Saintly (21 September 1992 – 16 December 2016) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1997. A giant chestnut gelding by Sky Chase out of All Grace (by Sir Tristram), he was bred by his trainer, Bart Cummings, who owned him in partnership with a Malaysian businessman, Dato Tan Chin Nam. In 2017 Saintly was inducted to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.[2]

Saintly
SireSky Chase
GrandsireStar Way
DamAll Grace
DamsireSir Tristram
SexGelding
Foaled(1992-09-21)21 September 1992
Died16 December 2016(2016-12-16) (aged 24)
CountryAustralia
ColourChestnut
BreederBart Cummings
OwnerBart Cummings & Dato Tan Chin Nam
TrainerBart Cummings
Record23: 10–8–3[1]
EarningsA$3,851,765[1]
Major wins
Australian Cup (1996)
W S Cox Plate (1996)
Melbourne Cup (1996)
C F Orr Stakes (1997)
Honours
Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year (1997)
Australian Racing Hall of Fame (2017)
Last updated on 17 May 2017

Saintly gained the moniker 'The horse from heaven'[3] due to his name and his partnership with jockey Darren Beadman, who at the time was a proclaimed born-again Christian.

Race career

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Saintly broke his maiden as a two-year-old, on 19 April 1995, and returned in the latter part of the spring, at three, where he won three races, including the Listed Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington. He opened the new year by defeating the well-performed Juggler in the Expressway Stakes, and won the Australian Cup two starts later. He was then placed behind Octagonal in the Rosehill Guineas, the Mercedes Classic, and the Australian Derby, and finished in front of Nothin' Leica Dane and Filante, in what was considered a vintage crop of three-year-olds.

At four, Saintly was runner-up to Filante in the Warwick and the Chelmsford Stakes, won the Hill Stakes at his third run back, and was surprisingly defeated by Adventurous, Hula Flight, and Nothin' Leica Dane in the Craven Plate and The Metropolitan. In Melbourne, however, he found his best form. He charged home to beat Filante in the Cox Plate and backed up 10 days later for an easy win in the Melbourne Cup. He was just the fourth horse to complete the double in the same year, following Nightmarch (1929), Phar Lap (1930), and Rising Fast (1954), and preceding Makybe Diva (2005).

After missing the Japan Cup through illness, Saintly returned in the Orr Stakes, and came from well back on the home turn to defeat Cut Up Rough. Bart Cummings declared Saintly hadn't yet reached his peak as a racehorse, but he broke down without racing again. Over the next 18 months, Cummings made several attempts to get Saintly back to the track, but without success, and he was retired in July 1998.

Retirement

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Saintly originally resided at Living Legends, the international home of rest for champion horses (open to the public) in Greenvale, Melbourne, Australia, but as of February 2007, Saintly has returned home to Bart Cummings' Princes Farm in New South Wales.

Saintly died at the age of 24 on 16 December 2016.[4]

Race record

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1994–95 season as a two-year-old
Result Date Race Venue Group Distance Weight (kg) Jockey Winner/2nd
6th 13 Mar 1995 Yootha Hcp Canterbury NA 1200 m 54 J. Sheehan 1st – Reload
Won 19 Apr 1995 Parry-Oakden Hcp Randwick NA 1200 m 52 L. Cropp 2nd – Silver Sheik
3rd 13 May 1995 2yo Hcp Restricted Rosehill NA 1500 m 54 J. Sheehan 1st – Renaissance Prince
4th 3 Jun 1995 Hyundai Hcp Rosehill NA 1300 m 53 L. Beasley 1st – Quick Flick
1995–96 season as a three-year-old
Result Date Race Venue Group Distance Weight (kg) Jockey Winner/2nd
Won 23 Sep 1995 No Age Restriction Hcp Newcastle NA 1200 m 57 D. McLellan 2nd – Blue Valley
2nd 7 Oct 1995 3yo Hcp Restricted Warwick Farm NA 1200 m 55.5 J. Marshall 1st – Wavertree
Won 21 Oct 1995 3yo Hcp Restricted Randwick NA 1400 m 55.5 J. Marshall 2nd – Kidlat
Won 4 Nov 1995 Carbine Club Stakes Flemington LR 1600 m 53 D. Beadman 2nd – Brackenbury
2nd 18 Nov 1995 Sandown Guineas Sandown G2 1600 m 55.5 D. Beadman 1st – Peep on the Sly
Won 10 Feb 1996 Expressway Stakes Rosehill G2 1200 m 53.5 L. Cassidy 2nd – Juggler
2nd 24 Feb 1996 Apollo Stakes Warwick Farm G2 1400 m 53 J. Powell 1st – Juggler
Won 11 Mar 1996 Australian Cup Flemington G1 2000 m 52.5 D. Beadman 2nd – Vialli
2nd 23 Mar 1996 Rosehill Guineas Rosehill G1 2000 m 55.5 P. Payne 1st – Octagonal
3rd 30 Mar 1996 Mercedes Classic Rosehill G1 2400 m 52 P. Payne 1st – Octagonal
2nd 6 Apr 1996 Australian Derby Randwick G1 2400 m 55.5 L. Cassidy 1st – Octagonal
1996–97 season as a four-year-old
Result Date Race Venue Group Distance Weight (kg) Jockey Winner/2nd
2nd 25 Aug 1996 Warwick Stakes Warwick Farm G2 1400 m 57 D. Beadman 1st – Filante
2nd 7 Sep 1996 Chelmsford Stakes Randwick G2 1600 m 57 D. Beadman 1st – Filante
Won 21 Sep 1996 Hill Stakes Rosehill G2 1900 m 57 D. Beadman 2nd – Nothin' Leica Dane
2nd 5 Oct 1996 Craven Plate Randwick G3 2000 m 57 D. Beadman 1st – Adventurous
3rd 7 Oct 1996 Metropolitan Handicap Randwick G1 2600 m 54.5 D. Beadman 1st – Hula Flight
Won 26 Oct 1996 Cox Plate Moonee Valley G1 2040 m 57 D. Beadman 2nd – Filante
Won 5 Nov 1996 Melbourne Cup Flemington G1 3200 m 55.5 D. Beadman 2nd – Count Chivas
Won 8 Feb 1997 C F Orr Stakes Caulfield G1 1400 m 57 D. Beadman 2nd – Cut Up Rough

Pedigree

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Pedigree of Saintly (Aus)
Sire
Sky Chase (NZ)
1984
Star Way (GB)
1977
Star Appeal (Ire)
1970
Appiani (Ity)
Sterna (Ger)
New Way (GB)
1970
Klairon (Fr)
New Move (GB)
Vice Reine (NZ)
1977
Amalgam (USA)
1972
Damascus (USA)
Charming Alibi (USA)
Kind Regards (NZ)
1966
Le Filou (Fr)
Waft (NZ)
Dam
All Grace (NZ)
1985
Sir Tristram (Ire)
1971
Sir Ivor (USA)
1965
Sir Gaylord (USA)
Attica (USA)
Isolt (USA)
1961
Round Table (USA)
All My Eye (GB)
Ziegfield Lass (Aus)
1980
Showdown (GB)
1961
Infatuation (GB)
Zanzara (GB)
Salote (Aus)
1971
Mariner (GB)
Dark Queen (Aus)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Horse – SAINTLY". Racing Victoria Limited. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Australian Racing Hall of Fame - Horses". Racing Victoria. 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  3. ^ "150th Anniversary of the Melbourne Horse Racing Cup". World Stamp News. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  4. ^ "Melbourne Cup winner Saintly dead, says Anthony Cummings". The Sydney Morning Herald/.
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