Rough Habit (2 December 1986 – 7 November 2014) was a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won 11

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

(G1) races on both sides of the Tasman, and won New Zealand's Horse of the Year Award in 1992 and 1995.

Background

Rough Habit, a bay

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

with a distinctive white blaze trailing over his near-side nostril, was foaled on 2 December 1986. He was sired by Roughcast (USA) out of Certain Habit (NZ) by Ashabit (GB). Certain Habit was the dam of 11 named foals that were produced in Australia and New Zealand, producing 2 stakes winners in Rough Habit and Citi Habit.

Racing record

Rough Habit was trained by John Wheeler, and had nine campaigns in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, from three to eight years of age. He won Group One races in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and Melbourne and won six of his 11 Group One races at the Brisbane winter carnivals, where his wins included the Queensland Derby, two

Stradbroke Handicap The Stradbroke Handicap is a Brisbane Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race, run over a distance of 1,400 metres at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane in June during the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival. It is one of the highligh ...

s, and a record three Doomben Cups. Rough Habit won 21 feature racesRough Habit's career
/ref> from 1,400 to 2,400 metres, on wet tracks and dry, and was narrowly beaten by fellow New Zealander Solvit in the 1994 Cox Plate. Later in the season, Rough Habit won the O'Shea Stakes, in Brisbane, at his final start in Australia.

Honours

In retirement, Rough Habit appeared in a set of stamps issued by New Zealand Post in 1996 with fellow champion thoroughbreds Kiwi, Bonecrusher, and Horlicks, and the harness racing champions Blossom Lady and Il Vicolo. In 2012, Rough Habit was inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame at a special awards ceremony in Auckland. The Brisbane Racing Club holds the Group 3

Rough Habit Plate The Rough Habit Plate is a Brisbane Racing Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old with set weights, over a distance of 2,000 metres held at Doomben Racecourse in Brisbane, Australia during the Queensland Winter Racing ...

for three-year-olds, which is run at set weights, and named in his honour.

Death

Rough Habit died on 7 November 2014, aged 28.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

"It's Rough Habit Time Again"
''Just Racing'' article 1986 racehorse births 2014 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 1-h Racehorses bred in New Zealand Racehorses trained in New Zealand New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame horses