Connaught Bridge

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Connaught Bridge was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won five of her nine starts in Britain during 1978 and 1979.

Background
Connaught Bridge was a chestnut mare bred in Ireland by the Burton Agnes Stud. She was bought for 2,500 guineas as a yearling and sent to train with Henry Cecil at Newmarket. She came from the fifth crop sired by Connaught, and her dam was Fishermans Bridge.

Racing career
Two-year-old season (1978)
Her first win came in August at Great Yarmouth, a seven-furlong maiden race. She then finished a neck second in a one-mile nursery at Doncaster before taking a nine-furlong minor event at Wolverhampton later that year.

Three-year-old season (1979)
She did not race in the spring and skipped the 1000 Guineas and Oaks. In July she was third over a mile at York. She then stepped up in class and distance to win the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, a ten-furlong race, beating Odeon. In August she won the Yorkshire Oaks at York, a race moved up to one and a half miles, defeating several top rivals by three lengths. After these successes, she was sold privately to Peter Harris. Her final win came in the Twickenham Stakes at Kempton Park over ten furlongs, where she beat Head Huntress. Connaught Bridge retired from racing at the end of 1979.

Assessment
In Timeform’s ratings, Connaught Bridge was given 105 as a two-year-old in 1978 and improved to 124 as a three-year-old in 1979. The British Free Handicap ranked her among the best British-trained two-year-old fillies in 1978, and she was regarded as one of the leading British-trained three-year-old fillies in 1979.

Breeding record
After retiring, Connaught Bridge became a broodmare at Peter Harris’s Pendley Farm Stud in Hertfordshire. She produced at least eight foals and three winners between 1982 and 1994:
- Kindjal (1982), by Kris – failed to win in three races
- Wassl Reef (1983), by Mill Reef – won four races
- Conmaiche (1984), by Kings Lake – won three races, including the Prix Saint‑Roman
- Munjarid (1985), by Habitat – failed to win in fourteen races
- Class Adorns (1987), by Sadler’s Wells – failed to win in two races
- Lydia Maria (1988), by Dancing Brave – failed to win in nine races
- Dorothea Brooke (1992), by Dancing Brave – won one of ten races; as a broodmare she is the dam of Primo Valentino and Dora Carrington (the latter producing Julienas)
- Kristal Bridge (1994), by Kris – failed to win in eight races; as a broodmare she produced Overturn

Pedigree
Connaught Bridge was by Connaught (GB) out of Fishermans Bridge (GB), from Thoroughbred family 1-m.

Connaught Bridge’s racing career showed her as a top middle-distance performer in Britain, and her later impact as a broodmare contributed to subsequent generations in the sport.