Musidora (1946 – c. 1968) was an Irish-bred British-trainedThoroughbred racehorse andbroodmare, best known for winning twoClassics in 1949. Thefilly won four times from twelve races in a racing career which lasted from 1948 until September 1949. After winning once as a two-year-old she won her first three races as a three-year-old including the1000 Guineas over one mile atNewmarket and atThe Oaks over one and a half miles atEpsom Downs Racecourse a month later. In the latter race she narrowly defeated the French fillyCoronation, who went on to win thePrix de l'Arc de Triomphe. She finished unplaced in her three subsequent races and was retired to stud, where she had limited success as a broodmare.

Musidora was a bay mare with a small whitestar bred in Ireland by F. F. Tuthill, who had bought her dam, an unraced and unbroken mare named Painted Vale for 220guineas. Painted Vale produced several winners apart from Musidora, the most successful being the colt Sovrango, who won theChester Vase, theOrmonde Stakes and theOxfordshire Stakes. Musidora came from the second crop of foals sired by Nasrullah, a talented but temperamental racehorse who became a highly successful breeding stallion, especially following his export to the United States in 1950. He was theBritish champion sire in 1951^[1] and theNorth American champion on five occasions.^[2]

In 1947 theyearling filly was sent to the Doncaster sales where she was bought for 4,700 guineas by the Scottish shipping magnateNorman Donaldson. Donaldson sent Musidora into training withCharles Elsey at his Highfield stables atMalton inYorkshire.^[3] She became the first of five classic winners trained by Elsey between 1949 and 1959.^[4]

In 1948, Musidora ran six times and won one race. She was placed second or third in the other five.^[5] In the Free Handicap, a rating of the year's best two-year-olds, Musidora was assigned a weight of 109pounds, twenty-four pounds behind the top-ratedAbernant and fourteen pounds behind the leading fillies Integrity and Ballisland.^[6]

Musidora began her three-year-old season atStockton-on-Tees Racecourse in April when she won the Roseberry Stakes.^[5] She was then sent to Newmarket for the 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile course. Ridden by the Australian JockeyEdgar Britt, she started at odds of100/8 in a field of eighteen runners. Unknown Quantity started favourite after being the subject of exceptionally strong support in the betting. Musidora gave trouble at the start, but once the race was under way she was soon among the leaders. Britt sent Musidora into the lead twofurlongs from the finish and she won comfortably by one and a half lengths from Unknown Quantity with Solar Myth two lengths back in third.^[7]

In the Epsom Oaks a month later, Musidora was made 4/1 favourite against sixteen opponents, with Vice Versa on 5/1 and the French-trained Coronation on 6/1.^[8] Britt positioned Musidora just behind the leader Coronation for most of the race, and the race developed into a struggle between the two, with theKing's filly Avila joining the pair in the straight. In a closely contested finish Musidora took the lead inside the final furlong and won by a neck from Coronation, with a gap of two lengths back to Vice Versa in third and Avila fading into fifth.^[9] The winning time of 2:40.0 was two seconds faster than that recorded byNimbus in winningThe Derby over the same course and distance two days later.^[10]

Musidora failed to reproduce her classic-winning form in her remaining races. She finished unplaced in theYorkshire Oaks atYork, theSt Leger Stakes atDoncaster and theDoonside Cup atAyr.^[5]

In their book,A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Musidora an "average" winner of the 1000 Guineas and Oaks.^[10]

TheMusidora Stakes, run every year at York since 1961 in late May or early June, was named in honour of the Yorkshire-trained mare.^[11]

As a broodmare, Musidora produced three winners, none of them top class. Her daughter Wishful Thinking, sired by Petition, produced Heavenly Thought, who won thePrincess Royal Stakes in 1970. Heavenly Thought, in her turn, became a successful broodmare, producing theQueen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Homing as well as Water Mill, who finished second in the 1980 St Leger.^[12] Another daughter, Musical, produced Finlandia, the dam of the St Leger winnerSnurge. On 5 December 1958, Musidora was sold in foal toTudor Minstrel for 7,000 guineas ($20,580) to American turfman A.B. Hancock, but was not exported to the United States.^[13] She was exported to France in 1960 but was returned to the United Kingdom in 1962. She was reported as "dead" in the 1968 edition of theGeneral Stud Book.

• 1946 racehorse births
• 1968 racehorse deaths
• Racehorses bred in Ireland
• Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
• Thoroughbred family 1-m
• 1000 Guineas winners
• Epsom Oaks winners

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022