Overdose (2 April 2005 in Nottinghamshire, Great Britain – 1 July 2015 in Germany) was a Hungarian Thoroughbred racehorse. During his career he was victorious in sixteen of his nineteen races.
Breeding Overdose was English-bred and was sold at Tattersalls December Yearling Sales in November 2006 for just 2,000 guineas (£2,100). His sire was a miler called Starborough and he was out of Our Poppet (IRE) by Warning. He was a half-brother of three winners.Horse Overdose Racing Post
His owner, Zoltán Mikóczy purchased Overdose only by chance and has been quoted as saying "I just put my hand up for fun, I like excitement of the horse auctions. I thought no horse can go this cheap and surely somebody else would bid. He's short and I'd say kind of ugly, so of course nobody wanted him."The ugly misfit nobody wanted could be fastest horse in Europe, The Scotsman, 1 October 2008
Racing career Overdose had an unbeaten series of 14 races. In these races he won with a total of 116,5 lengths, which means 8,3 lengths per race in average.
He ran a new track record at his home track (Kincsem Park, Budapest, Hungary), for his first ever race (in which he was victorious with 18 lengths).Official race result, PannoniaOverdose.hu
In 2008 he was named Wunderpferd (wonderhorse) in Germany, for winning German sprint races – including the Group 2 Goldene Peitsche – in such a dominant style.Overdose ist definitiv ein Wunderpferd, horseracing.ch, 15 May 2008
He won a Group I race at Longchamp, but the race was declared void due to a non-opening gate. His time was only 0,1 second behind the track record of Habibti. He did not participate in the re-run at the end of the day, since his unbeaten record was at risk. Quote: "At this moment, I don't care about the money, the rewards, or the hype around him. The only important thing is that the horse stays healthy. Basically, Overdose has proven that he is much better than these horses and nobody could have beaten him today, Zoltán Mikóczy said.
According to the owner of the SCH Racing racing stable, the officials of the organizer France Galop are well aware that they made a huge mistake, but they do not want to officially admit it. The Hungarian team would like to receive the official position from the organizers even before the supplementary competition is ordered, but they refuse to do so "citing various excuses".
In the interpretation of the Hungarian team, the judge simply did not stop the race, but kept the flag, which meant to the jockey that everything was fine. "This is a huge embarrassment for the organizers, which they don't want to acknowledge and are now trying to smooth over the whole thing," added Mikóczy.
According to the owner of Overdose, one of the reasons for this could be that the "savior of the French" got off to a bad start and "stayed in the race", while the Hungarian horse gave his all. If the competition were to restart now, it would simply not be legal, because "there would not be equal opportunities," said Mikóczy.
Before the race, the bookies had Overdose as the second most likely to win. In a competition of this rank, but at a different distance, the unbeatable Kincsem was the last to start in Hungarian colors. https://www.origo.hu/sport/20081005-gallop-a-magyar-overdose-elso-lett-parizsban-de-ervenytelen-a.html
Only a month later Overdose won a Group III race in Rome, with a dominating 10 lengths.
In the 2008 world thoroughbred rankings for Three-year-old sprinters (all continents, Derby years) Overdose was ranked as THE FASTEST 3YO SPRINTER IN THE WORLD by Timeform and IFHA. Among the top sprinters (all continents and years) he was ranked 4th at Timeform with a rating of 126 and 6th at IFHA with 120, despite he did not win a Group I race (at least not officially). He was also ranked second best European sprinter by Timeform and the IFHA (all years). World Thoroughbred Rankings – 2008, PannoniaOverdose.hu
In 2009 Christophe Soumillon volunteered to ride the horse. After his year opening race at Kincsem Park, Budapest, Overdose was called the Budapest Bullet in Britain, and appeared on the cover of the New York Times, which named him the "Hungarian Seabiscuit".Hungary's Spirits Are Back Up, on a Horse, The New York Times, 19 April 2009
In mid-2009 one of his hooves became inflamed, which resulted in laminitis. This put the horse's whole career in danger. His recovery lasted for 15 months. Overdose returned in July 2010, with two victories in Bratislava and Budapest, growing his unbeaten record to 14 races.
Overdose lost his unbeaten record in his 15th race under disputed circumstances. In Germany, Baden-Baden, the starter waited eight minutes to get him into the startbox. During this time his rider Christophe Soumillon fell from his saddle thrice.The eight minutes start misery in Baden-Baden, Video on YouTube (watch the second gate from the left), 29 August 2010 This "procedure" resulted in a hopeless race for him. Although he led to 1000 meters, Overdose lost too much power when entering the startbox, therefore he was unable to keep the pace in the last furlong, and finished only seventh. Professionals says that the German starter was under great pressure, since Overdose's comeback was in the centre of the communication of the racetrack's actual festival (the Große Woche), and the stands were full, since everybody was keen to see Overdose. After this race the horse has suffered another, but minor injury, which resulted in the miss of the remaining of the season.
