Double Form: Difference between revisions

| race = [[Temple Stakes]] (1979)<br />[[King's Stand Stakes]] (1979)<br />[[Haydock Sprint Cup]] (1979)<br />[[Prix de l'Abbaye]] (1979)

| awards= Timeform rating 110p (1977), 123 (1978), 130 (1979)<br />Gilbey Champion Sprinter (1979)

'''Double Form''' (14 February 1975&ndash; – 22 April 1983) was an Irish-bred British [[Thoroughbred]] racehorse and [[Horse breeding#Terminology|sire]]. A specialist sprinter, he showed promise as a two-year-old in 1977, and improved to become a high-class performer in 1978. He won only one race as a three-year-old but was placed in several major sprints. In 1979 he improved again to become the highest-rated sprinter in the United Kingdom, winning the [[Temple Stakes]], [[King's Stand Stakes]] and [[Haydock Sprint Cup]] in England and the [[Prix de l'Abbaye]] in France. He was the first horse to win both the King's Stand Stakes and the Prix de l'Abbaye. He was retired to stud where he was an immediate success but died inon 22 April 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.racingpost.com/horses/result_home.sd?race_id=246700&r_date=1997-11-28&popup=yes#results_top_tabs=re_&results_bottom_tabs=ANALYSIS|title=Prix de la Firefox result |date=28 November 1997|publisher=Racing Post}}</ref>

Double Form was a "big, strong, good-looking"<ref name="Timeform1977">{{cite book |author=Timeform staff| title=Racehorses of 1977| publisher=Timeform|year=1978|isbn=0-900599-25-1}}</ref> bay horse with no white [[Horse markings|markings]] bred in Ireland by his owner Baroness Thyssen. He was sired by Habitat, an American-bred, British-raced miler who became one of the leading European stallions of the 1970s and 1980s. His other progeny included [[Habibti]], [[Marwell (horse)|Marwell]], [[Rose Bowl (horse)|Rose Bowl]], [[Flying Water]], [[Homing (horse)|Homing]] and [[Sigy (horse)|Sigy]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pedigreepost.net/archives/HabitatPt2NigelPullen.htm |title=Habitat |publisher=Pedigreepost.net |date=2002-02-03 |accessdate=2012-08-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128055607/http://www.pedigreepost.net/archives/HabitatPt2NigelPullen.htm |archivedate=2011-11-28 }}</ref> and he was the British [[Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland|Champion broodmare sire]] on three occasions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tbheritage.com/HistoricSires/LeadingSires/GBLeadingBSSires.html |title=Leading Broodmare Sires of Great Britain and Ireland |publisher=Tbheritage.com |date= |accessdate=2012-08-04}}</ref> Double Form's dam, Fanghorn was placed in the [[Poule d'Essai des Pouliches]] and was also the dam of Gradiva, the ancestor of the [[Irish Derby]] winner [[Soldier of Fortune (horse)|Soldier of Fortune]].<ref name="bloodlines1">{{cite web|url=http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Families/Family14c.htm |title=Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Pretty Polly - Family 14-c |publisher=Bloodlines.net |date= |accessdate=2014-06-03}}</ref> Baroness Thyssen sent the colt into training with Fulke Johnson Houghton at [[Blewbury]] in [[Wiltshire]].<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/2344264/Johnson-Houghton-to-retire-at-end-of-season.html |title=Johnson Houghton to retire at end of season|newspaper=Telegraph|accessdate=2 June 2012}}</ref> Double Form usually raced in [[Blinkers (horse tack)|blinkers]]

In the spring of 1978, Double Form was considered a [[British Classic Races|classic]] contender, but after finishing third in the [[Greenham Stakes]] he was unplaced when tried over one mile in the [[2000 Guineas]]. After the Guineas, Double Form was brought back to shorter distances. He won only one of his remaining eight races but established himself as a high-class sprinter. Double Form's sole victory came in May when he won the Great Eastern Handicap at [[Newmarket Racecourse]], carrying a big weight to victory over six furlongs. He finished second to Persian Bold, when ridden by [[Lester Piggott]]<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19780603&id=6O49AAAAIBAJ&sjid=0kgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3534,798534 |title=Lochranza goes for seventh win |publisher=Glasgow Herald |author="White and Gold" |date=3 June 1978 |accessdate=2014-06-14}}</ref> in the Heron Stakes over seven furlongs on 3 June and then ran second in the [[Cork and Orrery Stakes]] at [[Royal Ascot]], beaten half a length by the Irish filly Sweet Mint. In July he was moved up to [[Group races|Group One]] class and finished third behind [[Solinus (horse)|Solinus]] and [[Sanedtki]] in the [[July Cup]] having looked a likely winner approaching the final furlong. In the [[Stewards' Cup (Great Britain)|Stewards' Cup]] at [[Goodwood Racecourse]], Double Form was allotted a weight of 131 pounds an unusually high weight for a three-year-old and finished second to the 50/1 outsider [[Ahonoora]], to whom he was conceding 19 pounds. In October he was sent to France for the Group One [[Prix de l'Abbaye]] over 1000 metres at [[Longchamp Racecourse]]. Ridden by [[John Reid (jockey)|John Reid]] he started the 29/1 outsider of the seven runner field but produced his best performance of the year to finish third, beaten three lengths and half a length by [[Sigy (horse)|Sigy]] and Solinus. On his final appearance of the season he ran poorly when finishing unplaced behind Absalom in the [[Vernons Sprint Cup]].<ref name="Timeform1978">{{cite book |author=Timeform staff| title=Racehorses of 1978| publisher=Timeform|year=1979|isbn=0-900599-27-8}}</ref>

