Saintly


Saintly was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1997. A giant chestnut gelding by Sky Chase out of All Grace, he was bred by his trainer, Bart Cummings, who owned him in partnership with a Malaysian businessman, Dato Tan Chin Nam. In 2017 Saintly was inducted to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
Saintly gained the moniker 'The horse from heaven' due to his name and his partnership with jockey Darren Beadman, who at the time was a proclaimed born-again Christian.

Race career

Saintly broke his maiden as a two-year-old, on 19 April 1995, and returned in the latter part of the spring, at three, where he won three races, including the Listed Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington. He opened the new year by defeating the well-performed Juggler in the Expressway Stakes, and won the Australian Cup two starts later. He was then placed behind Octagonal in the Rosehill Guineas, the Mercedes Classic, and the Australian Derby, and finished in front of Nothin' Leica Dane and Filante, in what was considered a vintage crop of three-year-olds.
At four, Saintly was runner-up to Filante in the Warwick and the Chelmsford Stakes, won the Hill Stakes at his third run back, and was surprisingly defeated by Adventurous, Hula Flight, and Nothin' Leica Dane in the Craven Plate and The Metropolitan. In Melbourne, however, he found his best form. He charged home to beat Filante in the Cox Plate and backed up 10 days later for an easy win in the Melbourne Cup. He was just the fourth horse to complete the double in the same year, following Nightmarch, Phar Lap, and Rising Fast, and preceding Makybe Diva.
After missing the Japan Cup through illness, Saintly returned in the Orr Stakes, and came from well back on the home turn to defeat Cut Up Rough. Bart Cummings declared Saintly hadn't yet reached his peak as a racehorse, but he broke down without racing again. Over the next 18 months, Cummings made several attempts to get Saintly back to the track, but without success, and he was retired in July 1998.

Retirement

Saintly originally resided at Living Legends, the international home of rest for champion horses in Greenvale, Melbourne, Australia, but as of February 2007, Saintly has returned home to Bart Cummings' Princes Farm in New South Wales.
Saintly died at the age of 24 on 16 December 2016.

Race record

ResultDateRaceVenueGroupDistanceWeight JockeyWinner/2nd
Won23 Sep 1995No Age Restriction HcpNewcastleNA1200 m57D. McLellan2nd – Blue Valley
2nd7 Oct 19953yo Hcp RestrictedWarwick FarmNA1200 m55.5J. Marshall1st – Wavertree
Won21 Oct 19953yo Hcp RestrictedRandwickNA1400 m55.5J. Marshall2nd – Kidlat
Won4 Nov 1995Carbine Club StakesFlemingtonLR1600 m53D. Beadman2nd – Brackenbury
2nd18 Nov 1995Sandown GuineasSandownG21600 m55.5D. Beadman1st – Peep on the Sly
Won10 Feb 1996Expressway StakesRosehillG21200 m53.5L. Cassidy2nd – Juggler
2nd24 Feb 1996Apollo StakesWarwick FarmG21400 m53J. Powell1st – Juggler
Won11 Mar 1996Australian CupFlemingtonG12000 m52.5D. Beadman2nd – Vialli
2nd23 Mar 1996Rosehill GuineasRosehillG12000 m55.5P. Payne1st – Octagonal
3rd30 Mar 1996Mercedes ClassicRosehillG12400 m52P. Payne1st – Octagonal
2nd6 Apr 1996Australian DerbyRandwickG12400 m55.5L. Cassidy1st – Octagonal

ResultDateRaceVenueGroupDistanceWeight JockeyWinner/2nd
2nd25 Aug 1996Warwick StakesWarwick FarmG21400 m57D. Beadman1st – Filante
2nd7 Sep 1996Chelmsford StakesRandwickG21600 m57D. Beadman1st – Filante
Won21 Sep 1996Hill StakesRosehillG21900 m57D. Beadman2nd – Nothin' Leica Dane
2nd5 Oct 1996Craven PlateRandwickG32000 m57D. Beadman1st – Adventurous
3rd7 Oct 1996Metropolitan HandicapRandwickG12600 m54.5D. Beadman1st – Hula Flight
Won26 Oct 1996Cox PlateMoonee ValleyG12040 m57D. Beadman2nd – Filante
Won5 Nov 1996Melbourne CupFlemingtonG13200 m55.5D. Beadman2nd – Count Chivas
Won8 Feb 1997C F Orr StakesCaulfieldG11400 m57D. Beadman2nd – Cut Up Rough

Pedigree