Virginia Waters
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Virginia Waters (foaled 15 February 2002) is an American-bred, Irish-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. In a racing career which lasted from September 2004 to October 2005 she ran twelve times and won three races. After winning once from four starts as a two-year-old, she won the Group Three Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial Stakes on her first appearance of 2005. She then recorded her most important success when winning the
Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...
1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...
two of her six races including an upset win in the Group Two Rockfel Stakes at
Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...
. Virginia Waters failed to win her remaining six races, her best results coming when she finished fourth in The Oaks and second in the Matron Stakes. At the end of her three-year-old season she was retired from racing to become a
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 four ...
.


Background

Virginia Waters, a bay horse with a broad white blaze and three 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. ...
, was bred in
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
by Barnett Enterprises, a breeding company associated with the
Coolmore Stud Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is the headquarters of one of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champio ...
. Her dam Legend Maker, won the Group Three Prix de Royaumont for
Michael Tabor Michael Barry Tabor (born 28 October 1941) is a British racehorse owner. As a partner in Coolmore Stud, he is one of only four racehorse owners to have won both the Epsom Derby and the Kentucky Derby. Tabor has extensive business interest ...
in 1997. Apart from Virginia Waters, her foals include Alexander of Hales a colt who won the Gallinule Stakes and finished second in the
Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...
. As a descendant of the broodmare Sunbittern, Virginia Waters was also related to The Derby winner High-Rise 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 current ...
winner In The Wings. Virginia Waters' sire,
Kingmambo Kingmambo (February 19, 1990 – January 20, 2016) was an American-bred, French-trained thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and sire (horse), sire. Background He was sired by the leading stallion, Mr. Prospector, who in turn was a son of Raise ...
was a highly successful breeding stallion. His progeny included the British Classic winners Russian Rhythm,
Light Shift Light Shift (22 March 2004 – 28 March 2014) was an American-bred, British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the 2007 Epsom Oaks. In a racing career which lasted from June 2006 to October 2007 the filly ran nine t ...
,
King's Best Kings Best (24 January 1997 – 16 April 2019) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2000 Guineas Stakes. He was described by his trainer Michael Stoute as the best miler he'd ever trained. Background King's Best ...
,
Henrythenavigator Henrythenavigator (foaled February 28, 2005) is an American-bred and Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He won the 2000 Guineas, the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the St. James's Palace Stakes and the Sussex Stakes in 2008. After he finished second i ...
and
Rule of Law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
as well as major winners in Japan ( El Condor Pasa), France (
Divine Proportions Divine Proportions (born 13 March 2002 in Kentucky) is a champion Thoroughbred race horse and winner of two French classics. Background Divine Proportions was bred by the Niarchos family. She was sired by the American-bred stallion Kingmamb ...
) and the United States (
Lemon Drop Kid Lemon Drop Kid (May 26, 1996 – December 13, 2024) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Best known for winning the 1999 Belmont Stakes, he was also the champion older horse of 2000 after winning the Brooklyn, Suburban, Whitney H ...
). Like many Coolmore horses, the details of Virginia Waters' ownership altered from race to race. For some of her races she was owned by Susan Magnier, while in others she was officially owned in partnership by Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor. She was trained throughout her career by
Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...
at
Ballydoyle Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud, and both are owned by John Magnier, son in law to the racehorse trainer Vincent O'Brien. The current trai ...
.


