#lammtarra

IA y ONE en el Lammtarra Mulan Summer Fair 2018

¡La mercancíaIA y ONE está disponible en las tiendas Lammtarra y Mulan en este momento como parte del IA & ONE x Lammtarra Mulan Summer Fair 2018! (more…)

Yay! My Lammtarra-book "Quest for Greatness: A Celebration of Lammtarra and the Racing Season" by Laura Thompson, which was ordered almost a fortnight ago, has finally arrived! <3 (3 Sep. 2014)

Lammtarra and his four races, all resulted in victories:

1994 Washington Singer Stakes 1995 Epsom Derby 1995 King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes 1995 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

"... a horse who won the Derby in record time after a 300-day layoff, who showed the fighting qualities he did in Ascot's all-age showpiece, and who signed off with an Arc against the best Europe could produce is entitled to be stabled with the greats."

Robin Oakley on Lammtarra in "Britain and Ireland's Top 100 Racehorses of All Time".

Lammtarra, born on 2 February 1992, was sired by the legendary 1970 English Triple Crown Champion Nijinsky, out of Epsom Oaks heroine Snow Bride, a daughter of French and European Champion Blushing Groom. Owned by Saeed bin Maktoum al Maktoum, whose father, Sheikh Maktoum, bred Lammtarra at his Gainsborough Farms in Kentucky, Lammtarra was based in Europe.

His debut was in the Washington Singer Stakes at Newbury, which he won, and which was his only race as a two-year-old.

Trainer Alex Scott had been dreaming of Epsom glory with a two-year-old colt in his care. He was sure that Lammtarra was the colt, and he backed Lammtarra long before the race itself, even before Lammtarra had seen a racetrack. He placed £1,000 at 33/1 with Ladbrokes. Sadly, in September 1994, Alex was shot and killed at his stables in Newmarket, at the age of 34. Lammtarra was sent to Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation to continue his career.

He almost did not go to Epsom at all. During the early part of 1995, Lammtarra was a sick horse and his participation for the Derby was in grave doubt.

He got to Epsom, and was to make his seasonal reappearance there, his first run in 302 days. Sent off at 14/1 and ridden by Walter Swinburn, he faced André Fabre’s 2,000 Guineas winner and favourite at 11/8 Pennekamp, and Peter Chapple-Hyam’s Irish 2,000 Guineas winner and second choice at 11/4 Spectrum.

“As the field rounded Tattenham Corner, Lammtarra was stuck on the rails towards the rear of the field. With two furlongs left, Walter Swinburn got clear and Lammtarra gathered speed. Frankie Dettori's swoop on 9/1 shot Tamure had seemed certain to carry him to victory, but Lammtarra quickly made up at least six lengths in the last one and a half furlongs. He overtook Tamure deep inside the final furlong and won going away by a length.”

Afterwards, in the Winners’ Enclosure, there were emotional scenes, as Swinburn and Sheikh Mohammed paid tribute to Alex Scott. Bookmakers, normally, cancel a bet if the person placing it dies. However, Ladbrokes let Scott's ante-post bet on Lammtarra stand, and paid the winnings to his widow.

Not only did Lammtarra win, he also sat a new record at 2:32.21, 1.53 seconds better than the previous record. His record stood for 15 years, until 2010, when Workforce won it in 2:31.33.

Next stop was the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. This time with Frankie Dettori on board, to both Frankie's and Walter's surprise. Frankie said after the race that his mount “had the heart of a lion”. A couple of furlongs into the race, Frankie started to improve Lammtarra's position, but Pentire moved up on his outside with, it seemed, plenty in hand. Pentire went to the front, but only for moments, as Lammtarra rallied to get his head back in front and remaind there.

Lammtarra next won Europe’s most prestigious race for Thoroughbreds, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp. With Frankie in the saddle, the pair of them settled just off the pace, then they rode to the lead just over two furlongs out. “Challengers queued up to take a shot at the English horse, but all failed. Dettori drove Lammtarra home and at the line the 21/10 favourite had three-quarters of a length to spare over Freedom Cry, with Swain two lengths further back in third.”

Retired to stud, he stood his first season at Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Dalham Hall Stud near Newmarket. He was then sold to Arrow Stud in Japan at the end of the 1996 breeding season. In August 2006, it was announced that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had bought back his star, and would return him to Dalham Hall Stud to live out his days in retirement. Lammtarra sired only seven stakes winners, but mares sired by him are highly sought after, due to his excellent bloodlines.

He was put to sleep on 7 July 2014, aged 22.

“Lammtarra was very intelligent and never gave anyone a moment’s trouble. Sadly, this was his time to go and he will be missed by everyone here at Dalham,” Darley spokesman Liam O’Rourke said.

Lammtarra was voted the Cartier Three-Year-Old European Champion Colt of 1995. He shares the triple feat of winning the Derby, King Geroge and the Arc, with only one other horse, the legendary Mill Reef, who accomplished the feat 24 years earlier. With only four starts - and four victories, - Lammtarra is one of the most lightly raced Derby winners in history.

Although Lammtarra raced before I even was born, and I not have posted about him that much - if ever, - Lammtarra was and will forever be one of my all-time favourites. It is much more than an understatement to say that I am devastated, and I am so sad that I six weeks after his death got to know that he has died. I cried so much yesterday, when I read it shortly after dinner and until I went to bed, that I not was able to post this.

Rest In Peace, dear sweet boy. I miss you.