# Octagonal (horse)

Octagonal (8 October 1992 – 15 October 2016) was a champion New Zealand-bred, Australian raced Thoroughbred racehorse, also known as 'The Big O' or 'Occy'. He was by the champion sire Zabeel, out of the champion broodmare Eight Carat, who also produced Group One winners Mouawad, Kaapstad, Diamond Lover and (Our) Marquise.

## Biography

Bob Ingham, along with brother Jack Ingham, purchased and raced Octagonal. Trained by John Hawkes, Octagonal made his debut late in 1994, and was crowned the Australian Champion Two Year Old on the strength of his autumn campaign, which comprised wins in the Todman Trial and AJC Sires Produce Stakes and close seconds in the STC Golden Slipper and AJC Champagne Stakes.
As a three-year-old, Octagonal won seven of his eleven starts, and took his record to 10 wins from 16 starts. In addition to beating a high-standard crop in Sydney's three-year-old autumn triple crown - the Canterbury and Rosehill Guineas and the Australian Derby - Octagonal won the two richest weight-for-age races on the Australian calendar, the W. S. Cox Plate and the Mercedes Classic. With earnings of just short of A$4 million, Octagonal was voted the 1996 Australian Champion Three Year Old, Australian Horse of the Year, and remains the last horse to have won the triple crown. The Victoria (spring) and Australian Derby (autumn) double eluded him, however, as he was narrowly defeated by Nothin' Leica Dane in the Victoria Derby.
Octagonal returned to the track as a four-year-old, but his win the Underwood Stakes was the only highlight of a spring campaign that saw him unplaced in six of his seven starts. Meanwhile, the horses who had finished second to him in the triple crown - Saintly and Filante - won three races each, including the Epsom Handicap, the W. S. Cox Plate (where they were first and second), and the Melbourne Cup. Octagonal's final campaign, during the autumn, was more consistent, and featured Group One wins in consecutive starts in the Chipping Norton Stakes, Australian Cup, and the Mercedes Classic. At his final start, he was runner-up in the AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes; a feat coincidentally emulated in the farewell of his champion son, Lonhro, seven years later.
Octagonal retired to stud after 28 starts with a record of 14 wins (10 Group 1), 7 seconds (6 in GI or GII races) and a third. He ended his racing career with a stakes tally of A$5,892,231, the highest of any galloper in Australasia to that point.
Octagonal Entered stud in 1997–2013 Woodlands Stud at Cootamundra, New South Wales and Shuttled in 1998–2001 to Haras du Quesnay France and was pensioned from stud duties in 2013. He is the sire of Australian Group One winning brothers Lonhro and Niello, the South African Group 1 winner, Suntagonal and Laverock whose wins include two Group 1 races: the Prix d'Ispahan at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris and the Gran Premio del Jockey Club at Milan, Italy's, San Siro Racecourse.
He was euthanized on 15 October 2016 at the age of 24 years at Woodlands Stud at Denman in the NSW Hunter Valley. He was buried next to his fellow stallion mate Canny Lad. Owner Bob Ingham described his career as 'heroic' and 'life-changing'.

