Sailor's Guide was an outstanding

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 that was conceived in England and foaled in Australia. He is notable in that he won races in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, and a number of principal Australian races, and was a high stakes earner. He was a brown stallion that was foaled in 1952 at Sledmere Stud Scone and was sired by the good racehorse Lighthouse II. His dam was the imported mare Jehane (GB) by Legend of France (FR) imported by Maurice Point owner of Sledmere Stud. Jehane was also the dam of several other winners including Far Away Places (by Royal Empire) who won the SAJC

Adelaide Cup The Adelaide Cup is a South Australian Jockey Club Group 2 Thoroughbred handicap horse race for three-year-olds and older, run over 3,200 metres at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide, Australia on the second Monday in March. Total prize mone ...

. In 2021 he was inducted into the

Australian Racing Hall of Fame The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000. The numbers in brackets a ...

Racing career

Many of Sailor's Guide’s wins were by margins of a neck or less and in the

Sydney Cup The Sydney Cup is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred handicap horse race, for horses three years old and older, run over 3200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in the autumn during the ATC Championships series and it ...

his winning margin was a half head. In the Pentathlon Stakes (a VATC Olympic Games commemorative event) Sailor's Guide showed his class by defeating the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

(NZ) horse,

Rising Fast Rising Fast (1949 - 1978) was a champion New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is the only horse to complete the Spring Grand Slam, winning the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, and Cox Plate in 1954. He also won the 1955 Caulfield Cup and c ...

and then another NZ horse in

Redcraze Redcraze (born 1950) was a champion New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who raced both in Australia and New Zealand, winning major races in both countries. A chestnut son of the Hyperion stallion Red Mars from the mare Myarion he is considered ...

in the C B Fisher Plate. During the spring Sailor's Guide again won the

Craiglee Stakes The Makybe Diva Stakes, previously called the Craiglee Stakes, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race at Weight for age conditions for three year olds and older, over a distance of 1,600 metres held at Flemington Racecourse in ...

, was third in the

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

and won the

LKS MacKinnon Stakes The VRC Champions Stakes, registered as the ''LKS Mackinnon Stakes'', is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run under Weight for Age conditions over a distance of 2000 metres at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australi ...

. He won many other major races in Australia in the late 1950s, including the

VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes The Queen Elizabeth Stakes, first known as Queen's Plate (1854-1872), and then by various other names at different times in its history (Queen's Cup, Flemington Plate, Canterbury Plate, C.B. Fisher Plate), is an Australian horse race run in ...

(defeating Prince Darius and Tulloch) and the

VRC Derby The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbo ...

. and was one of the highest stake winners of the period. He also won the

Sky Classic Stakes The Sky Classic Stakes is a Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Raced in mid to late August on turf over a distance of miles (10 furlongs), it is open to horses three years of age ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He ended up winning more than £100,000, with Tulloch and the

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trac ...

harness horse

Caduceus The caduceus (☤; ; la, cādūceus, from grc-gre, κηρύκειον "herald's wand, or staff") is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was also ...

as the only horses bred in Australia or New Zealand to have achieved this distinction at that time. Tulloch was his main rival, and they defeated each other on a number of occasions. The most important race he won was the 1958

Washington, D.C. International The Baltimore Washington International Turf Cup is an American Graded stakes race, Grade III invitational horse race run over one mile. Inaugurated in 1952, it was raced at Laurel Park Racecourse on the turf in Laurel, Maryland, at a distance of ...

(now replaced by the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's curre ...

), a major horse race in the United States. It was contested on turf over 1½ miles (2,400 metres) and drew the best horses from North America and Europe. In winning the race, Sailor's Guide defeated the top performer

Ballymoss Ballymoss (1954–1979) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career that lasted from 1956 until November 1958, he ran seventeen times and won eight races. In 1957, he became the first horse trained in Ireland to win the St Leger S ...

who had a

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 ...

rating of 136. Soon after, Ballymoss won the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racec ...

and was also voted as 1958

European Horse of the Year 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 the ...

.Racing History Tulloch and Sailor's Guide
/ref> Sailor's Guide was retired to stud in America, but was a poor foal-getter. He did have eight of his progeny race without any great success.

References

{{reflist 1952 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Australia Racehorses trained in Australia Victoria Derby winners Sydney Cup winners Thoroughbred family 3-d Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses