Society Rock (8 February 2007 – 31 May 2016) was an Irish-bred, British-trained

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 ...

who won the

Golden Jubilee Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. Three-year-olds foaled in the Southern Hemisphere are also eligible. It i ...

and

Haydock Sprint Cup The Sprint Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), a ...

. He was owned by Simon Gibson and trained by

James Fanshawe James Fanshawe is a British racehorse trainer. Based at Pegasus Stables in Newmarket, he has saddled 26 Group 1 winners. Although training horses mainly on the flat, he holds a dual licence and trained two winners of the Champion Hurdle. Back ...

Breeding

Society Rock is the son of

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq , meaning "Mountain of Tariq ibn Ziyad, Tariq") is a monolithic limestone mountain high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a nar ...

who won seven

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (motorsport), a regulation set of the FIA for series-production touring cars used in motorsport. * Group One Thoroughbred horse races, the leading e ...

races in a row, including the

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...

has sired a number of other top racehorses, including

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

winner Mount Nelson and

Prix de la Forêt The Prix de la Forêt is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and ...

winner Varenar. Society Rock's

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

is High Society, a daughter of Key Of Luck. His stable name is Rocky.

Racing career

Early career

In Society Rock's early days he was given the stable name of Rocky then Society Rock (Rocky) won two of his four starts as a two-year-old, including the valuable Tattersalls Timeform Millions Sprint at Newmarket. He won the Listed Pavilion Stakes at

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

in his first run as a three-year-old. After finishing second in another listed contest he stepped up to the highest class for the

Royal Ascot 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 Gra ...

. Ridden by Pat Cosgrave, he started as a 50/1 outsider. He was held up near the rear of the field in the early stages, but came through the pack to finish in second place, 1¾ lengths behind winner

Starspangledbanner Starspangledbanner is an Australian-bred and internationally raced Thoroughbred racehorse who won six of his sixteen group or listed race starts including the group one (G1) Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, G1 July Cup at Newmarket, G1 Oak ...

. In his last start of the season he finished seventh in the

July Cup The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 me ...

2011: four-year-old season

Society Rock started the 2011 season by finishing tenth in the Abernant Stakes and then second to Bated Breath in a five-runner race at

Haydock Park Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Merseyside, North West England. The racecourse is set in an area of parkland bounded by the towns of Haydock to the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield to the north, Golborne to the east and Newton-le-Willows ...

. He then went so Royal Ascot for the Golden Jubilee Stakes again. Ridden again by Pat Cosgrave, who had been his jockey for every race since Royal Ascot the previous year, he started at 25/1. Again he was held up near the rear, coming through to challenge the leaders in the final

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 ...

. He stayed on well to take the lead in the final 75

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...

s and went on to win by half a length from Monsieur Chevalier, with Star Witness in third place. After Ascot, Society Rock finished second to

Moonlight Cloud Moonlight Cloud (foaled 5 March 2008) is a British– bred, French- trained Thoroughbred racehorse who has won the Prix Maurice de Gheest three times and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. In a famous race for the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in 2012, sh ...

in the

Prix Maurice de Gheest The Prix Maurice de Gheest is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,300 metres (about 6½ furlongs), and it is s ...

. He finished four lengths behind the winner, but the horses behind him included Dream Ahead and Zoffany. He then finished sixth behind Dream Ahead in the

, followed by two disappointing efforts in the

British Champions Sprint Stakes The British Champions Sprint Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it ...

and

Hong Kong Sprint The Hong Kong Sprint is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and takes place in mid-December. The race was first ...

2012: five-year-old season

Society Rock started his five-year-old season by finishing third in the

Duke of York Stakes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

, less than half a length behind winner Tiddliwinks. He then went to Royal Ascot for the third successive year. He ran in the same race again, which had been renamed to the

Diamond Jubilee Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. Three-year-olds foaled in the Southern Hemisphere are also eligible. It i ...

in honour of the

Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for Queen Victo ...

. The 1/6 favourite for the race was the Australian

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, 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 th ...

Black Caviar Caviar or caviare is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a Garnish (food), garnish or Spread (food), spread. Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from w ...

. Society Rock started at 8/1 and was ridden by

Johnny Murtagh Johnny Murtagh (born 14 May 1970) is an Irish flat racing trainer and former jockey from Bohermeen, near Navan, Kells, County Meath. As a jockey he won many of the major flat races in Europe, including all the Irish Classi ...

. He missed the start and was at the very rear of the field, but made up ground in the final furlong to finish in fifth place, about two lengths behind winner Black Caviar. After this run he was made favourite for the July Cup, which was run on heavy ground. In the race he finished in third, 6 lengths behind surprise winner Mayson. Society Rock then started the Haydock Sprint Cup at 10/1 and was ridden by

Kieren Fallon Kieren Francis Fallon (born 22 February 1965 in Crusheen, County Clare, Ireland) is a retired Irish professional flat racing jockey and was British flat racing Champion Jockey, British Champion Jockey six times. Care ...

. Fallon settled him in the midfield and made up ground in the last furlong and a half. He then ran on to take the lead with 75 yards to run and went on to win by ¾ length from Gordon Lord Byron, with Bated Breath a further 1¼ lengths back in third. Fallon commented after the race ''"He's like a little terrier and tries very hard, which is what you need in a race like this."'' In the

on Champions Day at Ascot (20 October) Society Rock came home fifth of the fifteen runners behind Maarek.

2013: six-year-old season

Society Rock ran three times as a six-year-old. He won the Duke of York Stakes in May and finished second to

Lethal Force Deadly force, also known as lethal force, is the use of force that is likely to cause serious bodily injury or death to another person. In most jurisdictions, the use of deadly force is justified only under conditions of extreme necessity a ...

in both the Diamond Jubilee Stakes and the July Cup.

Stud record

Society Rock was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion at the Tally-Ho Stud in

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. His offspring included Unfortunately, A'Ali (

Prix Robert Papin The Prix Robert Papin is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it ...

) and The Mackem Bullet (

Appalachian Stakes The Appalachian Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of one mile (8 furlongs) on the turf held annually in early April at Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky during the spring mee ...

).Racing Post
/ref> Society Rock died after succumbing to a bout of laminitis in May 2016.

Pedigree

''Note: b. =

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, ch. =

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

'' * Society Rock is

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...

3 × 4 to Danzig. This means that the stallion appears once in the third generation and once in the fourth generation of his pedigree. He is also 4x4 inbred to

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred that, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. After being retired from racing, he became one of the most successful Stallion, sires of the 2 ...

References

{{reflist 2007 racehorse births 2016 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 11-e