Indian Skimmer is a United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

. Bred by MIT graduate Ronald J. Worswick in partnership with Ashford Stud

Ashford Stud

Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky is the American arm of the international commercial Thoroughbred horse breeding operation Coolmore Stud of County Tipperary in the Republic of Ireland.Twelve stallions will stand at Ashford Stud in 2011....

 in Versailles, Kentucky

Versailles, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...

, the gray

Gray (horse)

Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...

 filly is out of the mare Nobilaire and sired by Storm Bird

Storm Bird

Storm Bird was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse in Ireland. He was a son of 1964 U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt Northern Dancer, "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history." At age 2,trained by Vincent O'Brien, he won all five starts and was voted Champion in England and Ireland...

. Her grandsire was Northern Dancer

Northern Dancer

Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....

, the top sire of the 20th Century and her damsire was Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...

 winner, Vaguely Noble

Vaguely Noble

Vaguely Noble was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in the United Kingdom and France. The colt is best known as the winner of the 1968 Group one Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe when he defeated the best horses from England, France, Ireland and Italy...

. She was named for the rare Indian Skimmer

Skimmer

The Skimmers, Rynchopidae, are a small family of tern-like birds in the order Charadriiformes, which also includes the waders, gulls and auks. The family comprises three species found in South Asia, Africa, and the Americas....

 (Rynchops albicollis), a bird.

Raced by Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:...

, Indian Skimmer won important Group One

Group One

Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...

 races against the top fillies of the day, including a victory over the great Miesque

Miesque

Miesque was a champion Thoroughbred racemare, best known as the first horse to win two consecutive Breeders' Cups and racing awards in Europe and America. She was a Group one winner at two, three and four-years-old, for a total of 10 G1 wins. She produced five stakes winners.-Breeding:Miesque was...

 in the 1987 Prix de Diane

Prix de Diane

The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies...

. In 1988 she beat some of the best colts

Colt (horse)

A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age....

 in England, Ireland and France. Sent to Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...

 in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, she finished third to Great Communicator

Great Communicator

Great Communicator is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1988 Breeders' Cup Turf.Great Communicator suffered a breakdown in the 1990 Carleton F. Burke Handicap at Santa Anita Park and had to be euthanized.-References:...

 in that year's Breeders' Cup Turf

Breeders' Cup Turf

The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...

.

Retired from racing at the end of the 1989 season. As a broodmare, she produced the Mr. Prospector

Mr. Prospector

Mr. Prospector was a thoroughbred racehorse foaled in Kentucky, whose descendants have been dominant in the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. He won half of his 14 career races.-Background:...

 colt, Manshood, who is the sire of the champion South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n mare, Ipi Tombe

Ipi Tombe

Ipi Tombe is a champion Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was bred by Peter J. Moor, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association of Zimbabwe...

.