Timepiece (horse)

Timepiece (foaled 7 February 2007) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In a racing career which lasted from September 2009 until September 2012 she won six of her twenty-one races and ran consistently well in top-class races over distances between one mile and ten furlongs.

Bred and owned by Khalid Abdullah and trained by Henry Cecil, Timepiece showed great promise as a juvenile in 2009 when she won two of her three races including the Montrose Stakes. In the following year she was regarded as a leading contender for The Oaks and although she finished only eighth in the classic she recorded significant victories in the Sandringham Handicap and the James Seymour Stakes. She reached her peak as a four-year-old in 2011 when she followed up a win in the Warwickshire Oaks with a career-best performance to win the Group One Falmouth Stakes, as well as finishing second in the Prix Jean Romanet and third in the Prix Rothschild. In 2012 Timepiece finished second in the Nassau Stakes and third in the Prix Jean Romanet before being retired from racing at the end of the year.

Background

Timepiece is a bay mare with a broad white blaze and four long white socks bred by her owner Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms. Her sire Zamindar was a full-brother to Zafonic and recorded his biggest win in the Group Three Prix de Cabourg. He became a very successful sire of fillies, with his offspring including the multiple Group One winners Zarkava and Darjina. Timepiece's dam Clepsydra showed modest ability, winning one minor race at Epsom Racecourse from six starts but was a successful broodmare who produced several other winners including Passage of Time (Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud).