Sunlight (foaled 9 October 2015) is a three-time

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 ...

winning Australian bred thoroughbred racehorse.

Background

Sunlight was purchased for $300,000 at the 2017

Magic Millions Magic Millions Sales Pty Ltd is an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse auction house which holds auctions around Australia each year including its world famous Gold Coast Yearling Sale at Surfers Paradise in Queensland. Seven days of auctions are jo ...

sale. She is by multiple Group I winner Zoustar, out of the former smart mare Solar Charged, a two-time Group III winner of the

Kindergarten Stakes The Kindergarten Stakes, is an Australian Turf Club Group 3 Australian Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged two years old, at set weights, over a distance of 1100 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in the autumn during the ATC Ch ...

and Thoroughbred Club Stakes.

Racing career

Sunlight made her debut at

Flemington Racecourse Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is the world's richest handicap and the world's richest 3200-metre horse race. The race ...

in October 2017 where she finished third in the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes. Two months later she won her first race at the Gold Coast when leading all the way to win by 4.75 lengths. She repeated this effort two weeks later at the same course when winning by 4.5 lengths. These races were used as a lead up to the Magic Millions 2YO Classic run on the same course in January 2018. In this race, Sunlight started as the 3/1 favourite, and despite suffering severe interference during the race, she won by 2 lengths, earning her owners first prizemoney of $1.525 million. After a six-week break, Sunlight narrowly won the Silver Slipper Stakes when resuming at

Rosehill Gardens Racecourse The Rosehill Gardens Racecourse is located in the Western Sydney suburb of Rosehill, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is operated by the Australian Turf Club. Rosehill holds horse races for thoroughbred gallopers on a grass ...

. At her next start she was successful at the same course when winning the

Magic Night Stakes The Magic Night Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race, for two-year-old fillies, at set weights, over a distance of 1200 metres, held annually at Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March. Total prize money for ...

. At her next run she started at the odds of 4/1 when running third in the

Golden Slipper Stakes The Golden Slipper Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses run over 1,200 metres on turf at set weights conditions, held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier t ...

, beaten 1.5 lengths. Sunlight had her final race as a two-year-old in July 2018 at

Morphettville Racecourse Morphettville Racecourse is the main horse racing course for the Australian state of South Australia, incorporating two separate tracks. It is situated in the Adelaide suburb of Morphettville, and is about 10 km from the Adelaide city ...

. In what was billed as a match race of Sunlight vs Nature Strip, the older horse Nature Strip proved far too good, defeating Sunlight by 6 lengths. Sunlight resumed racing as a three-year-old with successive

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: *Group 3 element, chemical element classification *Group 3 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are ...

victories at

Caulfield Racecourse Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is located nine kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, on the boundary of Caulfield and Caulfield East in Melbourne's south eastern suburbs. The Reserve was set aside for three purposes, racing, recreation and a publ ...

in the

Quezette Stakes The Quezette Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held under set weights with penalties conditions, over a distance of 1100 metres, held at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia annual ...

and Thoroughbred Club Stakes. A month later she won her first

race the Coolmore Stud Stakes. In a field of 10, she was the only

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

in the race against 9 other colt's. Sunlight won a further two Group 1 races as a three-year-old, the

Newmarket Handicap The Newmarket Handicap is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race over a distance of 1200 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on Super Saturday in March during the VRC Autumn Racing Carnival. Pri ...

and the William Reid Stakes. As a four-year-old Sunlight won the

Gilgai Stakes The Gilgai Stakes, registered as the Baguette Stakes, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, at Set Weights with penalties, over a distance of 1200 metres. It is held annually at Flemington R ...

, before finishing unplaced in

The Everest The Everest is an Australian Turf Club Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race run over 1,200 metres on turf at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. Run for the first time in 2017 as a Special Conditions class since it is not yet eligible ...

. She then finished second in the inaugural running of the

Golden Eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds ...

, collecting prizemoney of $1.5 million for doing so. Sunlight was retired in 2020 after disappointing displays in the G1 The Goodwood and Robert Sangster Stakes.

Stud career

In July 2020, Sunlight was purchased by

Coolmore Stud Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is headquarters of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champions. The oper ...

at the

National Broodmare sale for A$4,200,000. Her first mating will be with

American Triple Crown In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three ...

winner Justify. Sunlight gave birth to that foal, a colt in 2021

Pedigree

References

{{reflist Racehorses bred in Australia Racehorses trained in Australia 2015 racehorse births