Il Tempo (horse)
Il Tempo was a champion New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse, by Time and Again out of Timing. He is probably New Zealand's greatest ever stayer, having won the Auckland Cup two times, and also the Wellington Cup once. The Wellington Cup was over 2 miles and he won it in a world-record time of 3:16.2, a record which still stands today.
| Il Tempo | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Time and Again (IRE) |
| Grandsire | The Phoenix (GB) |
| Dam | Timing (NZ) |
| Damsire | Timanova (GB) |
| Sex | Gelding |
| Foaled | 1962 |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Colour | Bay |
| Owner | Bruce Priscott (NZ) |
| Trainer | Bruce Priscott (NZ) |
| Major wins | |
| 1970 Wellington Cup 1970 Auckland Cup 1969 Auckland Cup | |
| Honours | |
| World record over 2 miles of 3:16.2, still current. | |
| Last updated on April 13, 2009 | |
Il Tempo also won the Chalmers Handicap over two miles, plus being placed over the two-mile distance several times. He was trained by Mr Bruce Priscott, a butcher by trade. Normally he was ridden by jockey Noel D Riordan.
He had a fantastic fresh up record. Il Tempo also won a weight for age over one and a half miles. Normally a powerful finishing back runner, in a very small field he eventually took up the running and then was passed by the whole field and then came again to mow them down.
Il Tempo was top-weight and hot pre-post favorite for the 1970 Melbourne Cup, but did not race. In his preparation for the cup, he broke down after running a 1 min. 39.0 sec. mile in a training gallop. He never raced again.