Roland Gardens
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Roland Gardens (foaled 9 May 1975 – after 1993) 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 ...
best known for winning the
classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...
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 ...
in 1978. During a racing career which lasted from 1977 until 1979 he ran sixteen times and won four races. As a two-year-old he showed moderate form in his first three races before being disqualified after passing the post first in the Horris Hill Stakes. In the following spring he won the
Blue Riband Trial Stakes The Blue Riband Trial Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 17 yards (2,027 metres) ...
before recording a 28/1 upset victory in the 2000 Guineas. He was beaten in his remaining five races that year and won once in four starts as a four-year-old. He later stood as a breeding stallion in South Africa where he had some success as a sire of winners.


Background

Roland Gardens was a tall bay colt with no white markings bred by C. A. Ryan. He was from the ninth crop of foals sired by
Derring-Do Derring-Do (1961–January 1978) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was one of the leading British two-year-olds of 1963 when he won two of his three races including the Cornwallis Stakes. In the next two seasons, he developed int ...
, a horse whose wins included 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 ...
in 1965 and whose other offspring included the 2000 Guineas winners
High Top High Top (1969–1988) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire, best known for winning the British Classic Races, classic 2000 Guineas in 1972. High Top was one of the leading British two-year-olds of 1971 when his succ ...
, and the St Leger Stakes winner Peleid. Roland Gardens dam, Katricia was a sprinter who went on the produce Anjuli, the dam of the
Cartier Racing Award The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races (40%) plus the votes cast by British racing journalists (30%) and readers of th ...
winner Kooyonga. As a yearling, Roland Gardens was offered for sale and bought for the modest sum of 3,200
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 ...
. The colt entered the ownership of John Hayter and was sent into training with Robert Armstrong 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 ...
.


Racing career


1977: two-year-old season

In 1977, Roland Gardens finished unplaced in his first two races and then won the Knole Stakes, a minor event over seven furlongs at
Lingfield Park Lingfield Park Racecourse (commonly referred to as Lingfield) is a horse racing course at Lingfield in Surrey, United Kingdom. It is owned by the ARC Racing and Leisure Group, formerly Arena Leisure Plc. Lingfield is best known as a winter ...
in September, beating Sunday Morning by two lengths. In October, the colt was moved up in class for the Group Three Horris Hill Stakes over seven furlongs at
Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's List of ...
. Ridden by Geoff Baxter, he appeared to relish the soft ground and moved up on the outside in the straight to take the lead from the more fancied runners Derrylin and Persian Bold. In the closing stages, he veered to the left, away from Baxter's
whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
bumping Derrylin who in turn collided with Persian Bold. He crossed the line half a length ahead of his two rivals who dead-heated for second place. After an inquiry by the racecourse stewards, Roland Gardens was disqualified and placed third. At the end of the year a quarter share in the colt was bought by Tim Sasse who had him moved to the stable of his son Duncan.


1978: three-year-old season

Roland Gardens began his three-year-old season in March, when he finished third to Camden Town and Roscoe Blake in the Roseberry Stakes over one mile at Stockton-on-Tees Racecourse. Three weeks later, in the Blue Riband Trial Stakes over furlongs 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 ...
, he took the lead at Tattenham Corner and held off the challenge of Royal Pinnacle to record his first Group race victory. On his next appearance, Roland Gardens was one of nineteen colts to contest the 171st running of the 2000 Guineas over the Rowley mile course 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 ...
. Ridden by
Frankie Durr Frankie Durr (10 November 1925 - 18 January 2000) was a four-time Classic-winning jockey in the 1960s and 1970s and later a moderately successful racehorse trainer. Jockey career Francis Durr was born in Liverpool on 10 November 1925. He wa ...
, he started a 28/1 outsider in a race run on soft ground after several days of heavy rain. He was towards of the rear of the field as Tumbledownwind set a strong pace, before making steady progress in the centre of the wide Newmarket straight. He took the lead inside in the final furlong and accelerated away to win by one and half lengths from Remainder Man despite veering sharply to the right in the closing stages. Weth Nan and Tumbledownwind finished third and fourth with the favourite Try My Best finishing last. In the 199th running of the
Derby Stakes The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...
at Epsom, Roland Gardens started at odds of 25/1, his pedigree having given him little prospect of staying the one and a half mile distance. He finished eighth of the twenty-five runners, nine lengths behind the winner Shirley Heights. He was sent to France later that month and finished fifth behind Carwhite in the Group One
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), ...
at
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. He was dropped in class for his remaining three races that year, but failed to win again. He finished fourth of the ten runners in the
Prix Eugène Adam The Prix Eugène Adam is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1 miles), and it is scheduled to ta ...
, when he was asked to concede four pounds to the winner Gay Mecene, and then ran third (conceding thirteen pounds to the winner) behind Green Girl and Boldboy in the Kiveton Park Stakes over seven furlongs 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 his final appearance he was sent to Germany and finished eighth in the Grosser Kauthof-Preis in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
.


1979: four-year-old season

Roland Gardens remained his training as a four-year-old and ran four times. He recorded his only success in the Philip Cornes Trophy over seven furlongs at
Leicester Racecourse Leicester Racecourse is a horse racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, about three miles south of Leicester city centre. History of horse racing in Leicester The earliest evidence suggests that racing took place at Abbey Meadow, Leicester ...
in April, beating Skyliner by a length. On the best of his other appearances he finished second to Formidable at
Haydock Park 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 ...
in May, after having struggled to obtain a clear run in the closing stages.


Assessment

In the Free Handicap for 1977, Roland Gardens was given a rating of 122, nine pounds behind the top-rated two-year-old Try My Best. He was rated fourteen pounds behind the same colt by the independent
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 th ...
organisation, who rated him on 116. Timeform opinion of the colt's abilities was reflected in their comment felt the worst aspect of his run in the Horris Hill was that he had ruined his handicap rating for the following year. In the following year, he was rated 122 by Timeform, sixteen pounds below the top-rated horse
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and eight pounds behind the leading miler Homing. In the official International Classification he was given a rating of 81, fourteen pounds below the leading three-year-old Ile de Bourbon. Roland Gardens was again rated 122 by Timeform in 1979. In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Roland Gardens a "poor" winner of the 2000 Guineas. Duncan Sasse, in a letter to the Racing Post, expressed his view that the horse had been under-rated by Timeform, and that his correct rating should have been closer to 130. Sasse also pointed out that the colt was never able to show his best form on firm ground "as he turned out his front feet like Charlie Chaplin".


Stud record

Roland Gardens was retired from racing as a four-year-old and exported to become a breeding stallion in South Africa. The best of his offspring were the fillies Enchanted Garden and Roland's Song, both of which were named South African Horse of the Year. Enchanted Garden won the Natal Oaks and the South African Oaks and was named South African Horse of the Year 1986, while Roland's Song was the first female horse to exceed ZAR1m in prize money and be named South African Horse of the Year in 1989. He sired two good colts, one of which was also named South African Horse of the Year in 1993, Pas de Quoi, who won the Cape Derby and Champion Stakes. Wild West was South Champion Three-Year-Old colt in 1984 and won the South African Two Thousand and Metropolitan Stakes. His last known foals were born in 1994.


Pedigree


References

{{2000 Guineas Winners 1975 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 19 2000 Guineas winners