Earthlight (horse)
Earthlight (foaled 18 February 2017) is an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a juvenile in 2019 he won two minor races before taking the Prix de Cabourg and then moving up to the highest class to win the Prix Morny and the Middle Park Stakes.
| Earthlight | |
|---|---|
 Racing silks of Godolphin | |
| Sire | Shamardal |
| Grandsire | Giant's Causeway |
| Dam | Winters Moon |
| Damsire | New Approach |
| Sex | Colt |
| Foaled | 18 February 2017[1] |
| Country | Ireland |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Godolphin |
| Owner | Godolphin |
| Trainer | Andre Fabre |
| Record | 6: 6-0-0 |
| Earnings | £415,739 |
| Major wins | |
| Prix de Cabourg (2019) Prix Morny (2019) Middle Park Stakes (2019) Prix Kistena (2020) | |
Background
Earthlight is a chestnut colt with a broad white blaze and white socks on his hind legs bred in Ireland by Godolphin in whose blue colours he races. The colt was sent into training with Andre Fabre in France.
He was from the eleventh crop of foals sired by Shamardal whose wins included the Dewhurst Stakes, Poule d'Essai des Poulains, Prix du Jockey Club and St. James's Palace Stakes. His other offspring have included Able Friend, Mukhadram, Lope de Vega and Blue Point.[2]
Earthlight is the first foal of his dam Winters Moon who won only one of her seven races but finished third in the Fillies' Mile and the Sweet Solera Stakes.[3] Her dam Summertime Legacy won the Prix des Reservoirs and produced the Group 1 winners Wavering (Prix Saint-Alary and Mandaean (Criterium de Saint-Cloud). She was a daughter of Zawaahy, a half-sister to Golden Fleece.[4]
Racing career
2019: two-year-old season
Earthlight was ridden in all of his races as a two-year-old by Mickael Barzalona. On his racecourse debut the colt was made the 1.1/1 favourite for a maiden race over 1100 metres at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse on 19 June and won by a neck from Dutch Chop with a gap of four and a half lengths back to the other eight runners.[5] Two weeks later at Deauville Racecourse he started odds-on favourite for the five-runner Prix de Caen over 1200 metres. After settling in third place he went to the front 200 metres from the finish and drew away in the closing stages to win in "comfortable" style by three and a half lengths.[6] On 28 July, over the same course and distance, Earthlight was stepped up in class for the Group 3 Prix de Cabourg and started 1.3/1 favourite against four opponents. He raced in fourth place before moving up to take the lead 200 metres out and won "readily" by four lengths from Well of Wisdom.[7]
On 18 August at Deauville Earthlight started 2.4/1 second choice in the betting behind the filly Raffle Prize (winner of the Queen Mary Stakes and the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes) in the Group 1 Prix Morny. The other six runners included A'Ali (Norfolk Stakes, Prix Robert Papin), Arizona (Coventry Stakes), and Golden Horde (Richmond Stakes). After racing in mid-division as Raffle Prize set the pace, Earthlight moved up to challenge the favourite, gained the advantage in the last 200 metres and won by a neck.[8] After the race Andre Fabre said that the colt would stay further and would probably be aimed at the 2000 Guineas.[9]
On 28 September, Earthlight was sent to England to contest the Miiddle Park Stakes over six furlongs at Newmarket Racecourse and started the 11/4 favourite. His eight opponents included Mums Tipple (an eleven-length winner of his last race), Siskin (Phoenix Stakes), Threat (Champagne Stakes), Monarch of Egypt (runner-up in the Phoenix Stakes), Lope Y Fernandez (Round Tower Stakes) and Golden Horde. Siskin was withdrawn from the race after becoming unruly in the starting stalls. Earthlight started quickly but then settled in mid-division before making a sustained run in the last quarter mile. He got the better of Golden Horde inside the final furlong and won by a neck with third and fourth places going to the outsiders Summer Sands and King Neptune.[10]
In the official rating of European two-year-olds for 2019 Earthlight was rated the second-best juvenile of the year, level with Kameko but ten pounds inferior to Pinatubo.[11]
2020: three-year-old season
Earthlight was expected to begin his second campaign in the Prix de Fontainebleau at Longchamp on 11 May, the day on which racing resumed in France after the COVID-19 outbreak lockdown. On 6 May however it was announced that the colt would miss the race after sustaining a sprained fetlock in training.[12] The colt made a belated seasonal debut in the Listed Prix Kistena over 1200 metres at Deauville on 12 July and started the 2/5 favourite against seven opponents. He took the lead 400 metres from the finish and drew away to win by two and a half lengths from Wanaway.[13]
Pedigree
| Sire Shamardal (USA) 2002 |
Giant's Causeway 1997 |
Storm Cat | Storm Bird (CAN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terlingua | |||
| Mariah's Storm | Rahy | ||
| Immense | |||
| Helsinki (GB) 1993 |
Machiavellian (USA) | Mr Prospector | |
| Coup de Folie | |||
| Helen Street | Troy | ||
| Waterway (FR) | |||
| Dam Winters Moon (IRE) 2012 |
New Approach (IRE) 2005 |
Galileo | Sadler's Wells (USA) |
| Urban Sea (USA) | |||
| Park Express | Ahonoora (GB) | ||
| Matcher (CAN) | |||
| Summertime Legacy (GB) 1999 |
Darshaan | Shirley Heights | |
| Delsy (FR) | |||
| Zawaahy (USA) | El Gran Senor | ||
| Exotic Treat (Family: 8-c)[4] |
References
- "Earthlight pedigree". Equineline.
- "Shamardal Stud Record". Racing Post. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
- "Winters Moon Race Record & Form". Racing Post.
- "Woodbine - Family 8-c". Thoroughbred Bloodlines. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
- "Prix Prince Bio result". Racing Post. 19 June 2019.
- "Prix de Caen result". Racing Post. 2 July 2019.
- "Prix de Cabourg result". Racing Post. 28 July 2019.
- "Prix Morny result". Racing Post. 18 August 2019.
- Cook, Chris (August 18, 2019). "Earthlight raises 2,000 Guineas hopes with victory in Prix Morny" – via The Guardian.
- "Middle Park Stakes result". Racing Post. 28 September 2019.
- "European two-year-old Classification 2019" (PDF). Britishhorseracing.com. January 2020.
- Stevens, James (6 May 2020). "Top prospect Earthlight to miss key Guineas trial on Longchamp's comeback card". Racing Post.
- "Prix Kistena result". Racing Post. 12 July 2020.
External links
- Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart – Earthlight