Strategic Choice (4 March 1991 – after 2006) was an American-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 and

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

. In a racing career which lasted from April 1994 until July 2000 he competed in nine different countries – Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Turkey, Canada and Hong Kong – and won six of his thirty-four races. Unraced as a two-year-old he won the

John Porter Stakes The John Porter Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs ( ...

and Irish St. Leger at four, the

Gran Premio di Milano The Gran Premio di Milano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June. The event ...

and

Grand Prix de Deauville The Grand Prix de Deauville is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,500 metres (about 1 mile and 4½ f ...

at five and the Bosphorus Trophy at six. He was also placed in the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...

Gran Premio del Jockey Club The Gran Premio del Jockey Club is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in October. T ...

, Yorkshire Cup and

St Simon Stakes The St. Simon Stakes is a Group races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Newbury Racecourse, Newbury ...

. After his retirement from racing he had some success as a sire of

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

racing.

Background

Strategic Choice was a bay stallion with a broad white blaze and two white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...

bred in Kentucky by his owner

Martyn Arbib Sir Martyn Arbib (born 27 June 1939) is a British businessman who founded and led the Perpetual fund management company during the late 20th century. Early life Arbib was born in Hendon on 29 June 1939, and attended Felsted School, Essex. His ...

, a British businessman who brought the colt back to the United Kingdom. The horse was trained by

Paul Cole Paul F. I. Cole (born 11 September 1941) is a British racehorse trainer. Since 1987 he has been based at Whatcombe Estate in Berkshire, the former stables of Dick Dawson and Arthur Budgett. He was British flat racing Champion Trainer in 19 ...

at Whatcombe, near

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire, it has been a ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

and ridden in most of his races by Richard Quinn. Strategic Choice was sired by

Alleged In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions. Types of allegations Marital allegations There are also marital allegations: ma ...

who won the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe () is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over a distance ...

in 1977 and 1978. Alleged later became a successful breeding stallion, and a strong influence for stamina: his best winners included

Miss Alleged Miss Alleged (1987–2008) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who was a Champion in the United States and one of only two fillies to ever win the Breeders' Cup Turf. Background Foaled in Kentucky, she was out of the mare, Miss Tusculum. Her ...

Shantou Shantou, Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 20 ...

, Law Society,

Legal Case Legal proceeding is an activity that seeks to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. Although the term may be defined more broadly or more narrowly as circumstances require, it has been noted that " e term ''legal proceedings'' ...

Leading Counsel Leading Counsel (12 March 1982 – after 2006) was an American-bred Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed great promise when winning the Leopardstown Stakes on his only start as a two-year-old in 1984 and was regarded a ...

and

Midway Lady Midway Lady (foaled 1983) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who won two British Classic Races in 1986. In a racing career lasting from August 1985 until June 1986, the filly ran six times and won her last ...

. Strategic Choice's dam Danlu won only one minor race in Ireland as a two-year-old in 1987 but came from a good family, being a great-granddaughter of the

CCA Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...

winner

Levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...

whose other descendants included

Shuvee Shuvee (January 22, 1966 – April 1, 1986) was an American Thoroughbred Champion Hall of Fame racehorse. Background Shuvee was a chestnut mare bred in Virginia by Whitney A. Stone. She was sired by 1955 Horse of the Year Nashua out of the 1956 ...

and Meneval.

Racing career

1994: three-year-old season

After finishing second on his track debut in April, Strategic Choice started 4/7 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 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 ...

on 14 May and won by one and a half lengths. He was then moved up very sharply in class for the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly ov ...

Chantilly Racecourse Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred grass, turf race track, racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the ...

in June when he started a 49/1 outsider but finished fifth of the fifteen runners, three lengths behind the winner

Celtic Arms {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Celtic Arms , image = , caption = , sire = Comrade In Arms , grandsire = Brigadier Gerard , dam = Amour Celtique , damsire = Northfields , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1991 , country = France , colour ...

. In his three remaining races as a three-year-old he finished last of seven in the

Great Voltigeur Stakes The Great Voltigeur Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, second in the Godolphin Stakes at Newmarket and second again in the

at Newbury.

1995: four-year-old season

Strategic Choice began his second season in the

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: * Group 3 element, chemical element classification * Group 3 (motorsport), FIA classification of cars used in auto racing and rallying * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image ...

