Qualify (horse)
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Qualify (foaled 22 April 2012) is 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. On 5 June 2015 she was a 50/1 winner of The Oaks. She ran seven times as a juvenile in 2014, winning 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 ...
and the Group Three
C. L. Weld Park Stakes The Weld Park Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled ...
but was well-beaten when tried against the best fillies of her generation in the
Moyglare Stud Stakes The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is schedu ...
and the
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf is a one-mile turf stakes race for thoroughbred fillies two years old. As its name implies, it is part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North American thor ...
. In the spring of 2015 she was initially disappointing as she finished unplaced 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
Irish 1,000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas 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 (1,609 metres), and it is sched ...
before being stepped up in distance and winning the Oaks.


Background

Qualify is a bay filly with a white
star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...
bred in Ireland by Whisperview Trading Ltd a company wholly owned by the trainer
Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...
and his wife Anne Marie. She was sired by the Australian stallion Fastnet Rock who sired many leading horses including Foxwedge and Atlantic Jewel in the Southern hemisphere before moving to the
Coolmore Stud Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is the headquarters of one of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champio ...
in Ireland. Qualify's dam Perihelion won one minor race from fourteen starts but finished second in the
Park Hill Stakes The Park Hill Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards ...
as a three-year-old in 2008. Perihelion was a granddaughter of the broodmare Media Luna, whose other descendants have included
Workforce In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed): \text = \text + \text Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out ...
,
Brian Boru Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...
and the
Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Frida ...
winner
Flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
. Qualify was sent into training with O'Brien at
Ballydoyle Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud, and both are owned by John Magnier, son in law to the racehorse trainer Vincent O'Brien. The current trai ...
.


Racing career


2014: two-year-old season

As a two-year-old, Qualify raced in the ownership of Louis & Kate Ronan. On her racecourse debut she finished fourth when a 20/1 outsider for 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 the
Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Pollardstown Fen, the larges ...
on 27 June. Despite her defeat she was moved up in class to contest the Group Three
Silver Flash Stakes The Silver Flash Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is schedul ...
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 ...
a month later and finished third to Jack Naylor (a filly despite her name) after leading for most of the race. When dropped back to maiden company at
Dundalk Racecourse Dundalk Stadium is a horse and greyhound racing venue in Ireland. It is located to the north of Dundalk in County Louth. The total build cost €35million with a modern grandstand, elevated viewing areas, restaurant and bars. Horse racing T ...
on 17 August she started odds-on favourite and recorded her first success, leading all the way and winning "comfortably" by five and a half lengths from eight opponents. Seven days later in the Group Two Debutante Stakes, she raced in second place before weakening in the closing stages and finishing fifth behind Raydara. In September Qualify was moved up to the highest class for the Group One
Moyglare Stud Stakes The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is schedu ...
. Ridden by Michael Hussey, she started at odds of 50/1 and after leading approaching the final furlong she dropped away to finish fifth behind the British-trained Cursory Glance, who won from Lucida and Found. Two weeks later, Qualify started 9/4 second favourite, behind the Jim Bolger-trained Stellar Glow for the Group Three C L Weld Park Stakes over seven furlongs at the Curragh. Ridden by her trainer's son Joseph O'Brien, she was towards the rear in the early stages but took the lead in the final furlong and drew away to win by three lengths and a short head from Lola Beaux and Stellar Glow. On her final appearance of the season, Qualify was sent to California to contest the
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf is a one-mile turf stakes race for thoroughbred fillies two years old. As its name implies, it is part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North American thor ...
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 ...
. Ridden by Ryan Moore she was hampered on the final turn and eased down in the straight, finishing eighth behind
Lady Eli Lady Eli (foaled February 2, 2012 in Kentucky) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse who was named the American Champion Female Turf Horse of 2017. She first came to national attention when she won the 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. She ...
.


2015: three-year-old season

Before the start of her second season, Qualify entered the ownership of Chantal Consuela Regalado-Gonzalez. On her three-year-old debut, the filly was sent to England to contest the 2015 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile 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 3 May. Starting at odds of 12/1 she never looked likely to win and finished last of the thirteen runners behind another Irish filly Legatissimo. In the Irish 1000 Guineas three weeks later she started at 50/1 and again never threatened to win, finishing tenth of the eighteen runners behind the Bolger-trained
Pleascach Pleascach (foaled 6 February 2012) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse whose wins included the Irish 1000 Guineas and the Yorkshire Oaks. Bred and trained by Jim Bolger (racehorse trainer), Jim Bolger she showed promise in two starts as a two-ye ...
, who won by half a length from Found. On 5 June, Qualify, running for the tenth time, was the most experienced of the eleven fillies to contest the 237th running of 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 ...
over one and a half miles at
Epsom Downs Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 including ...
. Ridden for the first time by
Colm O'Donoghue Colm O'Donoghue (born 13 November 1980) is an Irish jockey. For most of his career, he was based at the Ballydoyle racing stables in Rosegreen, Cashel, County Tipperary. Career In his final days as a schoolboy in 1996, O'Donoghue rang Aidan ...
she started the complete outsider of the field at odds of 50/1 whilst Legatissimo was made favourite ahead of Jack Naylor and the leading British hopes Crystal Zvezda and Lady of Dubai. She was not among the early leaders and was eighth on the turn into the straight before making progress two furlongs from the finish. She moved into second behind the clear leader Legatissimo a furlong out and produced a strong late run to catch the favourite in the last stride and win by a short head. O'Donoghue, who was recording his first win in a
British Classic The British Classics are five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for racehorses against their ow ...
said: "Qualify has travelled, she is well balanced and I just wanted to keep her relaxed and come with that clean, straight run. It's the winning post that matters. She has come home strong." Qualify's Oaks win entitled her to a free entry for the
Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) 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 dista ...
on 27 June and O'Brien took advantage of this to race her 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 ...
for the first time. Ridden again by O'Donoghue she raced in last place and made steady progress in the straight without ever looking likely to challenge the leaders, eventually finishing sixth of the eight runners behind the favourite
Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882 – 21 December 1963) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master", he is widely regarded ...
.


Pedigree

*Qualify is
inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...
4 × 4 × 4 to Northern Dancer, meaning that this stallion appears three times in the fourth generation of her pedigree.


References


External links


Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Qualify'' {{Epsom Oaks Winners 2012 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 14-c Epsom Oaks winners