In 2011 he started the season in Berlin, Germany, with a dominating victory, and ran a new track record. This was the season-opening raceday of the track, and there was a full house.Overdose regains top form, sets record at Hoppegarten , Thoroughbred Times, 17 April 2011 After this great result Overdose was the favourite of all British bookmakers for both of his forthcoming races in the United Kingdom; the Temple Stakes and the King's Stand Stakes.Overdose favorite for British debut in Temple Stakes, Thoroughbred Times, 16 May 2011Overdose 8-1 favourite for King's Stand Stakes, Racing Post, 21 April 2011
On the day of his long waited first race in Britain, Overdose appeared on the cover of four newspapers. Second time on Racing Post's cover that week (the first occasion has been his arrival to Britain). He was in the centre of the television broadcast as well. Unfortunately Overdose's travel took three days from Hungary to Britain, and the five days he spent in Britain before the race was not enough to regenerate. Maybe this was the reason why Overdose only placed seventh by four lengths behind the winner in the Group II Temple Stakes.Diary of Overdose's British races, PannoniaOverdose.hu, 15–20 May 2011 But the team knew, there is more in him, therefore they have stayed in Britain, to prepare him for the Royal Ascot. After the Haydock race Overdose was able to regenerate during the remaining three weeks to his Royal Ascot race. He was not a favourite anymore. He started in the Group I King's Stand Stakes on the lead, and ran head to head with the Hong Kong superstar Sweet Sanette in the forthcoming furlongs. In the end Overdose finished fourth, only a length away from the winner, and a neck away from Sweet Sanette. The remaining horses were more than two lengths away from the winning four.Results of King's Stand Stakes – 2011, Racing Post After the race the officials of the Ascot Racecourse said that they had never seen a horse performing in such a high level after suffering laminitis.Overdose's comeback to the sprinter elite, PannoniaOverdose.hu – 14 June 2011
Another minor injury resulted in the horse's missing of almost all races of the autumn season, and Overdose was able to race again in November only; the second time in Rome, and for the first time with Frankie Dettori. This time Overdose won with only a half length, but he was spared, Dettori did not ask for more from him.
In February 2012, Overdose suffered a serious injury at Meydan Racecourse, in the very beginning of the 2012 Dubai Racing Carnival which the plan was for Overdose to enter.
Jockeys 2007. Martin Srnec, Zdenko Smida, Piotr Krowicki 2008. Piotr Krowicki, Andreas Suborics 2009. Christophe Soumillon 2010. Gary Hind, Christophe Soumillon 2011. Andreas Suborics, Frankie Dettori
Race record ResultDateRaceVenueGroupDistanceWeightJockeyTimeWinner/2ndMarginWon2 June 20072yo – cat. IV. Kincsem Park, BudapestNA1000 m58.0 kgMartin Srnec0:58.02nd: Femme Fatale18Won22 July 2007Cena Muscatita – cat. I. Závodisko, BratislavaNA1200 m58.0 kgMartin Srnec1:12.022nd: Addison6Won9 September 2007Graf N. Esterhazy Mem. Freudenau, ViennaLR1200 m61.0 kgPiotr Krowicki1:11.42nd: Ceodora13Won30 September 2007Szent László Díj Kincsem Park, BudapestGr21400 m57.0 kgMartin Srnec1:23.62nd: Over Play16Won21 October 2007CE Challenge Cup Fut. Magna Racino, EbreichsdorfGr11300 m57.0 kgZdenko Smida1:18.22nd: Over Play8Won6 April 2008Preis vom Marchfeld – cat. I. Magna Racino, EbreichsdorfNA1100 m55.0 kgPiotr Krowicki1:04.62nd: Special Key6Won18 May 2008Lanson Cup Baden-Baden, IffezheimLR1200 m58.0 kgPiotr Krowicki1:08.922nd: Laokoon9Won1 June 2008Cena Min. Pod. Slov. Rep. Závodisko, BratislavaGr31200 m57.0 kgPiotr Krowicki1:10.092nd: Városbíró8Won5 July 2008Hamburg Trophy Hamburg-HornG31200 m54.5 kgAndreas Suborics1:12.192nd: Abbadjinn1.5Won31 August 2008138. Goldene Peische Baden-Baden, IffezheimG21200 m56.0 kgAndreas Suborics1:08.212nd: Abbadjinn2.5-5 October 2008Prix de l'Abbaye – VOID RACE Longchamp, ParisG11000 m62.0 kgAndreas Suborics0:54.42nd: Strike Up The Band4.25Won16 November 2008Premio C. e F. Aloisi Capannelle, RomeG31200 m64.5 kgAndreas Suborics1:10.02nd: Black Mambazo10Won19 April 2009OTP-Hungária Nagydíj Kincsem Park, BudapestGr11000 m62.0 kgChristophe Soumillon0:54.62nd: Spinning Crystal8Won18 July 2010Cena Mysa Závodisko, BratislavaLR1000 m59.0 kgGary Hind1:00.772nd: Boschka0.5Won15 August 2010Pannónia Életbiztosító Díj Kincsem Park, BudapestLR1000 m59.0 kgGary Hind0:56.42nd: Spinning Crystal107th29 August 2010140. Goldene Peitsche Baden-Baden, IffezheimG21200 m59.0 kgChristophe Soumillon1:11.38Winner: Amico Fritz-5.25Won17 April 2011Hoppegartener Fliegerpreis Hoppegarten, BerlinNA1000 m59.0 kgAndreas Suborics0:57.12nd: Shot To Nothing67th21 May 2011Temple Stakes Haydock ParkG21000 m59.0 kgAndreas Suborics0:57.67Winner: Sole Power-44th14 June 2011King's Stand Stakes Ascot RacecourseG11000 m59.0 kgAndreas Suborics0:59.50Winner: Prohibit-1.25Won13 November 2011Premio C. e F. Aloisi Capannelle, RomeG31200 m61.0 kgFrankie Dettori1:08.402nd: Dagda Mor0.5
Overdose suffered a serious injury at Meydan Racecourse, just before the beginning of the 2012 Dubai Racing Carnival. After that he was retired from racing and was available at Bábolna-Dióspuszta Stud in Hungary in 2014 first, then in 2015 at Vollblutgestüt Lindenhof in Germany.
(Note, that G1, G2 and G3 means internationally recognized Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 races, while Gr1, Gr2 and Gr3 means Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 races, recognized in Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.)
Pedigree
See also List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses List of racehorses
References
External links
Overdose pedigree on pedigreequery.com Official homepage in Hungarian