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Limestone Lad (foaled 1 April 1992) is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competed mainly in National Hunt racing. Bred, owned and trained by a farming family in rural Ireland he was offered for sale as three-year-old but was rejected after failing a medical examination. His early racing career was unremarkable but he made steady improvement and eventually retired with a record of thirty-five wins and nineteen places from sixty-five races. He was best known for his durability and his performances in long-distance hurdle races and usually raced from the front. He began by running in National Hunt Flat races and was unplaced in his first four starts before winning two minor races and was then switched to novice hurdles, winning one of his next six starts before the end of the 1997/98 National Hunt season. In the following season, he improved through the handicap hurdle ranks, winning seven of his ten starts. In the 1999/2000 season he emerged as a top-class performer, winning eight races including the Morgiana Hurdle, Hatton's Grace Hurdle (beating Istabraq), Christmas Hurdle, Bank of Ireland Hurdle and Boyne Hurdle. In the following season he was tried over fences and won the Irish Field Novice Chase, Craddockstown Novice Chase as well as repeating his previous wins in the Bank of Ireland Hurdle and the Boyne Hurdle. Limestone Lad returned to hurdling in the 2001/02 National Hunt season and won six races including a second Morgiana Hurdle, a second Hatton's Grace Hurdle, a third Bank of Ireland Hurdle and the Champion Stayers' Hurdle. In his final season he won another five races including the Lismullen Hurdle, a second Christmas Hurdle, a third Morgiana Hurdle and a third Hatton's Grace Hurdle. At the end of his racing career he was described as "Ireland's most famous racehorse".〔 ==Background== Limestone Lad is a bay gelding with no white markings, bred and owned by James Bowe of Gathabawn, near Johnstown, County Kilkenny. He was the most successful horse sired by Aristocracy, who won at least five races in Ireland between 1976 and 1978 including the Whitehall Stakes.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Aristocracy - Stud Record )〕 Limestone Lad's dam, Limestone Miss, was an unraced mare who also produced Miss Lime, a winner of three races, including a fifteen length defeat of Dorans Pride at Thurles.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Miss Lime - Record By Race Type )〕 Limestone Miss was a daughter of Miss Kiln, who was in turn a daughter of Kinneagh, a mare bought by James Bowe for about 100 guineas. Kinneagh's other foals included Drumgora, who won the Champion Chase in 1981.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=World of Bloodstock: Aristocracy boosted by unlikely Lad; Ireland's new hero a credit to both his family connections and his veteran sire )〕 Kinneagh was a great-granddaughter of the broodmare Simone Vergnes, whose other descendants included the Epsom Oaks winner Why Hurry and the Champion Stakes winner Marguerite Vernaut.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Admiration - Family 14-b )〕 Limestone Lad was scheduled to be offered for sale as a three-year-old gelding at Tattersalls Ireland in June 1995, but was withdrawn from the auction〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Tattersalls Ireland Sale June 1995(Gbp) )〕 after the auctioneer's vet found that he had an abnormal heartbeat. The gelding was officially trained throughout his racing career by James Bowe, although the day-to-day handling was managed by his son Michael on the family farm which was also home to 60 cattle and 150 sheep.〔 Commenting on the process of training the horse Michael Bowe said "Everything you taught him, you had to do it slowly and carefully - but once he picked it up he would die or do it. He was so genuine, all he wanted to do was to please you".〔 He was often subjected to demanding schedules, with few breaks: Bowe explained the strategy by saying "He is happiest racing frequently and the more you take him racing the more he likes it".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=RACING: Limestone Lad gives Festival hint )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Limestone Lad」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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