Racing career

Virginia Waters debut in September 2004 was unusual, in that she bypassed
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 ...
s and was sent straight into Group race competition. Ridden by
Seamie Heffernan James Anthony "Seamie" Heffernan (born 17 July 1972) is an Irish flat racing jockey associated for most of his career with the stable of horse racing trainer Aidan O'Brien. From a family with no racing connections, Heffernan was introduced to t ...
she started at 14/1 and finished eighth of the eleven runners in the Round Tower Stakes at the
Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Pollardstown Fen, the larges ...
. Two weeks later, she recorded her first win when she easily beat nine opponents in the Loder EBF Fillies Stakes at the same course. In October she finished third to Jazz Princess in the Group Three Meld Stakes and second to Bibury Fyler in a
Listed race Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triom ...
. On her first appearance as a three-year-old, Virginia Waters started 5/2 second favourite for the Leopardstown 1000 Guineas Trial on 10 April. 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 ...
, who had recently taken over the job as first jockey for Coolmore, she showed improved form to take the lead inside 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 ...
and won by three lengths. Three weeks later, Virginia Waters was one of twenty fillies who contested the 1000 Guineas, a race in which she ran over a mile for the first time and raced on firm ground for the first time since her debut. The betting for the race was unusually open, with the
Barry Hills Barry Hills (born 2 April 1937) is a retired British thoroughbred horse trainer. He lives in Lambourn, England. Biography Barry Hills had three sons in his first marriage, to Maureen Newson: John, Michael, and Richard. John (died 2014) was a h ...
-trained Maids Causeway starting favourite on 5/1 and Virginia Waters being made the 12/1 sixth choice. Fallon restrained the filly in the early stages before moving forward in the last quarter mile. Virginia Waters took the lead a furlong from the finish and won by two and a half lengths from Maid's Causeway. The win completed a rare double for Coolmore, O'Brien, and Fallon who had won 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 ...
with
Footstepsinthesand Footstepsinthesand (foaled 15 February 2002) is a retired, undefeated Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire who was bred in the United Kingdom but trained during his racing career in Ireland. He won both his races as a two-year-old in 2004 and ...
a day earlier. No owner-trainer-jockey combination had achieved the double since
King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...
,
Fred Darling Frederick Darling (1884–1953) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who trained a record-equalling seven English Derby winners. Darling's father, Sam Darling senior, was a trainer at Beckhampton, near Avebury in Wiltshire, who traine ...
and Gordon Richards won the races with Big Game and Sun Chariot in 1942. Virginia Waters' subsequent form was disappointing. Three weeks after her win at Newmarket she started 11/10 favourite for the
Irish 1,000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is sched ...
but finished unplaced behind Saoire on soft ground. When it became clear that the ground at
Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...
was likely to be firm, the filly's owners paid a supplementary entry of £20,000 to run her in the Oaks. She was made joint-favourite for the race but after moving into third place in the straight she weakened in the closing stages to finish fourth behind Eswarah. Later that month she finished unplaced behind Maids Causeway in the
Coronation Stakes The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is sche ...
at "Royal Ascot" (run that year at
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 ...
) when Fallon rejected her in favour of Magnier's other runner, Damson. In July she was unplaced in the
Nassau Stakes The Nassau Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to Filly, fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at ...
at Goodwood behind
Alexander Goldrun Alexander Goldrun (foaled 9 February 2001 in Ireland) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Dermot Cantillon, she was raced by Mrs. Noel O'Callaghan for whom she compiled a race record of 10 wins, seven seconds, and six thirds in thirty ...
. In September at
Leopardstown Leopardstown (), historically called Ballinlore, is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. With institutional lands and a large racecourse, it is divided by the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorw ...
, Virginia Waters produced her best performance since her classic success when she finished a close third behind the English challengers Attraction and
Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...
in the Group One Matron Stakes. On her final racecourse appearance, Virginia Waters finished last of the ten runners, beaten forty-seven lengths by the winner Peeress in the Sun Chariot Stakes on soft ground at Newmarket.


Stud record

Virginia Waters retired to become part of the Coolmores Stud's breeding operation. She has been sent to leading stallions including
Storm Cat Storm Cat (February 27, 1983 – April 24, 2013) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in North America at the time. He was the leading sire in North A ...
and
Danehill Dancer Danehill Dancer was a bay horse bred by L. K. and K. McCreery and foaled on 20 January 1993. He was sired by Danehill, who won the Haydock Sprint Cup in 1989. Danehill Dancer's dam is Mira Adonde, a daughter of Sharpen Up. Mira Adonde was tra ...
, but the only winner from her first five foals has been the colt Emperor Claudius, by
Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway () is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcano, volcanic fissure eruption, part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province active in the region during the Paleogene period. ...
, winner of a Listed race at the Curragh in 2010. 2007 Emperor Claudius (USA): Bay colt, foaled 11 January, by Giant's Causeway (USA) – won 4 races including LR Celebration S, Curragh, placed twice including 2nd LR Chesham S, Royal Ascot from 8 starts in Ireland and England during 2009–10 2008 Ballroom (IRE) : Bay filly, foaled 12 January, by Storm Cat (USA) – placed three times from 7 starts in Ireland 2011 2009 Visalia (IRE) : Bay filly, foaled 31 March, by Dansili (GB) – unplaced only start in France 2012 2010 Where (IRE): Bay filly, foaled 28 March, by Danehill Dancer (IRE) – placed third once from 4 starts in Ireland during 2012 2011 Dove Mountain (IRE): Bay colt (gelded), foaled 1 April, by Danehill Dancer (IRE) – won 3 races and placed 6 times from 36 starts in Ireland and England; won 2 races and placed 3 times over hurdles in Ireland, to date (5/07/17) 2013 Lizard Point (IRE) : Bay colt, foaled 1 January, by Fastnet Rock (AUS) – unplaced only start to date in Ireland 2015


Pedigree

*Virginia Waters was inbred 3x4 to Northern Dancer, meaning that this stallion appears in both the third and the fourth generations of her pedigree. She is also inbred 4x4 to the broodmare Special.


References

{{1000 Guineas winners 2002 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 9-e 1000 Guineas winners