Minardi

Minardi (3 May 1998 – 30 October 2012) was an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the top-rated European two-year-old in 2000 when he recovered from a defeat on his debut to win the Phoenix Stakes and the Middle Park Stakes. In the following year he finished fourth in the 2000 Guineas and third in the Irish 2,000 Guineas. He was retired to stud but had limited success as a breeding stallion. Background Minardi was a brown horse with a white blaze bred in Kentucky by Indian Creek. He was sired by Boundary, a Kentucky-bred stallion who won six of his eight races including Grade III victories in the Roseben Handicap and the A Phenomenon Handicap. As a breeding stallion he is best known as the sire of Big Brown. Minardi's dam yarn won one minor race but became a very successful broodmare who also produced Tale of the Cat (King's Bishop Stakes) and Myth, the dam of Johannesburg. As a descendant of the broodmare Feola, she came from the same branch of Thoroughbred family 2-f which has produced numerous major winners including Round Table, Pebbles Nashwan and Deep Impact. As a yearling the colt was offered for sale at the Keeneland September sale and was bought for $1.65 million by the bloodstock agent Dermot "Demi" O'Byrne on behalf of John Magnier's Coolmore organisation. He was sent to Europe and entered training with Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle. Like may Coolmore horses the details of the colt's ownership changed from race to race: he was sometimes listed as being owned by Michael Tabor whilst on others occasions he ran for the partnership of Tabor and Sue Magnier. He was ridden in all but two of his races by Mick Kinane. Racing career