Poet's Voice
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Poet's Voice (7 March 2007 – 17 March 2018) was a British
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 and
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" an ...
. He showed very good form as a two-year-old in 2009 when he won two races including the Champagne Stakes. He failed to live up to his promise in the first half of the following year but then returned to form to win the
Celebration Mile The Celebration Mile is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...
and then defeated a very strong field to take the
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...
. He never won again and was retired at the end of 2011. He was a headstrong and unpredictable racehorse, breaking out of the starting stalls on one occasion and biting one of his rivals on another. He made a very promising start to his stallion career, siring the
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...
winner Poet's Word in his first season at stud.


Background

Poet's Voice was a bay horse with no white
markings Marking may refer to: Symbols Marking may refer to human-made symbols and annotations in several contexts: On vehicles * Aircraft marking * Emergency vehicle equipment markings ** Battenburg markings, emergency vehicle patterns * Vehicle marki ...
who was bred by Sheikh Mohammed's
Dalham Hall Stud Darley Stud is located at Dalham Hall, the global breeding operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. It is on the outskirts of Newmarket, Suffolk, the internati ...
and raced in the colours of the Sheikh's Godolphin organisation. He was trained by
Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor (; born 16 November 1968 in Dubai) is a horse racing horse trainer, trainer in Great Britain. Formerly a policeman, he took out his training licence in 1995 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Mohammed bin Ra ...
, whose stable is based at
Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 14 miles west of Bury St Edmunds and 14 miles northeast of Cambridge. In 2021, it had a population of 16,772. It is a global ...
, but typically relocates to
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
in winter. He was ridden in all but one of his races by
Frankie Dettori Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), is an Italian jockey who was based in England for a career spanning over 35 years. He was British flat racing Champion Jockey three times (1994, 1995 and 2004) and rode the winners of 287 ...
. He was sired by
Dubawi Dubawi (foaled 7 February 2002) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse. He has proven himself a top-class sire (horse), sire. Background Dubawi is a bay horse with no white markings bred in Ireland by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Moham ...
, a top-class son of
Dubai Millennium Dubai Millennium (2 March 1996 – 29 April 2001) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. The colt was trained in the United Kingdom and Dubai during his racing career from 1998 and 2000. He is notable for winning a series of major ...
, whose wins included the
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 ...
and 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 in August each year at Deauville over a distance of ...
. At stud, Dubawi has been a highly-successful breeding stallion, siring major winners such as Monterosso,
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 b ...
,
Makfi Makfi (foaled 4 March 2007) is a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 2010 he won the 2000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois. Background Makfi's sire is Irish 2,000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Dubawi. ...
, Lucky Nine and Night of Thunder. Poet's Voice's dam Bright Tiara won one minor race in the United States and was later bought for $3,000,000 by John Ferguson Bloodstock on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed. Her dam Expressive Dance was a half-sister to
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
.


Racing career


2009: two-year-old season

Poet's Voice made his debut in a seven
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 ...
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 ...
on 8 July in which he started at odds of 6/1 and finished third behind Elusive Pimpernel and Timely Jazz. Just over three weeks later, over the same course and distance, he recorded his first success: starting the 4/9 favourite, he took the lead approaching the final furlong and quickly went clear of his rivals, winning by ten lengths despite being eased down before the finish. The colt was then moved up in class and started 7/4 favourite for the
Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: * Group 3 element, chemical element classification * Group 3 (motorsport), FIA classification of cars used in auto racing and rallying * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image ...
Acomb Stakes The Acomb Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at York over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each y ...
at
York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...
in August but compromised his chances by breaking out of the starting stalls and having to be reloaded. When the race began he fought Dettori's attempts to restrain him and pulled his way to the front. He hung to the left in the last quarter mile, was overtaken in the closing stages, and finished third behind Elusive Pimpernel and Emerald Commander. Despite his defeat at York, Poet's Voice was stepped up again in class for Group 2 Champagne Stakes at
Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's List of British flat horse races#Group 1, 36 annual Group One, Group 1 flat races, the St Leger ...
on 12 September and was made the 11/8 favourite against six opponents. He led from the start, accelerated approaching the final furlong and won by three quarters of a length from the
Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...
-trained Viscount Nelson. In the Group 1
Middle Park Stakes The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it i ...
at Newmarket in October, the colt was dropped back in distance to six furlongs and started the 15/8 favourite. After leading for most of the way he was outpaced in the closing stages and finished fourth of the five runners behind Awzaan.


