| Courage Under Fire | |
|---|---|
| Breed | Standardbred |
| Sire | In The Pocket |
| Grandsire | Direct Scooter |
| Dam | Advance Debra |
| Damsire | Vance Hanover |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1 August 1996[1] |
| Died | 29 July 2017 |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Colour | Black |
| Breeder | NJ&OW Cockcroft, PM Inkpen |
| Owner | Greg Brodie |
| Record | 56:41-4-0 |
| Earnings | $1,485,629 |
| Major wins | |
| New Zealand Sires Stakes 2yo Final (1998) New Zealand Sires Stakes 3yo Final (1998) Great Northern Derby (1998) New Zealand Derby (1999) Victoria Derby (1999) Australian Derby (1999) New South Wales Derby (1999) Queensland Derby (1999) South Australian Cup (2001) Queensland Pacing Championship (2001) Australian Pacing Championship (2001) | |
| Awards | |
| New Zealand 2-Year Old Pacer of the Year (1998) New Zealand 3-Year Old Pacer of the Year (1999) New Zealand 4-Year Old Pacer of the Year (2000) Australian 3-Year Old Pacer of the Year (1999) | |
| Honours | |
| New Zealand Harness Racing Hall of Fame | |
Courage Under Fire (1 August 1995 – 29 July 2017) was aNew Zealand-bred championStandardbred race horse notable for being undefeated in his first 24 race starts. A diminutive horse, he was known as Mighty Mouse.[2]
Courage Under Fire was undefeated in both his two- and three-year-old seasons of racing. As a three-year-old he won a record six derbies.[1] In the Australian Derby at Moonee Valley he broke the track record defeating local starShakamaker.[3]
As an older horse Courage Under Fire was defeated for the first time in a heat of the 2000Inter Dominion Pacing Championship after winning his first 24 races. After the 2000 Inter Dominion he was relocated from the New Zealand stables of Bruce Negus to Australian trainer Brian Hancock however his career plateaued.[4] He later won the South Australian Cup,Queensland Pacing Championship andAustralian Pacing Championship. He was narrowly beaten in theMiracle Mile andVictoria Cup[5] and he won six heats of theInter Dominion Pacing Championship[6] and was fourth in the final in 2001.[7] In the South Australian Cup atGlobe Derby Park in 2001 he set a track record that stood until broken by his sonSmolda in 2017.[8] A popular horse, large crowds often surrounded his stall for a glimpse.[3]
Courage Under Fire won 41 of 56 starts and earned $NZ1,551,941 in stakes.[5]
At stud he sired more than 400 winners in New Zealand and more than 300 winners in Australia includingInter Dominion Pacing Championship winner Smolda and was expected to serve a full book of mares in the 2017–18 breeding season.[4]
He died at Yirribee Stud nearWagga Wagga,New South Wales after being purchased by Yirribee in July 2017.[10]