Double Form was aimed at the [[July Cup]] over six furlongs at Newmarket, but was withdrawn after contracting a viral infection, and did not appear again until the [[William Hill Sprint Championship]] at [[York Racecourse]] in August. He appeared to be less than fully fit and finished fourth behind [[Thatching (horse)|Thatching]], Ahonoora and Abdu, but was promoted to third after the winner was disqualified for causing interference in the closing stages.<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19790908&id=UcFAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=46UMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3101,1632935 |title=Ile de Bourbon should win September Stakes |author="White and Gold" |publisher=[[Glasgow Herald]] |date=8 September 1979 |accessdate=2014-06-14}}</ref> In September, Double Form started at odds of 11/4 for the [[Vernons Sprint Cup]] and won by three lengths from Ahonoora. He was ridden in this race by the veteran [[Geoff Lewis]], who had been peruadedpersuaded by Fulke Johnson Houghton to postpone his retirement to take the ride. After the race Lewis said; "It was well worth it, it's wonderful to go out on a winner in a big race like this".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rolling+back+the+years%3A+Lewis+bows+out+in+style+on+Double+Form.-a091186479 |title=Rolling back the years: Lewis bows out in style on Double Form |publisher=[[Racing Post]] |date=8 September 2002 |accessdate=2014-06-14}}</ref> Double Form's final race was the Prix de l'Abbaye on 7 October. Although the King's Stand Stakes and the Abbaye were the only two Group One races in Europe open to three-year-olds and older horses, no sprinter had previously completed the double. Double Form started 3.9/1 second favourite behind Thatching, with the other contenders including King of Macedon, [[Sigy (horse)|Sigy]], Ahonoora, Adraan ([[Prix d'Arenberg]], [[Prix du Bois]]), Greenland Park and [[Kilijaro]]. Making the most of a favourable inside draw, Reid sent Double Form into an early lead and looked likely to win easily 400 metres from the finish. In the closing stage however, he began to tire but ran on "most bravely", and in a very close finish he prevailed by a head and a nose from Kilijaro and Greenland Park, with the Irish filly Baby Brew half a length away in fourth.<ref name="Timeform1979"/>

In 1977, the independent Timeform organisation awarded HomingDouble Form a rating of 110 p, the "p" indicating that he was expected to make significantly more than normal improvement: in their annual ''Racehorses of 1977'', they described him as "a colt of tremendous potential".<ref name="Timeform1977"/> In the following year he was rated 123 by Timeform, seven pounds below their best sprinter Solinus. In the official International Classification, he was rated six pounds below Solinus and thirteen pounds behind the top-rated three-year-old [[Ile de Bourbon]].<ref name="Timeform1977"/> In 1979 Timeform praised Double Form for his "grit and determination" and awarded him a rating of 130, making him their highest-rated British-trained sprinter, one pound behind the Irish-trained Thatching. The International Classification rated him five pounds inferior to Thatching and eight pounds behind Ile de Bourbon, making him the ninth-best older horse in Europe. In the Gilbey Champion Racehorses awards, based on points awarded for performances in major races, Double Form was named Champion Sprinter of 1979.<ref name="Timeform1979"/>

Double Form was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion at the Airlie Stud, near [[Dublin]] at a fee of £4,000 in 1980. He had little opportunity to establish, himself, dying inon 22 April 1983 at the age of eight, after severing ana main artery when covering a mare.<ref name="Timeform1985">{{cite book|author=Timeform staff|title=Racehorses of 1985| publisher=Timeform |year = 1986|isbn=0-900599-42-1}}</ref> He showed considerable promise in his brief stud career, siring [[Huntingdale (horse)|Huntingdale]], Timeform's top-rated two-year-old of 1985 and [[Double Schwartz]] a sprinter who emulated his sire by winning the Prix de l'Abbaye in 1986.