoon was bred in Ireland by his owner Richard C. Strauss's Ki ...
), won two races *Thunder Rock (bay colt, foaled 2002, sired by
King's Best Kings Best (24 January 1997 – 16 April 2019) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2000 Guineas Stakes. He was described by his trainer Michael Stoute as the best miler he'd ever trained. Background King's Best ...
), won five races *Sir Arthur (colt, foaled 2003, sired by Desert Prince), won two races *
New Approach New Approach (foaled 18 February 2005) is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active stallion. In a racing career which lasted from July 2007 to October 2008 he ran eleven times and won eight races. He was undefeated in five races as a tw ...
(chestnut colt, foaled 2005, sired by
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 ...
), Park Express's last foal, won eight races including the
National Stakes The Vincent O'Brien National Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 me ...
,
Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mi ...
, Epsom Derby, Irish Champion Stakes,
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 1 furlong a ...
. Her later achievements as a broodmare were more remarkable as she began to lose her sight at the age of sixteen. Her last foal, New Approach, wore a bell to enable his mother to find him at the farm where he was raised. Towards the end of her life her companion was one of the farm's bullocks, to which she had become strongly attached. Park Express died in 2006 at the age of twenty-three.


Pedigree


References

{{reflist 1983 racehorse births 2006 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 19-b Byerley Turk sire line