2010: three-year-old season

On his first two races as a three-year-old, Poet's Voice ran without success in France: he finished eighth behind
Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist who was a key figure in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque literature. In the literature of ...
in the
Poule d'Essai des Poulains Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan languages, Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in :id:Molof, Senggi, Keerom, Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency. Classification Stephen Wurm, Wurm (1975) placed it a ...
on 16 May and ninth to Joanna in the Prix de la Porte Maillot on 3 July. At
Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October. History Racing at ...
on 12 August he started a 16/1 outsider for the Sovereign Stakes but belied his odds as he finished strongly and failed by only a nose to overhaul the pace-setting Sea Lord. He was partnered by
Ted Durcan Thomas Edward Durcan (born 25 February 1973) is a retired, two-time British Classic-winning Irish jockey. He was champion jockey in the United Arab Emirates on seven occasions and rode over 1,000 winners in Great Britain in career lasting from ...
at Salisbury, but Dettori resumed the ride when the colt contested the Celebration Mile 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 ...
and started the 2/1 second choice in the betting behind the five-year-old Main Aim, a two-time winner of the John of Gaunt Stakes. After being restrained at the rear of the four-runner field he took the lead a furlong out and drew away to win "comfortably" by four lengths. The Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over one mile at
Ascot Racecourse 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 Grade ...
on 25 September attracted an international field, with Poet's Voice starting the 9/2 third choice in the betting behind
Makfi Makfi (foaled 4 March 2007) is a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 2010 he won the 2000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois. Background Makfi's sire is Irish 2,000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Dubawi. ...
and
Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" () is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in Colonial history of the United States, colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Du ...
. The other five runners were
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
, Hearts of Fire (
Gran Criterium The Gran Criterium is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to two-year-old thoroughbred Colt (horse) entire colts only . It is run at Milan over a distance of 1,500 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take place each year in October ...
), Red Jazz (
European Free Handicap The European Free Handicap was a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It was run over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres) on the Rowley Mile at Newma ...
), Bushman (
Diomed Stakes The Diomed Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile and 113 yards (1,713 metres), and it i ...
) and Air Chief Marshal ( Minstrel Stakes). Air Chief Marshal set the pace for his stablemate Rip Van Winkle with Poet's Voice retrained at the rear of the field before making a forward move on the outside two furlongs from the finish. The final furlong saw a three way struggle between Rip Van Winkle on the rail, Poet's Voice on the outside and the 40/1 outsider Red Jazz between horses, resulting in a
photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the fini ...
. Poet's Voice was adjudged to have won by a nose from Rip Van Winkle, with Red Jazz half a length away in third. After the race Dettori said "The horse was in tremendous form coming into the race, and it means so much to win these big races for Godolphin at Ascot, which is a special course for me. Saeed was confident he would run great. I thought we had a few pounds to find on form, but Saeed was right". On his final appearance of the year he was moved up in distance 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 ...
over ten furlongs at Newmarket on 16 October but made little impression and came home ninth of the ten runners behind
Twice Over Twice Over (foaled 16 May 2005) is a British retired Thoroughbred racehorse and breeding stallion. He was a top-class middle-distance performer whose wins included the Eclipse Stakes, the International Stakes and two runnings of the Champion S ...
. In the 2010 World Thoroughbred Rankings Poet's Voice was given a rating of 122, making him the 23rd best racehorse in the world.


2011: four-year-old season

In the winter of 2010/11 Poet's Voice was sent to Godolphin's training base in Dubai. On his first run of the year he was narrowly beaten by
Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...
in the
Jebel Hatta The Jebel Hatta is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 2000 at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Raced on turf, it is open to horses four-years-old and up who were bred in the Northern Hemisphere and to horses three-ye ...
on turf at
Meydan Racecourse Meydan Racecourse is a racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The grandstand is a half mile in length, and can accommodate over 60,000 spectators. Meydan opened on 27 March 2010, replacing Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, which formerly occu ...
on 3 March, with Presvis in third. Later that month he was switched to the synthetic Tapeta surface at the same venue for the
Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operate ...
but came home last of the fourteen runners, more than 20 lengths behind the winner
Victoire Pisa Victoire Pisa () is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. After winning three of his four starts as a juvenile, the colt won the Satsuki Shō at Nakayama Racecourse in April 2010. After an unsuccessful campaign in Europe he ...
. After a lengthy break, Poet's Voice returned to the track in August when he attempted to repeat his 2010 success in the Celebration Mile. He started favourite but after biting one of his opponents during the race he finished last of seven in a race won by Dubawi Gold. In his two other starts that year he finished third to Ransom Note in the
Joel Stakes The Joel Stakes is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket Racecourse, ...
at Newmarket in September and sixth to
Frankel Frankel is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Frankel (1906–1973), British composer * Bethenny Frankel (born 1970), American chef and reality television personality * Charles Frankel (1917–1975), American philoso ...
in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on the 15th of October.


Stud record

Poet's Voice was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion at Dalham Hall, Newmarket. He produced two individual
Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (motorsport), a regulation set of the FIA for series-production touring cars used in motorsport. * Group One Thoroughbred horse races, the leading e ...
winners namely Poet's Word and Trap For Fools (
LKS Mackinnon Stakes The VRC Champions Stakes, registered as the ''LKS Mackinnon Stakes'', is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run under Weight for Age conditions over a distance of 2000 metres at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia o ...
). Poet's Voice died on 17 March 2018, aged 11 after suffering a heart attack at
Dalham Hall Stud Darley Stud is located at Dalham Hall, the global breeding operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. It is on the outskirts of Newmarket, Suffolk, the internati ...
.
Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor (; born 16 November 1968 in Dubai) is a horse racing horse trainer, trainer in Great Britain. Formerly a policeman, he took out his training licence in 1995 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Mohammed bin Ra ...
, who trained Poet's Voice throughout his racing career, said, "I am very sad to hear of the death of Poet's Voice and my condolences go to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and everyone connected to him at Darley. He was a pleasure to train, always relaxed in his work and gave his best throughout his career. His victory in the QEII S. was very special indeed."


Pedigree


References

{{Reflist 2007 racehorse births 2018 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 10-a