| Sunline | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Desert Sun (GB) |
| Grandsire | Green Desert (USA) |
| Dam | Songline |
| Damsire | Western Symphony (USA) |
| Sex | Mare |
| Foaled | 29 September 1995 |
| Died | 1 May 2009 (aged 13) |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Susan Archer and Michael Martin |
| Owner | Trevor McKee, Thayne Green, Helen Lusty (post racing: Stephen McKee bought Lusty's shares) |
| Trainer | Trevor McKee, Stephen McKee |
| Record | 48: 32-9-3 |
| Earnings | NZ$14,200,000 |
| Major wins | |
| Flight Stakes (1998) W. S. Cox Plate (1999 & 2000) Doncaster Handicap (1999 & 2002) All Aged Stakes (2000 & 2002) Coolmore Classic (2000 & 2002) Waikato Sprint (2001 & 2002) Hong Kong Mile (2000) Manikato Stakes (2000) | |
| Awards | |
| New Zealand Horse of the Year (1999–2002) Australian Middle Distance Champion (2000, 2001) Australian Horse of the Year (2000, 2001, 2002) Australian Champion Filly or Mare (2000, 2001, 2002) Timeform rating: 129 Timeforms World Champion turf mare of 1999. Timeforms World Champion female mare 2000. | |
| Honours | |
| Australian Racing Hall of Fame New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame Sunline Stakes, Moonee Valley Racecourse Sunline Vase, Ellerslie Racecourse, Australian Postage Stamp, Sunline Lounge - Moonee Valley Racecourse, Bronze Statue created in her honour at Ellerslie Racecourse, | |
Sunline (29 September 1995 – 1 May 2009) was a champion New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the world's highest earning race mare of her time. She won 32 of her 48 races with earnings of NZ$14,200,000. She was named the New Zealand Horse of the Year four times and Australian Horse of the Year three times. She has won the most Group races in modern times with 27, and she previously held the New Zealand record of 13 Group One wins until Melody Belle surpassed her in 2021.
Sunline led in most of her races, and sometimes settled just behind the leader; she was difficult to pass. She loved to win and was known for her fiery temperament.[1]
In 2006, Sunline was an inaugural inductee into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame, along with Carbine, Gloaming, Kindergarten, and Phar Lap.