Continuous (horse)

Continuous（March 5, 2020 - ）is a thoroughbred racehorse bred in Japan and trained in Ireland. He is the winner of the 2023 St Leger Stakes and Great Voltigeur Stakes, as well as the 2022 Prix Thomas Bryon.

Racing career

Background

Continuous' dam, Fluff, was sent to Japan by people of the Coolmore Stud to have her covered by Deep Impact. They were, however, unsuccessful, and instead was covered by another horse with similar pedigree, Heart's Cry.^[1] The horse was born in a Japanese farm called Paca Paca Farm in Niikappu, Hokkaido .^[2]

2022: Two-year old season

Continuous debuted at a maiden race on August 20 held at Curragh Racecourse ridden by Ryan Moore, where he ran and won the race.^[1]

Later on, the horse ran in the Group 3 Prix Thomas Bryon and won, marking his first group race win.^[3]

2023: Three-year old season

Continuous started the season off with the G2 Dante Stakes on May 18 and finished at third place in a dead heat.^[4]

On June 4, Continuous entered the Prix du Jockey Club as the 4th most favoured to win.^[5] He ran third place for most of the race but lost momentum in the straight and finished eighth behind Ace Impact.^[6]

At the King Edward VII Stakes on June 23, the horse contested the lead as the field entered the final straight, but was quickly overtaken by King of Steel [ja] and finished 2nd behind King of Steel by 3 and a half lengths.^[7]

On August 23 at the Great Voltigeur Stakes, the horse ran at the back of the field before pushing up halfway through the straight and ultimately taking the lead. The horse won this race, which became his second group race victory, by 3 and a 3/4 lengths.^[8]

On September 16, Continuous ran in the Group 1 St Leger Stakes as the second most favourite.^[9] As the race began, Moore opted to settle in and place the horse in the rear of the field; keeping a close eye on Arrest who was ahead of them as they came past the halfway point, running third from last. Continuous was almost blocked by Denmark and Gregory who was running ahead, but as Denmark lost momentum Continuous started to push ahead. Quickly overtaking Gregory, Continuous took the lead and ran ahead, finishing the race in first place with a 2 and 3-quarter length margin over runner-up Arrest.^[10]

Continuous was then entered in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.^[11] The horse ran at a similar pace as Through Seven Seas [ja] but finished 5th behind Ace Impact.^[12]

Later on, the horse was planned to enter the Champion Stakes as a replacement to Luxembourg who had suffered a leg infection,^[13] but was ultimately withdrawn due to a temperature.^[14]

Continuous was also invited to compete in the Japan Cup, but was ruled out after the horse showed stiffness.^[15][16]

Pedigree

References