Strawberry Road
| Strawberry Road | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Whiskey Road |
| Dam | Giftisa |
| Damsire | Rich Gift |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 28 September 1979 |
| Country | Australia  |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | J. Pantos & G. Georgopoulos |
| Owner | Raymond F. Stehr and John Singleton (Australia) Daniel Wildenstein (France) Allen E. Paulson & Summa Stable (USA) |
| Trainer | 1) Doug Bougoure (Australia) 2) John Nicholls (Australia & Germany) 3) Patrick Biancone (France) 4) Charlie Whittingham (United States) |
| Record | 45: 17-7-7 |
| Earnings | US$1,713,958 |
| Major wins | |
| Rosehill Guineas (1983) Freeway Stakes (1983) AJC Derby (1983) Queensland Derby (1983) Cox Plate (1983) Grosser Preis von Baden (1984) Prix d'Harcourt (1985) Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (1985) Arcadia Handicap (1986) | |
| Awards | |
| Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year (1983) German Champion Older Horse (1984) Australian Racing Hall of Fame (2009) | |
| Honours | |
| Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland: Equine Hall of Fame | |
| Last updated on 07:28, Wednesday August 14 2024 (UTC) | |
Strawberry Road (28 September 1979 – 1 June 1995) was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who went on to race in Germany, France, the United States, and Japan. Bred in New South Wales, he was sired by Whiskey Road, who was a grandson of English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky. His dam was Giftisa, whose male ancestry includes Nearco, Abernant, and Hyperion.
Trained by in Australia 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 in the Hobartville Stakes, and, after two further lead-up runs, recorded his first Group One 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 nine wins for the season, including three in Group One races, Strawberry Road was named Australia's champion racehorse.
At four, Strawberry Road campaigned in Melbourne, and, interspersed with defeats at Caulfield, won the Freeway Stakes, the Centennial Stakes, and the Cox Plate. After 26 starts in Australia for 13 wins, three seconds, and three thirds,[1] Strawberry Road was sold to Raymond F. Stehr and John Singleton and exported to France,[2] where he was trained by John Nicholls. In 1984, he won the Grosser Preis von Baden in Germany, finished fifth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France, third and fourth, respectively, in the Washington, D.C. International Stakes and the Breeders' Cup Turf in the United States, and seventh in the Japan Cup, ridden by the great English jockey Lester Pigott.
In 1985, Strawberry Road returned to France and resumed in April at Longchamp. Under new trainer Patrick Biancone, he won the Prix d'Harcourt. He was then sold to prominent French horseman Daniel Wildenstein, for whom he won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Wildenstein then sent Strawberry Road to the United States, where he ran second to the champion Pebbles, by a neck, in the Breeders' Cup Turf. Sold to Allen Paulson and Bruce McNall, Strawberry Road remained in the United States, and was trained by Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham. Now seven, Strawberry Road recorded the last feature win of his career in the Arcadia Handicap at California's Santa Anita Park.
As a sire
Retired to stud by Paulson (now his sole owner), at his Brookside Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, 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, San Rafael Stakes
- Fraise (b. 1988) - Won the 1992 Breeders' Cup Turf
- Escena (b. 1993) - Won 1998 Breeders' Cup Distaff
- Ajina (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 and winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile
- Affluent (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 and pneumonia. In a weakened condition, he fell in his stall, broke a femur in his right foreleg, and had to be euthanansed.
References
- ^ [http://www.racingvictoria.net.au/Racing/horse.aspx?horse_code=124980 Strawberry Road's racing career (in Australia only)
- ^ ASB Strawberry Road Retrieved on 6 June 2009
External Links
- 1979 racehorse births
- 1995 racehorse deaths
- Thoroughbred racehorses
- Northern Dancer bloodline
- Racehorses bred in Australia
- Racehorses trained in Australia
- Australian racehorses
- Cox Plate winners
- French racehorses
- American racehorses
- Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year
- Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses