Mark of Esteem | |
---|---|
Sire | Darshaan |
Grandsire | Shirley Heights |
Dam | Homage |
Damsire | Ajdal |
Sex | Stallion |
Foaled | 26 March 1993 |
Country | Ireland |
Colour | Bay |
Breeder | Sheikh Mohammed |
Owner | Godolphin |
Trainer | Saeed bin Suroor |
Record | 7: 4-1-0 |
Earnings | £365,139 |
Major wins | |
2000 Guineas Stakes (1996) Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (1996) Celebration Mile (1996) |
Mark of Esteem (foaled 1993) is a retired Irish bred thoroughbred racehorse. In his two years of racing, he won four races and placed once from seven runs, with earnings of £365,139.
Mark of Esteem is a bay horse with a white blaze bred at the Dalham Hall Stud by Sheikh Mohammed. He was sired by the Prix du Jockey Club winner Darshaan. His dam Homage was a daughter of the July Cup winner Ajdal.
As a juvenile, Mark of Esteem finished second on his first start before winning a maiden race at Goodwood by three lengths.
His first three-year-old start came in the first Classic of the 1996 season: the 2000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket. Mark of Esteem won by a short head in a photo finish from Even Top and Bijou d'Inde.
His next start in the St. James's Palace Stakes was a loss to Bijou d'Inde.
Mark of Esteem then won the Group Two Celebration Mile at Goodwood by three and a half lengths and the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, where he scored by over a length from Classic-winning Henry Cecil filly Bosra Sham. This was the third win of the day for jockey Frankie Dettori at a major meeting when he famously went on to win all seven races. Official handicappers hailed it as the best performance of his generation over a mile for a decade. Mark of Esteem's final start was in America, but he failed to show the same acceleration from mid-division in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Woodbine.
Mark of Esteem was retired with a Timeform rating of 137.