Only for Life
| Only for Life | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Chanteur |
| Grandsire | Chateau Bouscaut |
| Dam | Life Sentence |
| Damsire | Court Martial |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1960 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Hanstead Stud |
| Owner | Monica Sheriffe |
| Trainer | Jeremy Tree |
| Record | 10:3-3-1 |
| Major wins | |
|
2000 Guineas (1963) King Edward VII Stakes (1963) |
|
Only for Life (1960–1985) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from September 1962 to summer 1964 he ran ten times and won three races. A horse who was particularly effective on soft ground, Only for Life recorded his most significant victory when he won the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in 1963 as a 33/1 outsider. His other major win came in June that year in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. He was retired to stud in 1964 and was later exported to Japan where he died in 1985.
Only for Life, originally named Dartmoor Ditty, was a bay horse bred in Hertfordshire, England by the Hanstead Stud. He was sired by the Coronation Cup winner Chanteur out of the mare Life Sentence, a useful sprinter who won races at Newmarket and Manchester. As a yearling he was sent to the sales where he was bought for 1,600 guineas by the trainer Jeremy Tree on behalf of Monica Sheriffe. Tree, who trained at Beckhampton in Wiltshire was reportedly motivated by having briefly owned Life Sentence and winning the Goodwood Cup with her half-brother Double Bore.
Only for Life was slow to mature and did not appear until September. On his debut he was not strongly fancied but won the Clarence House Stakes over six furlongs at Ascot. He then finished unplaced in the Houghton Stakes at Newmarket in September.
Only for Life's first appearance as a three-year-old gave little sign that he had Classic potential as he finished a well-beaten third on heavy ground in the Greenham Stakes over seven furlongs at Newbury in April. The ground was soft again at Newmarket for the 2000 Guineas two weeks later, and Only for Life started at odds of 33/1 (almost 100/1 with The Tote) in a field of twenty-one runners, with Crocket being made the 5/2 favourite. Ridden by Jimmy Lindley, Only for Life took the lead two furlongs from the finish but was overtaken by the Irish colt Ionian and appeared to be beaten before staying on again in the closing stages to cross the line apparently level. The judge scrutinised the photograph of the finish for five minutes before announcing Only for Life the winner by a short head. The winning time of 1:45.0 was the slowest since 1937. Lindley later recalled how he and Tree had been praying for the rain which turned the race into a test of stamina as Only for Life was essentially a stayer.
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