Bernardini
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| Bernardini | ||
 Bernardini in the Jockey Club Gold Cup |
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| Sire: | A.P. Indy | |
| Grandsire: | Seattle Slew | |
| Dam: | Cara Rafaela | |
| Damsire: | Quiet American | |
| Sex: | Stallion | |
| Foaled: | 2003 | |
| Country: | USA | |
| Colour: | Bay | |
| Breeder: | Darley Stud | |
| Owner: | Darley Racing | |
| Trainer: | Thomas Albertrani | |
| Record: | 8: 6-1-0 | |
| Earnings: | $3,060,480 | |
| Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards | ||
| Major Racing Wins | ||
| Jockey Club Gold Cup (2006) Withers Stakes (2006) Preakness Stakes (2006) Jim Dandy Stakes (2006) Travers Stakes (2006) |
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| Racing Awards | ||
| U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (2006) Co-World Champion 3-Year-Old (2006) |
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Infobox last updated on: January 23, 2007. |
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Bernardini is a thoroughbred race horse foaled on March 23, 2003 at Darley Stable in Kentucky, USA. By A.P. Indy, he is out of Cara Rafaela who won almost a million dollars over the course of her racing career. Her sire was Quiet American, who also produced Real Quiet, a horse that came within a nose of winning the 1998 Triple Crown.
Bernardini is most famous, perhaps, for his victory in the 2006 Preakness Stakes in a time of 1:54.65, but the impressive 5 1/4 length win was overshadowed by the tragic and ultimately fatal injury to the sensational Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro.
Bernardini was ridden to victory in the Preakness by jockey Javier Castellano, and is trained by Thomas Albertrani. Owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai, Bernadini is regally bred, with Belmont Stakes winner and 1992 Horse of the Year A.P. Indy as his sire, and a bloodline that includes Seattle Slew, Spectacular Bid, and Secretariat. By blood, he is related to Triple Crown contenders Real Quiet and Charismatic.
Bernardini's racing career began at age three at Gulfstream Park where he finished 4th in a maiden special. After a lung infection kept him from racing for 2 months, he came back with a win at Gulfstream on March 4. On April 29, he easily won the Grade III Withers Stakes in his last race before the Preakness.
On May 24, Sheik Mohammed decided that Bernardini would not race in the June 10 Belmont Stakes, which meant that for only the 4th time in 60 years, there were neither the Kentucky Derby winner nor the Preakness winner in the field. A spokesman for Sheik Mohammed's Darley Stable reasoned that "...(Bernardini) climbed the ladder of competition quite quickly" and that "he deserves the break."
Bernardini returned to the races on July 30th at Saratoga Race Course with an emphatic 10-length victory in the Jim Dandy Stakes over Minister's Bid. On August 26, 2006, he won the Travers Stakes, also in Saratoga, by 7 lengths over Haskell Invitational winner and Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes runner-up, Bluegrass Cat. In the October 7 Jockey Club Gold Cup, Bernardini won in impressive fashion, earning a 117 Beyer figure. Though it was a small field with nothing much to challenge him, Bernardini proved that he was truly a major contender.
The ultimate goal for Bernardini in 2006 was the Breeders' Cup Classic on November 4, the most prestigious horse race in the country and a race that would most likely determine 2006 Horse of the Year honors. The race would also mark the anticipated first meeting between Bernardini and his west-coast rival Lava Man, along with the highly regarded Argentine horse Invasor.
In the race, Bernardini was never far back from the lead, and passed the frontrunner Brother Derek at the far turn. However, against the extremely strong Breeders' Cup field, Bernardini was unable to hold his lead and he was passed by Invasor at the sixteenth pole. Despite the efforts of jockey Javier Castellano, Bernardini finished in second place, losing to Invasor by a length.
Soon after the race, it was decided that Bernardini would be retired to stud, and will stand for $100,000 at Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stable at Jonabell Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. The Sheikh's decision ends the outstanding racing career of Bernardini, but perhaps his true potential will never be realized. Even so, he won the Eclipse Award for 3 Year Old Male of the Year for 2006.
[edit] Racing career
| Date | Race | Track | Location | Distance | Surface | Condition | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 7, 2006 | Maiden Special Weight | Gulfstream Park | Hallandale Beach, Florida | 6 fur. | Dirt | Fast | 4th |
| March 4, 2006 | Maiden Special Weight | Gulfstream Park | Hallandale Beach, Florida | 1 mi. | Dirt | Fast | 1st |
| April 29, 2006 | Withers Stakes | Aqueduct Racetrack | New York City, New York | 1 mi. | Dirt | Fast | 1st |
| May 20, 2006 | Preakness Stakes | Pimlico Race Course | Baltimore, Maryland | 13⁄16 mi. | Dirt | Fast | 1st |
| July 30, 2006 | Jim Dandy Stakes | Saratoga Race Course | Saratoga Springs, New York | 11⁄8 mi. | Dirt | Sloppy | 1st |
| August 26, 2006 | Travers Stakes | Saratoga Race Course | Saratoga Springs, New York | 11⁄4 mi. | Dirt | Fast | 1st |
| October 7, 2006 | Jockey Club Gold Cup | Belmont Park | Elmont, New York | 11⁄4 mi. | Dirt | Fast | 1st |
| November 4, 2006 | Breeders' Cup Classic | Churchill Downs | Louisville, Kentucky | 11⁄4 mi. | Dirt | Fast | 2nd |
[edit] Pedigree
| Sire A.P. Indy |
Seattle Slew | Bold Reasoning | Boldnesian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reason to Earn | |||
| My Charmer | Poker | ||
| Fair Charmer | |||
| Weekend Surprise | Secretariat | Bold Ruler | |
| Somethingroyal | |||
| Lassie Dear | Buckpasser | ||
| Gay Missile | |||
| Dam Cara Rafaela |
Quiet American | Fappiano | Mr. Prospector |
| Killaloe | |||
| Demure | Dr. Fager | ||
| Quiet Charm | |||
| Oil Fable | Spectacular Bid | Bold Bidder | |
| Spectacular | |||
| Northern Fable | Northern Dancer | ||
| Fareway Fable |
