Rip Van Winkle (horse)
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Rip Van Winkle (12 February 2006 – 31 July 2020) 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 sired by the dual Derby winner Galileo. Like his sire, Rip Van Winkle was also trained by Aidan O'Brien.


Racing career


2008: two-year-old season

Winning his maiden race at the first time of asking, Rip Van Winkle then went on to win the Group 3 Tyros Stakes. After that effort, Rip Van Winkle started as the 6/4 favourite to win the Dewhurst on his final start as a two-year-old but was stuck behind a wall of horses in a bunched finish in which the first four home were covered by only half a length. He finished seventh, two lengths behind Intense Focus.


2009: three-year-old season

Despite the Dewhurst defeat, Rip Van Winkle started second favourite for the following season's
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 (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...
largely due to his being still very unexposed and apparently the stable's first string as Johnny Murtagh had chosen him over Mastercraftsman. This was to be Rip Van Winkle's first clash with the eventual winner Sea the Stars, who went on to dominate the flat season. Rip Van Winkle finished fourth. On Derby day, he was again prominent in the betting but, despite Johnny Murtagh sticking with him and claiming he was the best horse he had ever sat upon, it was his stablemate Fame and Glory who went off marginal favourite just ahead of Sea the Stars. Rip Van Winkle finished fourth, and the entire Ballydoyle team of six horses were again well beaten by Sea The Stars. In his next race at Sandown, back at a mile and 2, Sea the Stars was bidding to become the first horse to win the Guineas, Derby,
Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...
treble since
Nashwan Nashwan (1 March 1986 – 19 July 2002) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. After winning both his starts as a two-year-old, he developed into an outstanding performer in the spring and summer of ...
. Rip Van Winkle tracked him throughout the race, and the two went clear two furlongs out. He looked like overtaking Sea the Stars, a half brother to Rip Van Winkle's sire, but as he drew level, his nemesis accelerated and won by half a length. Rip Van Winkle then dropped back to a mile to win the
Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 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), a ...
. Paco Boy and the record-breaking 1000 Guineas winner Ghanaati were well behind him at the finish. He followed up with another Group One winning the QEII Stakes, again at a mile and again from the front, his stamina winning the day from Guineas second Delegator. His 2009 season concluded with a run in the Breeders' Cup Classic behind
Zenyatta Zenyatta (foaled April 1, 2004) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic and Breeders' Cup Distaff and 19 of her 20 starts. She was the 2010 American Horse of the Year, and American Champion Older Female H ...
after he appeared not to handle the track.


2010: four-year-old season

Rip Van Winkle's three-year-old season was disrupted by injury, and his four-year-old campaign was also set back due to niggling injury problems. In his first start, he finished well behind Goldikova and Paco Boy in the Queen Anne Stakes 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 ...
. He then tried for a repeat performance in the Sussex Stakes, where he was beaten into second late on by the three-year-old star
Canford Cliffs Canford Cliffs is a suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. The neighbourhood lies on the English Channel coast midway between Poole and Bournemouth. To the southwest is Sandbanks which has some of the highest property values in the world; with C ...
. Rip Van Winkle then went back up to a mile and 2 furlongs in York's International Stakes. Despite his lack of a win that season, he went off as favourite and won by half a length. It was Rip Van Winkle's third Group One victory. Soft ground seemed to go against him on his next two starts, the
Irish Champion Stakes The Irish Champion Stakes ( Irish: Curadh-Dhuais na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2 ...
in which he was beaten by a strong front-running ride by half-brother and stable mate Cape Blanco. Two weeks later, he was back over a mile in the QEII stakes at Ascot where he was nipped by a nose on the line by a three-year-old after an aggressive ride where he committed early. Poets Voice, the son of soft ground specialist
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 ...
and winner of the Celebration Stakes, beat him in the last stride, ridden by Frankie Dettori, who won four out of his five races on the day at Ascot.


Stud career

Rip Van Winkle retired to
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 2010. He sired 3 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:


Notable progeny

''c = colt, f =
filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...
, g =
gelding A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...
''


Death

It was reported on 31 July 2020 by Windsor Park Stud that Rip Van Winkle had died aged 14 after suffering a short illness.


References

{{reflist 2006 racehorse births 2020 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 10-c