Sir Tristram (7 April 1971 – 21 May 1997) was an Irish-bred

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 who stood at stud in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, where he sired an extraordinary 45

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 ...

winners, including three

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

winners. His progeny earned him 17 official Leading Australasian sire premierships, plus nine broodmare sire titles.

Background

Sir Tristram was by the outstanding racehorse and sire

Sir Ivor Sir Ivor (5 May 1965 – 10 November 1995) was an American-bred, Irish-trained champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from July 1967 to October 1968 he ran thirteen times and won eight races. He won major races in ...

(by Sir Gaylord) out of Isolt (by

Round Table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

), and had 19 starts for two wins in France.

Racing career

Trained by Charles Milbank and raced in Ireland, England and France, owner Raymond Guest sent Sir Tristram to

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

to compete in the 1974

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

. Under jockey Bill Hartack, the colt finished eleventh

Stud record

Following his racing career, he was purchased by Sir Patrick Hogan (horseracing), Patrick Hogan of Cambridge Stud in New Zealand, and entered stud in 1976 at the modest

stud fee Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * Th ...

of $1,200. By the time of his death in August 1997, his fee had risen to $200,000. 'Paddy', as he was affectionately known, had a reputation as a difficult horse to handle, although this is not a trait which seems to have been inherited by his progeny. In fact, he was so difficult that his handler was forced to wear protective gear, which remains on display at Cambridge Stud. Sir Tristram is the sire of over 140 stakes winners, including the Melbourne Cup winners Gurner's Lane (1982), Empire Rose (1988), and Brew (2000). He is also the broodmare sire of over 200 stakes winners, including the

winners Saintly and Ethereal, and has earned himself a reputation as a sire of sires. His sire sons include

Zabeel Zabeel (25 October 1986 – 25 September 2015) was a New Zealand-bred racehorse who predominantly raced in Australia. He was retired to stud and became a champion sire. He was a bay son of Sir Tristram from the Nureyev mare Lady Giselle. ...

(who stood at Cambridge Stud at a fee of NZD$100,000), Marauding, Dr Grace and Grosvenor. Whilst he was known as a sire of stayers, Sir Tristram's progeny and further descendants have excelled over a wide range of distances. As well as siring winners of the Melbourne Cup (the world's richest handicap – over 3,200 metres), Sir Tristram sired Marauding, who won a Golden Slipper (the world's richest two-year-old race – over 1,200 metres), and several other outstanding two-year-olds. During 1984 to 1987 and 1988 to 1990 he was the

Leading sire in Australia The list below shows the leading Father, sire of Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorses in Australia for each season since 1883–84. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season. The 2016 novel ''Mount ...

, Leading Broodmare Sire in Australia and in 1986/7 the Leading Sire of New Zealand. Sir Tristram was humanely euthanized on 21 May 1997 after he broke his shoulder and he was buried standing up – 'A priest conducted a 40-minute service for the horse they called "Paddy"'. In 2008, Sir Tristram was inducted in the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame.Cambridge Stud
Retrieved on 30 May 2009

Progeny

''Sir Tristram's 45 Group 1 winners:''

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

Cambridge Stud
1971 racehorse births 1997 racehorse deaths Champion Thoroughbred Sires of Australia Champion Thoroughbred Sires of New Zealand Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame horses New Zealand Thoroughbred sires Thoroughbred family 6-e