Emancipation: Champion Thoroughbred Racehorse

Emancipation was a top sprint specialist that stood out at major metro tracks during the 1980s.

Unraced as a two-year-old, Emancipation, the grey filly competed only as a three and four-year-old, yet managed to win 19 times, six of those wins coming in group 1 races, before continuing on to pass her genes to multiple group 1 winners Virage De Fortune and Railings.

Lineage

Emancipation was foaled in 1979. Australian natives Bletchingly and Ammo Girl performed sire and dam duties, respectively. Ammo Girl was sired by Gunsynd himself and a great, great, great grandsire came by way of the United States in Man O' War.

Based in New South Wales, her breeder, M. C. Hough was interested in her only as a broodmare and instructed her trainer, Neville Begg, to lease her for any racing purposes, an event which proved fortunate for Muskoka Farms principle R. Lapointe.

Racing Results

Emancipation was ridden throughout her career by Ron Quinton, with the exception of her win in the 1982 VRC Edward Manifold Stakes at Flemington Racecourse, where Kevin Moses stood in.

That same spring produced listed race wins in the Sydney Turf Club Tea Rose Stakes at Rosehill Racecourse and the Victoria Racing Club Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington.

Four additional starts that spring produced no further wins for Emancipation.

First up in February at Randwick Racecourse, she won the AJC Light Fingers Stakes, a listed race. Emancipation's next win came in the group 2 Canterbury Stakes. Shortly thereafter she defeated Mankato over 1400 metres on a slow Rosehill track to take her first group 1 victory, the George Ryder Stakes. She backed that with the Doncaster Handicap at Randwick.

Emancipation won 10 of 13 starts as a three-year-old.

Commencing as a four-year-old, she won the group 3 Sydney Turf Club Premier Stakes at Rosehill Racecourse. Next came the group 1 AJC Chelmsford Stakes at Warwick Farm Racecourse and two weeks later, the group 2 Hill Stakes, where she overcame a dead track and won at 1750 metres, her greatest distance that ever produced a win.

Another group 1 event, the George Main Stakes was her next win. She then fell twice in succession to Strawberry Road in the Caulfield Stakes and the Cox Plate, seeming to indicate that 2000 metres was beyond her.

Returning that autumn for her final nine starts, Emancipation extracted revenge on Strawberry Road, besting that thoroughbred in the AJC Apollo Stakes and Chipping Norton Stakes.

Next came the STC Rosemount Classic at Rosehill, and another George Ryder Stakes.

She notched the win at Randwick in the All Aged Stakes, giving her an impressive three group 1 wins in as many tries.

At the end of that season, Emancipation was fittingly accorded Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year honours.

Emancipation's overall record of 19 wins and one second out of 28 starts in just two seasons of racing set the mark high for sprinters of either gender.