## Race record

1994–95 season as a two-year-old :
| Result | Date | Race | Venue | Group | Distance | Weight (kg) | Jockey | Winner/2nd |
| Won | 3 Dec 1994 | 2yo Hcp Colts & Geldings | Rosehill | NA | 1100 m | 53 | M. Evans | 2nd - Fracture |
| Won | 25 Mar 1995 | Todman Stakes | Rosehill | G2 | 1200 m | 55.5 | G. Cooksley | 2nd - Our Maizcay |
| 2nd | 8 Apr 1995 | Golden Slipper | Rosehill | G1 | 1200 m | 55.5 | G. Cooksley | 1st - Flying Spur |
| Won | 17 Apr 1995 | Sires Produce Stakes | Randwick | G1 | 1400 m | 55.5 | G. Cooksley | 2nd - Isolda |
| 2nd | 29 Apr 1995 | Champagne Stakes | Randwick | G1 | 1600 m | 55.5 | G. Cooksley | 1st - Isolda |
1995–96 season as a three-year-old :
| Result | Date | Race | Venue | Group | Distance | Weight (kg) | Jockey | Winner/2nd |
| 2nd | 2 Sep 1995 | Roman Consul Stakes | Randwick | G3 | 1200 m | 55 | G. Cooksley | 1st - Our Maizcay |
| Won | 16 Sep 1995 | Heritage Stakes | Rosehill | LR | 1300 m | 55.5 | G. Cooksley | 2nd - Mi Modest |
| Won | 2 Oct 1995 | Stan Fox Stakes | Randwick | G3 | 1400 m | 55 | G. Cooksley | 2nd - Encores |
| 3rd | 14 Oct 1995 | Caulfield Guineas | Caulfield | G1 | 1600 m | 55.5 | D. Gauci | 1st - Our Maizcay |
| Won | 28 Oct 1995 | Cox Plate | Moonee Valley | G1 | 2040 m | 48.5 | S. Dye | 2nd - Mahogany |
| 2nd | 4 Nov 1995 | Victoria Derby | Flemington | G1 | 2500 m | 55.5 | S. Scriven | 1st - Nothin' Leica Dane |
| 2nd | 24 Feb 1996 | Hobartville Stakes | Warwick Farm | G2 | 1400 m | 55.5 | G. Cooksley | 1st - Nothin' Leica Dane |
| Won | 9 Mar 1996 | Canterbury Guineas | Canterbury | G1 | 1900 m | 55.5 | D. Beadman | 2nd - Filante |
| Won | 23 Mar 1996 | Rosehill Guineas | Rosehill | G1 | 2000 m | 55.5 | D. Beadman | 2nd - Saintly |
| Won | 30 Mar 1996 | Mercedes Classic | Rosehill | G1 | 2400 m | 52 | D. Beadman | 2nd - Count Chivas |
| Won | 6 Apr 1996 | Australian Derby | Randwick | G1 | 2400 m | 55.5 | D. Beadman | 2nd - Saintly |
1996–97 season as a four-year-old :
| Result | Date | Race | Venue | Group | Distance | Weight (kg) | Jockey | Winner/2nd |
| 6th | 17 Aug 1996 | Manikato Stakes | Moonee Valley | G1 | 1200 m | 57 | D. Gauci | 1st - Poetic King |
| 7th | 31 Aug 1996 | Memsie Stakes | Caulfield | G2 | 1400 m | 57 | D. Gauci | 1st - Sir Boom |
| 5th | 14 Sep 1996 | Feehan Stakes | Moonee Valley | G2 | 1600 m | 57 | D. Gauci | 1st - Toil |
| Won | 22 Sep 1996 | Underwood Stakes | Caulfield | G1 | 1800 m | 57 | D. Beadman | 2nd - Seascay |
| 4th | 12 Oct 1996 | Caulfield Stakes | Caulfield | G1 | 2000 m | 57 | D. Beadman | 1st - Juggler |
| 5th | 26 Oct 1996 | Cox Plate | Moonee Valley | G1 | 2040 m | 57 | D. Gauci | 1st - Saintly |
| 9th | 2 Nov 1996 | Mackinnon Stakes | Flemington | G1 | 2000 m | 57 | D. Beadman | 1st - All Our Mob |
| 2nd | 15 Feb 1997 | Apollo Stakes | Warwick Farm | G2 | 1400 m | 57 | D. Beadman | 1st - Juggler |
| Won | 22 Feb 1997 | Chipping Norton Stakes | Warwick Farm | G1 | 1600 m | 57 | S. Dye | 2nd - Juggler |
| Won | 10 Mar 1997 | Australian Cup | Flemington | G1 | 2000 m | 57 | S. Dye | 2nd - Gold City |
| Won | 22 Mar 1997 | Mercedes Classic | Rosehill | G1 | 2400 m | 57 | S. Dye | 2nd - Arkady |
| 2nd | 12 Apr 1997 | Queen Elizabeth Stakes | Randwick | G1 | 2000 m | 57 | S. Dye | 1st - Intergaze |

