Reference Point (horse)

Reference Point
Racing colours of Louis Freedman
Sire	Mill Reef
Grandsire	Never Bend
Dam	Home on the Range
Damsire	Habitat
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	26 February 1984
Country	Great Britain
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Louis Freedman
Owner	Louis Freedman
Trainer	Henry Cecil
Record	10: 7-1-1
Earnings	$1,252,819
Major wins
William Hill Futurity (1986) Dante Stakes (1987) Epsom Derby (1987) K. George VI & Q. Elizabeth Stakes (1987) Great Voltigeur Stakes (1987) St. Leger Stakes (1987)
Awards
British Horse of the Year (1987)
Honours
Timeform rating: 139
Last updated on August 28, 2007

Reference Point (26 February 1984– December 1991) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from August 1986 to October 1987 he ran ten times and won seven races. As a three-year-old he overcame sinus problems before winning York's Dante Stakes, the Epsom Derby, Ascot's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, the Great Voltigeur and St. Leger in 1987. Notably, it wasn't until 2012 that another Derby winner contested the St. Leger; when Camelot attempted, and failed, to win the English Triple Crown. His final race of the season resulted in failure in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, Paris when an abscess was later found to have been responsible for his below-par performance.

Reference Point was a dark-coated bay horse bred by his owner, Louis Freedman, at his Cliveden Stud in Berkshire, England. He was sired by Mill Reef the 1971 Epsom Derby winner who went on to be Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1978 and 1987. Reference Point's dam, Home On The Range, was a high class racemare who won the Sun Chariot Stakes in 1981. Apart from Reference Point, the best of her progeny was Known Ranger, who won nineteen races in Europe and North America.

Reference Point ran three times as a two-year-old in 1986. He was the beaten 11/10 favourite when finishing third behind Port Helene and Brother Patrick on his debut in the EBF Heart of Variety Stakes over a mile at Sandown Park on 30 August 1986. On his second outing of 1986 he returned to the same course and distance on 23 September and won the Dorking Stakes by eight lengths from Mulhollande. His final two-year-old run saw him step up to Group One class in the William Hill Futurity at Doncaster. He was sent off 4 to 1 second favourite behind Henry Cecil's first string, Suhailie but ran out the five length winner from Bengal Fire, with Love The Groom in third. His win at Doncaster led to Reference Point being the highest rated European two-year-old of 1986,