Scintillate (horse)
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Scintillate (foaled 24 January 1976) 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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
and
broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
best known for winning the
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Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 y ...
in 1979. She showed promising form as a two-year-old although she failed to win in three races. After recording her first win in the Sandleford Priory Stakes in the following spring she won the Oaks as a 20/1 outsider. She ran poorly in two subsequent races and was retired to brood where she had limited success as a broodmare.


Background

Scintillate was a dark-coated bay mare with a white
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bred by the Fonthill Stud in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
which was managed by James Ian Morrison, the filly's owner throughout her racing career. She was from the second crop of foals sired by Sparkler who won the
Queen Anne Stakes The Queen Anne Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and is scheduled to take p ...
in 1972 and 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 s ...
in 1973, but produced arguably his best performance in defeat, when beaten a head by
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in the
St James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts. It is run at Ascot Racecourse, Ascot ...
. In his first season at stud, Sparkler had sired the
1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...
winner Enstone Spark. Scintillate was the fifth foal of the outstanding broodmare Set Free who had previously produced the classic winners Juliette Marny (Oaks) and Julio Mariner (
St Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...
). The filly was sent into training with Jeremy Tree at Beckhampton in
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.


Racing career


1978: two-year-old season

After finishing third in a five
furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...
race on her racecourse debut, Scintillate ran in a seven furlong
maiden race In horse racing, a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the s ...
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 ...
in early September. She appeared to be an unlucky loser, finishing second to Head Huntress after struggling to obtain a clear run in the straight. Later in the month the filly was moved up in class for the Hoover Fillies' Mile (then a Group Three race) at
Ascot Racecourse 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 Grade ...
. She looked very impressive in the paddock and stayed on strongly in the straight to finish fourth behind Formulate, Odeon and Rimosa's Pet. In their annual ''Racehorses of 1978''
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 ...
described her as a filly who would be sure to win races when tried over longer distances.


1979: three-year-old season

Scintillate began her three-year-old season in the Sandleford Priory Stakes over ten 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 ...
in May. In a slowly run race, she took the lead a furlong from the finish and won by half a length and a neck from Crystal Queen and Untitled. On 9 June Scintillate started a 20/1 outsider for the 201st running of the Oak Stakes over one and a half miles 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 ...
. The leading contenders included L'Ile du Reve who had won the Cheshire Oaks by seven lengths, Godetia (
Irish 1,000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is sched ...
), Just A Game and Rimosa's Pet ( Musidora Stakes). The ground, which had been good when
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had won the Derby earlier in the week had become very soft after three days of heavy rain. Ridden by
Pat Eddery Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...
, Scintillate was towards the back of the field in the early stages but was always going well, in contrast to several of the fancied horses, who were clearly struggling to cope with the conditions. She moved alongside the leaders in the final quarter mile and took a clear advantage inside the final furlong. She was never in danger of defeat and won very easily by three lengths from Bonnie Isle with Britannia's Rule a length away in third. After a break of more than two months, Scintillate reappeared in the Virginia Stakes over ten furlongs at
Newcastle Racecourse Newcastle Racecourse is a horse racing course located at Gosforth Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, owned by Arena Racing Company. It stages both Flat racing, flat and National Hunt racing, with its biggest meeting being the Northumberland ...
in August and ran very disappointingly, finishing last of the five runners behind Abbeydale. When the filly contested the
Prix Vermeille The Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles) ...
at
Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (, ) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for ...
on 16 September she was equipped with blinkers for the first time. Starting at odds of 12/1 she never looked likely to win and finished ninth of the thirteen runners behind Three Troikas, beaten eight lengths.


Assessment

In 1978, the independent Timeform organisation gave Scintillate a rating of 102, thirty pounds below their top-rated two-year-old filly Sigy. In the Free Handicap, a rating of the best two-year-olds to race in Britain, she was rated eighteen pounds below the top-rated fillies Devon Ditty and Formulate. In the following year she was rated 119 by Timeform, while the International Classification rated her seventeen pounds inferior to the leading three-year-old filly Three Troikas. In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Scintillate an "inferior" winner of the Oaks.


Brood record

Scintillate was retired form racing to become a broodmare. She produced twelve foals between 1981 and 1995. She was exported to Japan in 1990. *Sequin Lady (bay filly, foaled in 1981, sired by Star Appeal), unraced *Alshinfarah (bay colt, foaled 1983, by Great Nephew), won Zukunfts-Rennen *Salib *Alghalih (chestnut filly, foaled 1985, by
Blushing Groom Blushing Groom (8 April 1974 – 6 May 1992) was a French champion Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and sire (horse), sire. Background He was bred by American businessman John McNamee Sullivan and was raced by Aga Khan IV, HH Aga Khan IV. A ...
), failed to win in ten races *Sabiq (bay colt, foaled 1986, by
Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who became the tenth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only ...
), unraced *Nawassi (brown filly, foaled 1987, by
Shadeed Shadeed (1982–2005) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from October 1984 to November 1985, he ran seven times and won four races. In 1985, he was the highest-rated three-year-o ...
), failed to win in thirteen races *Beshaarh *Fauri (bay colt, foaled 1989, by Danzig), unraced *Miss Raffinee (bay filly, foaled 1991, by
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
) *Biwa Apple (bay filly, foaled 1992, by Adjudicating) *Hawaiian City (bay filly, foaled 1994, by Stately Don) *Brave City (bay colt, foaled 1995, by
Dancing Brave Dancing Brave (11 May 1983 – 2 August 1999) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from the autumn of 1985 until October 1986, he ran ten times and won eight races. Dancing Brave ...
)


Pedigree


References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1976 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 6-b Epsom Oaks winners