## Progeny

Octagonal's major race winners include:
| Horse | Race | Distance (m) | Prizemoney (AUD) |
| Lonhro | 2001 Caulfield Guineas 2002 Mackinnon Stakes 2003 Chipping Norton Stakes 2003 Queen Elizabeth Stakes 2003 George Main Stakes 2002 & 2003 Caulfield Stakes 2003 & 2004 George Ryder Stakes 2004 C F Orr Stakes 2004 Australian Cup | 1600 2000 1600 2000 1600 2000 1500 1400 2000 | $5,790,510 |
| Laverock | 2006 Prix d'Ispahan (Paris) 2006 Gran Premio del Jockey Club (Milan) | 2000 2400 | $1,154,190 |
| Niello | 2003 Spring Champion Stakes 2004 Canterbury Guineas 2004 Rosehill Guineas | 2000 1900 2000 | $959,200 |
| Suntagonal | 2002 Premier's Champion Stakes (Durban) | 1400 | R496,400 |

## Pedigree

Pedigree of Octagonal (NZ) :
| Sire Zabeel (NZ) 1986 | Sir Tristram (Ire) 1971 | Sir Ivor (USA) 1965 | Sir Gaylord (USA) |
| Sire Zabeel (NZ) 1986 | Sir Tristram (Ire) 1971 | Sir Ivor (USA) 1965 | Attica (USA) |
| Sire Zabeel (NZ) 1986 | Sir Tristram (Ire) 1971 | Isolt (USA) 1961 | Round Table (USA) |
| Sire Zabeel (NZ) 1986 | Sir Tristram (Ire) 1971 | Isolt (USA) 1961 | All My Eye (GB) |
| Sire Zabeel (NZ) 1986 | Lady Giselle (Fr) 1982 | Nureyev (USA) 1977 | Northern Dancer (Can) |
| Sire Zabeel (NZ) 1986 | Lady Giselle (Fr) 1982 | Nureyev (USA) 1977 | Special (USA) |
| Sire Zabeel (NZ) 1986 | Lady Giselle (Fr) 1982 | Valderna (Fr) 1972 | Val de Loir (Fr) |
| Sire Zabeel (NZ) 1986 | Lady Giselle (Fr) 1982 | Valderna (Fr) 1972 | Derna (Fr) |
| Dam Eight Carat (GB) 1975 | Pieces of Eight (Ire) 1963 | Relic (USA) 1945 | War Relic (USA) |
| Dam Eight Carat (GB) 1975 | Pieces of Eight (Ire) 1963 | Relic (USA) 1945 | Bridal Colors (USA) |
| Dam Eight Carat (GB) 1975 | Pieces of Eight (Ire) 1963 | Baby Doll (GB) 1956 | Dante (GB) |
| Dam Eight Carat (GB) 1975 | Pieces of Eight (Ire) 1963 | Baby Doll (GB) 1956 | Bebe Grande (Ire) |
| Dam Eight Carat (GB) 1975 | Klairessa (GB) 1969 | Klairon (Fr) 1952 | Clarion (Fr) |
| Dam Eight Carat (GB) 1975 | Klairessa (GB) 1969 | Klairon (Fr) 1952 | Kalmia (Fr) |
| Dam Eight Carat (GB) 1975 | Klairessa (GB) 1969 | Courtessa (GR) 1955 | Supreme Court (GB) |
| Dam Eight Carat (GB) 1975 | Klairessa (GB) 1969 | Courtessa (GR) 1955 | Tessa Gillian (GB) (Family: 9-c) |