The Niarchos household acquired the 2021 Longines and IFHA Worldwide Award of Benefit, which acknowledges distinguished horsemen and horsewomen for lifelong contributions to Thoroughbred racing, at a ceremony Nov. 5 at Del Mar throughout Breeders’ Cup World Championships weekend.
Maria Niarchos-Gouazé accepted the award on behalf of the household, and representatives from each Longines and the Worldwide Federation of Horseracing Authorities, in addition to the Breeders’ Cup and The Jockey Membership, took half within the celebration.
“On behalf of my brothers and myself, I want to thank Longines, the IFHA, the Breeders’ Cup, and The Jockey Membership for this nice honor,” stated Niarchos-Gouazé. “I might additionally prefer to thank all of our horses, the jockeys who primarily discovered the successful put up, our trainers, our veterinarians and farriers, and the entire people who’ve labored on the studs and in our trainers’ yards.
“Particularly, I want to thank my house crew, Alan Cooper and Karen Clark, who’ve been with us since inception, for his or her dedication and loyalty, and likewise Jamie McCalmont and Invoice Oppenheim, and people who have labored alongside them. Lastly, and probably the most deserving of all, I want to thank my father, Stavros, for his imaginative and prescient.”
Because the official associate and official watch of the Worldwide Federation of Horseracing Authorities, Swiss watchmaker Longines and the IFHA conjointly created the Worldwide Award of Benefit in 2013 to be able to honor public figures for his or her excellent contribution to the world of horse racing. Longines can be an official associate, the official timekeeper, and the official watch of the Breeders’ Cup. Longines sponsored the Traditional (G1), Turf (G1T), and Distaff (G1) at this yr’s Breeder’s Cup.
“We’re delighted to rejoice tonight the Niarchos household, whose robust dedication and dedication to Thoroughbred racing have been rewarded by so many exceptional successes over time,” stated Matthieu Baumgartner, vice chairman of promoting for Longines. “The historical past of the household proves that equestrian sport is one in every of ardour, a ardour that Longines has been sharing for a century and a half. At the moment, we’re the associate of a number of the main worldwide establishments, together with the IFHA, and supply our timekeeping experience to prestigious occasions all world wide within the disciplines present leaping, dressage, eventing and naturally, horse racing.”
Earlier winners of the Worldwide Award of Benefit embrace John Messara, the proprietor and chairman of Arrowfield Stud in Australia; the Magnier household and coach Aidan O’Brien, the driving forces behind Coolmore and the Ballydoyle Racing Steady in Eire; Yutaka Take, legendary Japanese jockey; the Romanet household, lengthy famend leaders in each the French and worldwide world of horse racing; Jim Bolger, main Irish coach, proprietor and breeder; Alec Head, previous champion coach and patriarch of distinguished stud farm Haras du Quesnay; Seth Hancock of historic Claiborne Farm in America; and the late Marcel Zarour Atanacio, former chairman of the South American group for the promotion of Thoroughbreds.
“I want to congratulate the Niarchos household as this yr’s recipient of the Longines and IFHA Worldwide Award of Benefit,” stated IFHA chair Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. “Reflecting upon the importance and the values related to this award, I’m struck by the extent of success achieved by the Niarchos household in practically each nook of the globe, spanning a number of generations.
“On racetrack achievement alone, the Niarchos household could be worthy recipients of this award, however their steadfast help of our business is what units them aside. Their unwavering partnership and growth of worldwide racing and breeding is a particular feat, and it have to be celebrated.”
The late Stavros Niarchos served as a Greek naval officer in World Warfare II and made his fortune within the delivery enterprise. He first turned concerned with Thoroughbred racing within the Nineteen Fifties, took a break, and returned in full pressure within the Nineteen Seventies. His first main winner was Pipe of Peace, who received the 1956 Center Park Stakes.
His daughter Maria took over the household’s Thoroughbred enterprise after his dying in 1996, and Alan Cooper serves because the household’s racing supervisor. Greater than 125 group or grade 1 winners have been bred and/or campaigned beneath their banner, and so they have been long-time supporters of the Breeders’ Cup.
Racing as Flaxman Holdings, the Niarchos household has received seven Breeders’ Cup races with six homebred colts and fillies. Six of these victories have come within the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T): Miesque (1987, 1988), Spinning World (1997), Domedriver (2002), Six Perfections (2003), and Karakontie (2014). Additionally, Main Sequence won the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) in 2014. This record as an owner-breeder at the Breeders’ Cup makes the Niarchos family one of the event’s most successful participants.
A sampling of other notable top-class winners either owned or bred by the family include Bago , Divine Proportions , Light Shift , Ulysses , Alpha Centauri , Study of Man , War of Will , and Circus Maximus .
