Take Your Place

Take Your Place (4 February 1973 – 1995) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the best two-year-olds of his generation in Britain in 1975 when he was unbeaten in three races including the Group One Observer Gold Cup. He began the following year as a leading contender for The Derby but was beaten in all three of his starts. He later stood as a breeding stallion but had little success as a sire of winners.

Take Your Place
SireRound Table
GrandsirePrincequillo
DamZonah
DamsireNasrullah
SexStallion
Foaled4 February 1973[1]
CountryUnited States
ColourBay
BreederJohn R. Gaines, Skara Glen Stable, & Dan Lasater
OwnerCarlo d'Alessio
TrainerHenry Cecil
Record6: 3-1-0
Major wins
Observer Gold Cup (1975)
Awards
Timeform rating 125 (1975), 112 (1976)

Background

Take Your Place was a tall, lightly-made bay horse with a small white star bred in Kentucky by John R. Gaines, Skara Glen Stable, & Dan Lasater. His sire, Round Table was one of the most successful grass specialists in American racing history, winning forty-three races and being named American Horse of the Year in 1958.[2] He became a highly successful breeding stallion, being the Leading sire in North America in 1972.[3] Take Your Place's dam Zonah won two minor races in the United States before becoming a successful broodmare: her other offspring included the leading racemare Drumtop. Zonah was a granddaughter of the influential broodmare Rough Shod, whose descendants have included Ridan, Moccasin, Apalachee, Thatch, Nureyev and Sadler's Wells.[4]

As a yearling Take Your Place was auctioned at Keeneland in July 1974 and was sold for $125,000. He passed into the ownership of Carlo d'Alessio and was sent to Europe where he was trained by Henry Cecil at Warren Place in Newmarket.

Racing career

1975: two-year-old season

Take Your Place began his racing career by winning a maiden race over seven furlongs at Newmarket Racecourse and then won a minor event over the same distance at Great Yarmouth. On 25 October he was moved up sharply in class for the Group One Observer Gold Cup, Britain's most valuable race for juveniles,[5] over one mile at Doncaster Racecourse. Ridden by Gianfranco Dettori he started at odds of 4/1[6] in a field headed by the French challenger Earth Spirit (winner of the Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte). Take Your Place overtook his pacemaker St Joles a furlong and a half from the finish but was immediately challenged by Earth Spirit. The pair engaged in what Timeform described as "a tremendous duel" before Take Your Place gained the advantage in the final strides and won by a head. The other French contender Gallapiat took third ahead of Indus Warrior.[7]

1976: three-year-old season

In 1976, Take Your Place began his season in the Sandown Classic Trial over ten furlongs in April in which he started odds-on favourite but finished second to the Dick Hern-trained Riboboy. In the Dante Stakes (a major trial race for the Derby Stakes) at York Racecourse in May he was strongly fancied to enhance his claims for the Epsom classic[8] but ran disappointingly to finish fourth behind Trasi's Son. He was then dropped in distance for the St James's Palace Stakes over one mile at Royal Ascot in June and finished fifth of the eight runners behind Radetzky.[9]

Later that year he was sent to the United States to be trained by Roger Laurin but never raced again and was retired to stud.[9]

Assessment

There was no International Classification of European two-year-olds in 1975: the official handicappers of Britain, Ireland and France compiled separate rankings for horses which competed in those countries. In the British Free Handicap, Take Your Place was allotted a weight of 128 pounds, making him the second best juvenile colt, five pounds below the top-rated Wollow. The independent Timeform organisation rated him on 125, two pounds below Wollow and five behind the French-trained Manado.[7] In 1976 he was rated 112 by Timeform.[9]

Stud record

Take Your Place stood as a breeding stallion in the United States for several years before being exported to South Africa, but hd little success in either country. His last reported foals were born in 1994. Take Your Place died in 1995.[10]

Pedigree
Pedigree of Take Your Place (USA), bay stallion, 1973[1]
Sire
Round Table (USA)
1954		 Princequillo (IRE)
1940		 Prince Rose Rose Prince
Indolence
Cosquilla Papyrus
Quick Thought
Knight's Daughter (GB)
1941		 Sir Cosmo The Boss
Hayn Ali
Feola Friar Marcus
Aloe
Dam
Zonah (USA)
1958		 Nasrullah (GB)
1940		 Nearco Pharos
Nogara
Mumtaz Begum Blenheim
Mumtaz Mahal
Gambetta (USA)
1952		 My Babu Djebel
Perfume
Rough Shod Gold Bridge
Dalmary (Family:5-h)[4]

References
  1. "Take Your Place pedigree". Equineline. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  2. "Round Table profile". Racingmuseum.org. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  3. "Leading Sires of America". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  4. "Ann of the Forest – Family 5-h". Thoroughbred Bloodlines.
  5. "Take Your Place Grabs Observer Gold Cup". New Straits Times. 26 October 1975.
  6. Abelson, Edward; Tyrrel, John (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN 978-1-873626-15-3.
  7. Timeform staff (1976). Racehorses of 1975. Timeform.
  8. "Martin Gale" (12 May 1976). "Murless set for double". Glasgow Herald.
  9. Timeform staff (1977). Racehorses of 1976. Timeform. ISBN 0-900599-22-7.
  10. Staff. "Mare Produce Records- Zonah". Equineline. The Jockey Club Information Systems, Inc. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.