The Phantom (horse)

The Phantom was a Group One winning New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who made several trips to Australia,[1] and completed a remarkable comeback later in his career. From three to five, The Phantom's highlights included wins in the Memsie and the Underwood Stakes, and he was third in the 1989 Caulfield Cup and second in the 1990 Melbourne Cup.

In 1991, aged five, The Phantom broke down and spent two-and-half years off the scene.

He returned to racing as an eight-year-old, in the spring of 1993, and immediately won a Group Three at Wanganui. Later in the same campaign, after finishing third in the Caulfield Cup, The Phantom won the Mackinnon Stakes, and reappeared in the new year to win the Cambridge Stud International Stakes and the 1994 New Zealand Horse of the Year Award.

The Phantom returned to Australia for a final campaign, as a nine-year-old, in the autumn of 1995 but was unable to recapture his best form.

The Phantom, a gelding by Noble Bijou out of The Fantasy, was a member of one of New Zealand's best-known Thoroughbred families. In recent times, this family features a number of horses whose names begin with 'The', including:

• 1981 Broodmare of the Year The Pixie (who produced The Twinkle and 1994 Broodmare of the Year The Fantasy),
• 1993 Cox Plate winner The Phantom Chance (a full-brother to The Phantom), and
• 2003 Broodmare of the Year The Grin.[2]