John Porter Stakes at Newbury in April in which he started at odds of 12/1 in a ten-runner field which also included Broadway Flyer ( Gordon Stakes), River North ( Aral-Pokal), Linney Head (

Sandown Classic Trial The Sandown Classic Trial is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 209 yard ...

), Right Win (

Gran Premio d'Italia The Gran Premio d'Italia is a Listed flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June. History The event was ...

) and Shambo (

Geoffrey Freer Stakes The Geoffrey Freer Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 1 mile, 5 furlongs and 61 yards (2,671 m ...

). After tracking the leaders in the early stages he overtook Broadway Flyer inside the final furlong and won by a neck with a gap of three lengths back to Shambo in third. In June he was sent to Italy and finished third behind the German champion Lando in the

and then returned to England in July to contest Britain's most prestigious

weight-for-age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rou ...

race the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...

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 ...

. He started a 25/1 outsider but exceeded expectations as he finished a close third behind

Lammtarra Lammtarra (2 February 1992 7 July 2014) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He ran only four times and retired undefeated. Lammtarra won three Group One races in 1995, in which year he was voted the Cartier Champion T ...

and

Pentire Pentire (12 April 1992 – 20 November 2017) was a British Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse and sire. Background Pentire was bred by Peter Wood, 3rd Earl of Halifax, Lord Halifax, he was purchased for 54,000 guineas by Mollers Racing, the ra ...

, with Winged Love, Carnegie and

Environment Friend Environment Friend (19 March 1988 – 28 February 2012) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for his win in the 1991 running of the Eclipse Stakes, one of the United Kingdom's most important weight-for-age races. After winning ...

finishing behind. After a six-week break Strategic Choice returned in the

Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), taking plac ...

and finished unplaced behind

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. On 16 September the colt was sent to the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse is a flat racecourse in County Kildare, Ireland. The racecourse is home to Ireland’s five most important flat races, known as the Irish Classic Races, Classics. Racing takes place 23 days each year from the end of March ...

for the Irish St. Leger over fourteen furlongs and started the 6/1 third favourite behind

Vintage Crop Vintage Crop (1 March 1987 – 14 July 2014) was a British-bred Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for becoming the first northern hemisphere trained runner to win Australia's premier race the Melbourne Cup. The chestnut geldin ...

and

Moonax Moonax (1991–2004) was an Irish-bred, English-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1994 Moonax became the first horse to win both the Classic St Leger and the Prix Royal-Oak and was named European Champion Stayer. He remains t ...

. The best fancied of the other four runners were Oscar Schindler, who went on to win the race in 1996 and 1997 and the

Michael Stoute Sir Michael Ronald Stoute (born 22 October 1945) is a Barbadian British Thoroughbred horse trainer in flat racing. Career Stoute, whose father was the Chief of Police for Barbados, left the island in 1964 at the age of 19 to become an assis ...

-trained Zilzal Zamaan. Strategic Choice was restrained by Quinn in the early stages and turned into the straight in fourth place behind Zilzal Zamaan, Vintage Crop and Moonax before making "smooth headway" to contest the lead in the last quarter mile. He took the lead inside the furlong and fought off a sustained challenge from Moonax to win by a head. On his only subsequent start as a four-year-old the horse was sent to Paris for the

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 ...

in October but after racing prominently in the early stages he faded in the straight and finished unplaced behind Lammtarra.

1996: five-year-old season

On his first appearance of 1996 Strategic Choice finished second to Classic Cliche in the Yorkshire Cup and was then sent to Italy for a second run in the Gran Premio di Milano. On this occasion he started favourite, went to the front before half way and won from his fellow British challengers Luso (

Derby Italiano The Derby Italiano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Capannelle over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year ...

) and King's Theatre. Another run in Ascot's King George followed, but he was unable to reproduce his 1995 performance and finished last of the eight runners behind Pentire. In the

over 2500 metres in August he started the 7/1 fourth choice in the betting behind Tarator ( Prix Hubert de Chaudenay), Water Poet ( Prix de Reux) and High Baroque (

Chester Vase The Chester Vase is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 63 yards () at ...

