DEATH OF RAINBOW QUEST LEAVES A HOLE IN BRITISH
BREEDING
Taken from the Horse and Hound
The death of Rainbow Quest leaves a hole in British breeding –
he was a star from a vintage era, whose line will live on through
his daughters
By Sue Montgomery
An era ended last week at Banstead Manor Stud with the death of
Rainbow Quest, one of the most successful stallions ever to have
stood in Britain. The son of Blushing Groom, who raced for Khalid
Abdullah and stood under the Juddmonte Farms banner for 21 years,
died as a result of complications following emergency surgery for
colic.
He had a grand innings, but the passing of such a horse, even at
the age of 26, is a matter of regret on both an industry and
personal level.
‘We’ve lost both a stallion of international renown’ said
Juddmonte’s general manager Philip Mitchell, ‘and a very good
friend.’
Impeccable breeding gives no guarantee of success on the track,
and a glittering racecourse career does not necessarily mean the
same at stud, but Rainbow Quest fulfilled hopes and dreams all
along the line.
Bred by Alan Clore in Kentucky he was by the top-class sire
Blushing Groom out of I Will Follow, a Group winning daughter of
Oaks runner-up Where You Lead, herself out of Noblesse, brilliant
10-length Oaks winner in 1963.
The family is a cornerstone of the Juddmonte operation. The year
he bought Rainbow Quest for $950,000 as a yearling, Abdullah also
acquired privately Where You Lead’s daughter Slightly Dangerous,
who ran second in the Oaks and became dam of, among others, Derby
winner Commander In Chief and champion miler Warning.
Rainbow Quest, trained by Jeremy Tree, was the first horse since
Mill Reef and Brigadier Gerard to achieve a Timeform rating of 130
or more at two, three and four. As a juvenile, he found only El
Gran Senor too good in the Dewhurst Stakes; at three he ran fourth
in the 2000 Guineas, third in the French Derby (to another
subsequently top-class sire, Darshaan and a legendary one, Sadler’s
Wells) and second n the Irish Derby.
His only second-season victory came in the Group 2 Great
Voltigeur Stakes, but the following year he made up for his
multiple misses at the highest level by winning the Coronation Cup
and, on the disqualification of Sagace for repeated interference,
the Arc, as well as finishing second in the Eclipse Stakes and
third in the King George.
He retired to stud at a fee of £25,000 and immediately
established himself in his second career. His first crop included
the winners of the Derby (Quest For Fame), Irish Oaks (Knight’s
Baroness), Grand Prix de Paris and Arc (Saumarez) and Prix du
Cadran (Sought Out). Rather spookily, Quest For Fame’s dam Aryenne,
died at thr age of 30, two days after his sire.
Rainbow Quest’s progeny include seven more Classic winners:
Nedawi and Millenary, who both took St Legers, Spectrum in the
Irish 2000 Guineas, the brothers Raintrap and Sunshack in the Prix
Royal Oak, and Bright Generation and Fashion Statement (a month
before her sire’s death) in the Italian Oaks.
Other top-level winners have been Croco Rouge, Armiger, Edabiya,
Fiji, Urgent Request, Special Request, Sakura Laurel and Rainbow
Dancer. His Group-race strike rate to foals is an outstanding
6%.
His sons have been largely disappointing in their stud careers,
but not his daughters. Hehas become an outstanding broodmare sire,
champion in 2003 and 2004, with Derby winners North Light and Kris
Kin, plus Footstepsinthesand, Rakti, Powerscourt Polish Summer,
Meteor Storm, Marotta and Robelline to his credit at top level in
that department.
Contray to modern trends, Rainbow Quest, who commanded a fee of
£50,000 in his prme, never covered more than 75 mares a season and
this year had 47 mates.
Rainbow Quest was looked after for most of his career at his
Newmarket base by Johnny Gilbert, who was, poignantly, on holiday
when his beloved charge died. ‘The man and the horse had a special
bond,’ said Simon Mockridge, manager of Banstead Manor. ‘As an
individual, Rainbow Quest was bright and sharp, and always noticed
everything going on around him. He was very much a one-man horse.
When Johnny was away he’d play everyone else up; it would take us
20 minutes to catch him from the paddock. He was never nasty, but
he had a wicked sense of humour. He was special to Juddmonte and we
will miss him very much.’
Date: 19 July 2007