Right Tack (1966–1985) was an Irish-bred, British-trained
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 and
sire. In a career that lasted from June 1968 to October 1969 he ran twelve times, winning eight races and finishing second three times. As a two-year-old he won his last five races included the
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 is ...
and was rated the second-best British colt of his generation. In the following year he became the first horse to win both 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 ...
at
Newmarket and the
Irish 2000 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 is ...
at 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 ...
. After being retired from racing he stood as a breeding stallion in Ireland and Australia.
Background
Right Tack was a bay horse bred in
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...
, Ireland by Paul Larkin. As a
weanling
A weanling is an animal that has just been weaned. The term is usually used to refer to a type of young horse, a foal that has been weaned, usually between six months and a year. Once it is a year old, the horse is referred to as a yearling.
The ...
he was sent to the
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
November sales where he was bought for 700
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 ...
by Philip O'Dwyer. A year later O'Dwyer was able to make a profit on the deal when he sold Right Tack for 3,200 guineas at the Doncaster yearling sale. The colt was bought by bloodstock agents acting on behalf of Jim Brown, a Dublin-based Englishman who sent him to be trained at
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. ...
by John Sutcliffe.
Right Tack was sired by Hard Tack out of the mare Polly Macaw. Hard Tack was a well-bred and talented horse whose racing career was cut short by his problematic temperament which made him difficult to train: he was awarded the § or "squiggle" symbol by
Timeform
Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by ...
for being unreliable and inconsistent.
Polly Macaw won five races but all of them were low-grade sprints and most of her career was spent in selling races. When she was sold at the end of her racing career Polly Macaw's price was 220 guineas: following Right Tack's success she was sold again for 20,000 guineas.
Racing career
1968: two-year-old season
Right Tack made his first appearance at his home course in June when he finished second in the Caterham Stakes at
The Derby meeting. He won his first race shortly afterwards when he took the Southgate Stakes over five furlongs at
Alexandra Park ridden by
Joe Mercer
Joseph Mercer, OBE (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an English football player and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa, Manchester City and En ...
. Further wins followed in minor races at
Windsor and Epsom and the Imperial Stakes at
Kempton Park Racecourse
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 16 miles south-west of Charing Cross, London and on a border of Greater London. The site has ...
. On his final start of the year, Right Tack was sent to Newmarket where he won the
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 is ...
, one of the season's most important two-year-old races in which, ridden by
Geoff Lewis
Geoff Lewis (born 21 December 1935) is a Welsh retired jockey who was born in Talgarth, Breconshire.
He moved to London with his family (he was one of thirteen children) in 1946. After initially working as a hotel page boy, he ...
, he defeated Tower Walk by half a length. In the Free Handicap, a ranking of the year's best juveniles, Right Tack was given a rating of 131
pounds, making him officially the second-best colt of his generation behind the American-bred
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 ...
winner Ribofilio (133).
1969: three-year-old season
Right Tack began his three-year-old season in the
Greenham Stakes
The Greenham 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 7 furlongs () at Newbury in ...
at
Newbury, a recognised trial race 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 ...
. He finished second to Tower Walk, to whom he was conceding five pounds.
Ribofilio, ridden by
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
was a strong favourite for the "Guineas" at Newmarket on 30 April, but Right Tack was also well supported and went off the 15/2 second choice in the betting. Ribofilio ran inexplicably poorly (there was speculation that he had been drugged) and was virtually pulled up by Piggott as Right Tack, ridden by
Geoff Lewis
Geoff Lewis (born 21 December 1935) is a Welsh retired jockey who was born in Talgarth, Breconshire.
He moved to London with his family (he was one of thirteen children) in 1946. After initially working as a hotel page boy, he ...
won decisively by two and a half lengths from Tower Walk with Welsh Pageant in third. At the Curragh Racecourse near Dublin two weeks later, Right Tack became the first winner of the 2000 Guineas to win the
Irish 2000 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 is ...
as he won impressively by two and a half lengths form Hotfoot. Right Tack returned to England for the
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 sched ...
at
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 ...
in June. He overcame interference to win by half a length from
Habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
in a particularly rough race, which led to the runner-up's jockey, Lester Piggott, being given a seven-day suspension. After this race, Right Tack contracted a respiratory infection
and did not run again for three months.
Right Tack returned to the racecourse in September but was unable to reproduce his best form. An attempt to move up to middle distances ended in failure as he was beaten by Principal Boy in the Peter Hastings Stakes over ten furlongs at Newbury. On his final start he traveled to France for the
Prix du Moulin
The Prix du Moulin de Longchamp is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is sch ...
at
Longchamp and finished unplaced for the first time in his career as he ran seventh behind Habitat. He was then syndicated and retired to stud.
Assessment
In 1969
Timeform
Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by ...
gave Right Tack a rating of 131, making him the equal fifth-best European horse of the year alongside
Nijinsky
Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...
and
Park Top
Park Top (May 1964 – 1989) was a top-class British racehorse. She had an unfashionable pedigree, cost only 500 guineas as a yearling and did not run as a two-year-old. Her Grand-dam Oola Hills was the dam of Pappa Fourway, but unlike him ...
, three pounds behind the top-rated Habitat.
Stud career
Right Tack began his stud career in his native Ireland. In his first season at stud he sired
Take A Reef, the top-rated British three-year-old of 1974. On 1 December 1976 he was auctioned at Newmarket where he was sold for 70,000 guineas, a record for a stallion, and was exported to Australia to stand as a stallion at the Glenhope Stud in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
. He made little impact at his new base and died on 4 May 1985. Although Right Tack was not a success as a sire of winners, he exerted some influence on future generations through his daughter Mofida who produced Zaizafon, the dam of the 2000 Guineas winner
Zafonic
Zafonic (1 April 1990 – 7 September 2002) was a European Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Kentucky. He was the 1992 European Champion Two-Year-Old Colt and won the following year's 2,000 Guineas.
Background
Zafonic was sired by the Mr. Pros ...
and the successful stallion Zamindar.
Pedigree
References
{{2000 Guineas Winners
1966 racehorse births
1985 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in Ireland
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Irish Classic Race winners
Thoroughbred family 10-a
2000 Guineas winners