Strawberry Road (28 September 1979 – 1 June 1995) was a

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, ...

Australian

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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic ...

who went on to race in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, and Japan. Bred in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, he was by the 'superbly-bred' Whiskey Road ( Nijinsky-

Bowl of Flowers Bowl of Flowers (foaled 1958 in Virginia) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Background Bowl of Flowers was the product of two horses owned by Isabel Dodge Sloane. Bred at Ms Sloane's Brookmeade Stud in Upperville, Vir ...

) out of Giftisa (by Rich Gift - a grandson of Nasrullah and Abernant).

Racing career

In Australia

Trained by Doug Bougoure, Strawberry Road had two starts late in his two-year-old season before making a winning start to the new season on 11 August 1982, in the Queensland Maiden Handicap at Eagle Farm. Following a spell, he progressed from an Improvers to a Graduation with four wins in a row. Taken to Sydney, and stepped up to stakes company, he finished second to Marscay (the previous year's Golden Slipper winner) in the Hobartville Stakes, and, after two further lead-up runs, recorded his first

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 race system introduce ...

wins in the Rosehill Guineas and the AJC Derby. Back in Queensland, following a brief let-up, Strawberry Road won three of his four starts, including the Queensland Derby. After recording 10 wins for the season, including three in

races, Strawberry Road was named Australia's champion racehorse for the 1982–1983 season. In the spring, Strawberry Road campaigned in Melbourne, and, interspersed with defeats at Caulfield, won the

Freeway Stakes The Manikato Stakes is a Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 1200 metres. It is held at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne, Austra ...

, the Centennial Stakes, and the

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at ...

. In the autumn, Strawberry Road failed to find his best form, and, after 26 starts in Australia, which produced 13 wins, three seconds, and three-thirds, a controlling interest was sold to Ray Stehr and

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...

, who exported him to France.ASB Strawberry Road
Retrieved on 6 June 2009 (Note: Date of export to France is not correct and did not occur until 1984)

International Campaigns

Trained by John Nicholls, Strawberry Road won 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), and it is sched ...

in Germany in 1984. He then finished fifth in the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racec ...

in France, third and fourth, respectively, in the Washington, D.C. International Stakes and the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's curre ...

in the United States, and closed the year with a seventh in the Japan Cup, ridden by the great English jockey

Lester Piggott Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...

. Strawberry Road returned to France in 1985, and, under new trainer Patrick Biancone, won the Prix d'Harcourt. He was then sold to prominent French horseman

Daniel Wildenstein Daniel Leopold Wildenstein (11 September 1917 – 23 October 2001) was a French art dealer, historian and owner-breeder of thoroughbred race horses. He was the third member of the family to preside over Wildenstein & Co., one of the most succe ...

, for whom he won the

Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it i ...

. Wildenstein then sent Strawberry Road to the United States, where he ran second to the champion Pebbles, by a neck, in the

. Sold to Allen Paulson and Bruce McNall, Strawberry Road remained in the United States, and was trained by Hall of Fame trainer

Charlie Whittingham Charles Edward Whittingham (April 13, 1913 – April 20, 1999) was an American Thoroughbred race horse trainer who is one of the most acclaimed trainers in U.S. racing history. Early career Born in Chula Vista, California, Whittingham began ...

. Now seven, Strawberry Road recorded the last feature win of his career in the Arcadia Handicap at California's

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

in 1986.

At Stud

Retired to stud by Paulson (now his sole owner), at his Brookside Farm in

Versailles, Kentucky Versailles () is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 9,316 according to 2017 cen ...

, Strawberry Road was a highly successful sire. His 368 progeny included 233 winners, and among the most successful were: * Dinard (b. 1988) - Won 1991

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is one ...

San Rafael Stakes The San Rafael Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race was a Grade III event with a purse of $150,000 and was open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile (8 furlongs) ...

* Fraise (b. 1988) - Won the 1992

* Escena (b. 1993) - Won 1998 Breeders' Cup Distaff *

Ajina {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Ajina , image = , caption = , sire = Strawberry Road , grandsire = Whiskey Road , dam = Winglet , damsire = Alydar , sex = Mare , foaled = 1994 , country = United States , colour = Dark Bay , breede ...

(b. 1994) - Won 1997 Breeders' Cup Distaff Strawberry Road is also the damsire of: * Vindication (b. 2000) - The 2002

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing F ...

and winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile *

Affluent Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...

(b. 1998) - Winner of four American Grade One races and prize money of more than US$1.4 million In 1995, Strawberry Road contracted a bacterial infection that led to

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or ...

and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. In a weakened condition, he fell in his stall, fracturing the

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates wit ...

in his right hindleg, and had to be euthanised.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

Strawberry Road's pedigree and racing stats

* ttp://www.barnesphotography.net.au/strawberryroad/index.htm Complete profile and statistics on Strawberry Road by equine photographer Jenny Barnes 1979 racehorse births 1995 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Australia Racehorses trained in Australia Cox Plate winners Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses Thoroughbred family 18