). He took the lead after 1400 metres and despite running wide on the final turm he kept on well in the straight to win by a neck and a short head from Tarator and Percutant. In October Strategic Choice returned to Milan for the

and finished third of the eight runners behind

. On his final run of the year he was sent to Japan and started a 39/1 outsider for the

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

Tokyo Racecourse is located in Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. Built in 1933 for horse racing, it is considered the "racecourse of racecourses" in Japanese horseracing. It has a capacity of 223,000, with seating for 13,750. Tokyo Racecourse hosts numerous G1 (Grade 1) ...

on 24 November. He produced one of his best performances as he dead-heated with

Helissio Helissio (1993–2013) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was European Horse of the Year for 1996. A son of Fairy King by Northern Dancer, he was owned by the Spanish businessman Enrique Sarasola and trained by Élie Lellouche. A seven-tim ...

for third behind

Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...

and Fabulous La Fouine: the horses who finished behind him included

Awad Awad or Aouad or Awwad () is an Arabic given name and surname. People with the name include: Given name ;of the origin عوّاد * Awwad Eid Al-Aradi Al-Balawi, former Director General of Saudi Arabian Border Guards, Ministry of Interior, Kingdom ...

, Pentire,

Dance Partner Dance Partner, (Japanese: ダンスパートナー, foaled 25 May 1992) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. From the first crop of foals sired by Sunday Silence, she won four of her twenty-five races and finished second nine times ...

and

Bubble Gum Fellow Bubble Gum Fellow, (, 11 April 1993 – 26 April 2010) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1995 he was rated the best juvenile colt of his generation in Japan when he won three of his four races including the Grade I Asahi Hai S ...

1997: six-year-old season

In the first half of 1997, Strategic Choice finished fifth to Helissio in the

Prix Ganay The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at L ...

and fourth behind Shantou in the Gran Premio de Milano. He ran in the King George at Ascot for a third time in July and finished sixth of the eight runners behind

Swain Swain, Swains or Swain's may refer to: Places * Swain Islands, Antarctica * Swain's Island (Newfoundland and Labrador), Canada * Swains Island, an atoll in the Tokelau chain, American Samoa * Swain County, North Carolina, United States * Swains ...

. After finishing fourth in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes he was sent to Turkey to contest the Bosphorus Trophy over 2400 metres at Veliefendi Race Course on 14 September. He faced seven local runners including Bold Pilot as well as Aristid from Germany and Shavat (winner of the 1996 Russian Derby) from Russia. He took the lead 400 metres from the finish and won "very easily" by three lengths from Aristid and Bold Pilot despite being eased down by Quinn in the closing stages. On his final run of the season Strategic Choice was sent to Canada for the

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses from three years of age and upwards on Turf. It is held annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is . History The Cana ...

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

on 19 October in which he finished fourth to

Chief Bearheart Chief Bearhart (February 1, 1993 – September 18, 2012) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A turf specialist, he won six Sovereign Awards and was voted American Champion Male Turf Horse for 1997. Background Chief Bearheart was b ...

1998–2000: later career

Strategic Choice remained in training for three more seasons but never won again. In 1998 he finished second in the Yorkshire Cup, third in the Grand Prix de Deauville and fourth in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes from five runs in Europe before ending the year with an unplaced effort in the

Hong Kong Vase The Hong Kong Vase is a Conditions races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run each year in mid-December over a distance of 2,400 metres (about miles o ...

Sha Tin Racecourse Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin District, Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club. Penfold Park is encircled by the track, and the Ho ...

in December. His eight-year-old campaign was restricted to two races at Newmarket: he finished fourth in the Fred Archer Stakes in June and sixth in a minor event in the following month. He was back on the track but made no impact in two starts as he finished unplaced in

handicap races A handicap race in horse racing is a race in which each horse is assigned a specific weight to carry, determined by its past performance and perceived ability. Stronger horses carry more weight, while less accomplished ones carry less. This syst ...

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 ...

and Newmarket in July.

Stud record

At the end of his racing career Strategic Choice was retired to stud. He was used primarily as a sire of

horses and was based at the Bracklynn Stud in Ireland. The best of his offspring included Bog Warrior ( Drinmore Novice Chase, Galmoy Hurdle, Webster Cup Chase) and Grey Gold (winner of eight races).

Pedigree

*Strategic Choice was

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 × 3 to Tom Rolfe, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the third generation of his pedigree.

References

{{Reflist 1991 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 9-f Irish Classic Race winners