Smokey Lady (9 March 1977 – after 1982) was an Irish

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 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 f ...

. Racing only as a two-year-old in 1979 she won two of her five races including the

Phoenix Stakes The Phoenix Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is ...

, which was then Ireland's premier race for juveniles. She was also placed in the

Queen Mary Stakes The Queen Mary Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ...

and the Prix du Petit Couvert and ended the year as Ireland's top-rated two-year-old filly. She made no impact as a broodmare.

Background

Smokey Lady was a "compact" grey mare bred in Ireland. She was sent into training with

Dermot Weld Dermot K. Weld (born 29 July 1948), a former jockey is one of Ireland's most successful racehorse trainers. He holds the record for the most winners trained in Ireland (2,578 set in August 2000). Weld maintains his stable, Rosewell House, in ...

at the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the ...

. She was ridden in most of her races by

Wally Swinburn Walter Robert Swinburn, (born 1937), is a retired jockey who competed in Flat racing. He was Irish flat racing Champion Jockey in 1976 and 1977, and was the first jockey to ride 100 winners in a season in Ireland. He was based at various times in ...

. She was from the seventh crop of foals sired by

Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, an American-bred, British-raced miler who became one of the leading European stallions of the 1970s and 1980s. His other progeny included

Habibti Habibti (foaled 1980) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who was one of the highest-rated sprinters in European racing history. Habibti was unbeaten as a two-year-old, winning the Group Two Lowther Stakes ...

Flying Water Flying Water (8 April 1973 – 25 June 1978) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career which was disrupted by injury, she ran eleven times and won six races between July 1975 and June 1978. After winning her only race as a two- ...

Marwell Marwell Zoo is a zoo situated in Colden Common near Winchester, in the English county of Hampshire. It is owned and run by the registered charity Marwell Wildlife. The zoo is home to 1,208 animals of 149 species. The charity undertakes a ran ...

, Rose Bowl and Steinlen and he was the British Champion broodmare sire on three occasions. Smokey Lady's dam A. 1 showed little ability as a racehorse but was a successful broodmare who produced several other winners including Steel Heart and was the female-line ancestor of King of Kings.

Racing career

1979: two-year-old season

After finishing unplaced on her first appearance, Smokey Lady recorded her first win in a

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 ...

over five

furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

Phoenix Park Racecourse Phoenix Park Racecourse is a former horse racing venue in Ireland. It was located in the townlands of Ashtown and Castleknock in the civil parish of Castleknock on the northern edge of the Phoenix Park in Dublin. The course was founded by JHH ...

in May, taking the race in impressive style by five

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the In ...

from Pitmarie. In the following month she was stepped up in class when she was sent to England and started second favourite for the

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...

. She showed good early speed and led the field until the final furlong when she was overtaken and beaten into third place by Abeer and Teacher's Pet. Smokey Lady was then matched against colts in the Phoenix Stakes at Phoenix Park which was at the time the only

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group ...

race in Ireland restricted to juveniles. In a finish dominated by fillies she prevailed by a lengths from the odds-on favourite Monroe, with Pitmarie half a length back in third. On 21 October the filly was sent to France and matched against older horses in the Prix du Petit Couvert over 1000 metres at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced ...

, a race which saw her start second favourite behind the three-year-old Sigy. She was among the leaders from the start and finished third of the eleven runners behind Manjam and Standaan. In the Irish Free Handicap for 1979, Smokey Lady was assigned a weight of 122 pounds, making her the top-rated two-year-old filly of the year in Ireland. 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 ...

organisation gave her a rating of 109, making her eleven pounds inferior to their top juvenile filly Aryenne.

Breeding record

Smokey Lady did not race after the end of her two-year-old and was retired to become a broodmare. Her only known foal was Manela Lady, a brown filly foaled in 1982, sired by

Ela-Mana-Mou Ela-Mana-Mou (1976–2008) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from 1978 until October 1980, he ran sixteen times and won ten races. He was one of the best British two-year-olds of 1978, when he defeated ...

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1977 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 7