Northerly

Northerly
With jockey Mark Flaherty, 2004 Turnbull Stakes.
Sire	Serheed (USA)
Grandsire	Nijinsky II
Dam	North Bell
Damsire	Bellewater (FR)
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	17 October 1996
Country	Australia
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Oakland Park Stud
Owner	Mr & Mrs N.G. Duncan & Mrs J Kersley
Trainer	Fred Kersley
Record	37: 19-7-2
Earnings	A$9,341,850
Major wins
Australian Cup (2001,2003) Cox Plate (2001,2002) Underwood Stakes (2001,2002) Caulfield Cup (2002) Yalumba Stakes (2001) Railway Stakes (2000)
Awards
Australian Middle Distance Champion (2002, 2003) Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year (2003) Timeform rating: 129
Last updated on 5 March 2007

Northerly (17 October 1996 – 9 May 2012) was an Australian racehorse who is considered arguably Australia's best middle distance Thoroughbred horse of the early 2000s. Northerly, trained by Western Australian harness racing legend Fred Kersley, won nine Group One (G1) races, including the Australian Cup twice, and the Cox Plate, regarded as the Weight for Age championship of Australasia, also on two occasions.

The horse, a bay gelding, was bred by Oakland Park Stud in Western Australia and was sired by Serheed (USA) from North Bell by Bellewater (FR). Serheed was the sire of 27 stakeswinners that had 84 stakeswins, mostly in Western Australia with Northerly being his best performer. North Bell was the dam of five named foals which included two other stakes winners, North Boy and Northern Song, both by Rory's Jester. Northerly was inbred to Northern Dancer in the third, fourth and fifth generation (3m x 4f x 5f).

Northerly had 37 race starts, for 19 wins, 7 seconds and 2 thirds, earning prize money of A$9.34 million. Northerly was a favourite of punters for his ability to win after appearing defeated, and this trait, in combination with his racing colours of yellow, black Maltese Cross and quartered cap earned him the nickname of "The Fighting Tiger".

After winning a string of minor races in Perth, Northerly burst on the scene with his victory in the 2000 Railway Stakes in his native Perth where he accounted for the state's best milers by nearly three lengths.

Following a first-up second in 2001 in the unsuitably short Australia Day Stakes in Perth, Northerly arrived in Melbourne for an autumn campaign aimed at the Australian Cup. He won his first race in Melbourne, the Carlyon Cup over 1,600 metres, by almost four lengths, in course record time, and began a successful relationship with New Zealand jockey Greg Childs.