Luckless on the track but Jacqueline Quest finding redemption at stud

Jacqueline Quest will forever be remembered as the 1,000 Guineas winner that never was, with the bare figures of her form detailing how the Sir Henry Cecil-trained filly finished second in the 2010 Classic.

But for all the misfortune she suffered on the track, the daughter of Rock Of Gibraltar has found redemption at stud, as the Sandringham Stakes success of Onassis gave Jacqueline Quest the latest boost in her burgeoning breeding career.

The Royal Ascot scorer is the fourth winner from as many runners out of Jacqueline Quest, along with the ill-fated Grade 1 hero Line Of Duty and the talented Hibiscus.

Hayley Turner punches the air after steering Onassis to success in the Sandringham Stakes at Royal AscotCredit: Edward Whitaker

Jacqueline Quest famously finished first past the post on the Rowley Mile, with Special Duty a nose in arrears. But as Tom Queally had switched his whip to his left hand and persisted using it despite his filly drifting into her rival, a stewards' inquiry was inevitable.

There was a dramatic twist when the controversial decision to reverse the placings saw Jacqueline Quest stripped of her Classic crown.

The outcome was a particularly cruel one for owner Noel Martin, who was left quadriplegic after an attack by neo-Nazis, as he had named the filly in memory his wife, who died of cancer in 2000.

Jacqueline Quest finished third on her next outing in the Coronation Stakes won by Lillie Langtry, who later found fame as the dam of Minding, but her form tailed off thereafter, and after she refused to race for a second time her racing career came to a close at the end of her four-year-old campaign.

She was sent to the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2011 and – at what proved to be a vintage renewal, with the dams of Maybe, Decorated Knight, Bethrah, Canford Cliffs and Magna Grecia also selling – fetched 600,000gns from leading bloodstock agent Charlie Gordon-Watson.

"She's a Guineas winner in everything but name and I'm not surprised she made what she did," said the agent after he had signed the docket. "She's for a private client and is going to be covered by Galileo."

It transpired that the private client in question was Christopher Hanbury, owner of the County Meath-based Triermore Stud, whose distinctive pink and blue silks Onassis carried to Royal Ascot success on Thursday.

Jacqueline Quest in the Tattersalls ring before selling to Charlie Gordon-Watson for 600,000gns in 2011Credit: Tattersalls

The filly is owned in partnership with Peter Stanley of New England Stud after she was knocked down for 200,000gns at the 2018 yearling sales.

"The vibe from Charlie [Fellowes, trainer] was very good and her winning was very exciting," said Triermore's stud manager Paul McDonnell. "That had been the plan and it all worked out well."

Jacqueline Quest now lives out her days in the Triermore paddocks and McDonnell reports that, while he progeny are making plenty of noise on the track, she is enjoying an altogether more peaceful existence as a broodmare.

"She's a lovely mare, very quiet and mellow," he said. "She just goes out in the field, the mares are living out at night at the moment. They come in every day and their foals are fed, it's just keeping it natural as much as possible."

He added: "She's probably got better looking as she's got older too. All of her progeny have a nice temperament as well, they're obliging horses and they want to do it."

Line Of Duty after his success in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile TurfCredit: Edward Whitaker

The result of that initial mating with Galileo was Hibiscus, who fetched 625,000gns as a yearling from MV Magnier and went on to achieve black type when Listed-placed for Aidan O'Brien and the Coolmore partners.

Her second foal was even more of a sales ring smash hit, as World War fetched 1,200,000gns from the China Horse Club and David Redvers. The son of Galileo showed useful form but could ultimately only win a maiden from 16 Flat starts.

However, by the time Jacqueline Quest's next foal reached the racetrack, she had really began to find her stride as a broodmare as her fourth visit to Galileo produced Line Of Duty.

While his yearling price of 400,000gns could have been considered a little underwhelming given his lineage, he was anything but as a runner, as he won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf for Charlie Appleby. He also reached the frame in the Jacques le Marois and the Prix du Moulin before suffering a fatal injury while in training.

Act Of Wisdom sells to Godolphin for 1,100,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling SaleCredit: Laura Green

There is plenty more in the pipeline for Jacqueline Quest too, as Line Of Duty's two-year-old brother Act Of Wisdom, who fetched 1,100,000gns from Godolphin, has also joined the Appleby yard.

The mare also has a chestnut Dubawi yearling colt on the ground, with the brother to Onassis now bound for the sales later this year.

"He'll go to Book 1 of Tattersalls," said McDonnell. "He's a beautiful horse, he's as good as anything she's had before. He's a bigger, stronger horse than Onassis, he's also a different colour. They've got similar characteristics though, the horses out of Jacqueline Quest are all fairly mellow."

As if all that weren't enough, Jacqueline Quest, who was bred by Roundhill Stud and Connor Murphy, produced a chestnut filly by Galileo earlier this year and was also among the name in the perennial champion sire's 2020 book.

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