'Anytime anyone is shown around the stud farm, we get two questions: is Sariska still alive and can they go and see her?'

The memory is not always as faithful an ally as you might hope but when you look back at the Irish Oaks of 2009, the ease with which Sariska picked up her rivals is utterly breathtaking. 

There was a moment when Jamie Spencer turned to a toiling rival as Sariska swept to the front; he may have been wiping a clod of Curragh mud from his chin, though it looked an awful lot like he was blowing a kiss to Fran Berry on runner-up Roses For The Lady. 

With the Epsom and Curragh Classic double in safe keeping, there was never any question that Sariska would be given anything other than a succession of blue chip assignations in the breeding shed by her owner Lady Bamford. 

By the time she was retired from her second career in the spring of 2021, she had got six daughters to the track – something any breeder would be eternally grateful for – and Daylesford Stud manager Chris Lock paints a fairly idyllic picture of how the 19-year-old now spends her days.

Sariska and Jamie Spencer waltz home in the 2009 Irish OaksCredit: RACINGFOTOS.COM

"She's got one full-time friend who is also a retired broodmare called Magical Romance," said Lock. "They're together 24/7, they're very good friends and as thick as thieves. 

"Occasionally if we have a maiden off the track we'll put them out with Sariska and Magical Romance. The pair are pretty good at keeping the young ones in check. She may be an old mare but she is still very much the boss, and she does a really good job at keeping the young ones calm."

Lady Bamford has gone on to breed and race a second Oaks winner in Soul Sister, as well as Prix de Diane star Star Of Seville, but should anyone be in the slightest doubt where Sariska is in Bamford's affections, they need only gaze on her striking bronze likeness, which takes pride of place in the centre of the main stud yard. 

A bronze statue of Sariska greets visitors to the main yard at Daylesford

"She was their first Classic winner and a homebred as well," said Lock. "She means everything to Lady Bamford and to her daughter Alice. They see Sariska almost weekly and every time we go around the paddocks, we take a detour to see the old girl.

"Anytime anyone else is shown around the stud farm, we get two questions: is Sariska still alive and can they go and see her? It's not just to Lady Bamford, it's for everyone who comes here.

"We as staff see her two or three times every day and it's easy to forget just how important she is to everyone else and how good a racemare she was. She's the matriarch of the stud and you very rarely see Classics won with such ease."

Read more in the Where Are They Now series:

Frankel’s equal as a juvenile, an historic winner of the July Cup and honoured with a bar at Newmarket - catching up with Dream Ahead 

Unique Newcastle star Overturn 'a million dollars' at home with fellow Tim Leslie/Donald McCain stalwarts 

Royal Ascot sprint star Kingsgate Native 'living a wonderful life' after varied roles in retirement 

Horse of a lifetime Battaash looks a 'million dollars' as he enjoys every moment of retirement with Shadwell 

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