1998: two-year-old season Fantastic Light never ran in a
maiden race, instead making his debut against more experienced colts in a minor stakes race at
Sandown in August 1998. He started slowly and showed his inexperience ("ran green") before taking the lead in the closing stages and winning by one and three quarter
lengths from
Sicnee, with the future
Diadem Stakes winner,
Sampower Star in third. He followed up in a similar event at the same course three weeks later, beating
Aesops by three quarters of a length after leading close to the finish. This performance attracted some attention, with one commentator identifying him as "a promising young stayer". On his last start of the year he was moved up to
Listed class, and finished last of the three starters in the Stardom Stakes at
Goodwood.
1999: three-year-old season Fantastic Light began his three-year-old season with his first
Group race win in the
Sandown Classic Trial. Ridden by Daryll Holland, he took the lead a
furlong out and was eased in the closing stages to win by a short head. Speculation that he might develop into a
Derby contender ended in his next race, when he was stepped up to one and a half miles for the first time and finished fourth of the five runners in the
Lingfield Derby Trial. Fantastic Light was brought back to a mile and a quarter, and produced placed efforts on his next two starts. At
Royal Ascot in June, he was beaten a head by
Lear Spear in the
Prince of Wales's Stakes (then a Group Two race), and at Sandown three weeks later he finished third, beaten a neck and half a length behind
Compton Admiral and
Xaar in the Group One
Eclipse Stakes. In August Fantastic Light recorded his first win at Group Two level as he led three furlongs out and ran on to win a strongly contested
Great Voltigeur Stakes from
Bienamado (
Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes,
San Juan Capistrano Handicap,
Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap) and the future
St Leger winner
Mutafaweq. A month later, he won a third important race by holding off the
1998 Epsom Derby winner
High-Rise by three quarters of a length in the Listed
Arc Trial at
Newbury. On his final start of the season, Fantastic Light was moved up to the highest level for the
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and finished a remote eleventh of the thirteen runners behind
Montjeu.
2000: four-year-old season Fantastic Light's first run of 2000 was also his last for the
Stoute stable. He was sent to Dubai for the
Sheema Classic, in which he faced a field including runners from Britain, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and Argentina. Ridden by
Kieren Fallon, he took the lead in the straight ("far too soon" according to his jockey) and went clear to beat the German horse
Caitano by three lengths, with High-Rise third. In winning, Fantastic Light broke the
Nad Al Sheba track record for one and a half miles by more than a second. Shortly after the race it was announced that Fantastic Light would not return to Michael Stoute, but would be transferred to
Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin Racing team and be trained by
Saeed bin Suroor. against the favourite
Montjeu. In Autumn, Godolphin campaigned Fantastic Light in the United States. At
Belmont Park in September he started odds-on favourite and won the
Man o' War Stakes "comfortably", to record his first Grade I victory. In this race he was ridden by
Jerry Bailey, who claimed that he had always had the other runners "at his mercy" despite having to come round the outside of the field. In all his remaining ten starts Fantastic Light was ridden by
Frankie Dettori. He disappointed in a return to Belmont for the
Turf Classic, finishing fourth to
John's Call, a horse he had beaten in the Man o' War. He then finished to fifth
Kalanisi in the
Breeders' Cup Turf at
Churchill Downs, although in this case he had a legitimate excuse, having been blocked twice when Dettori attempted to find space for a challenge. For his last two starts of the year, Fantastic Light was sent to East Asia. In November, in the
Japan Cup he stayed on strongly in the closing stages to finish a close third, beaten a neck and a nose by
T. M. Opera O and
Meisho Doto. Dettori reportedly felt that the slow pace was the reason for his defeat. Despite three successive defeats, Fantastic Light still managed to end the season with a major victory. In December he was sent to
Sha Tin for the
Hong Kong Cup and justified favouritism by leading in the straight and staying on strongly to beat
Greek Dance and
Jim and Tonic. The win earned Fantastic Light top place in the Emirates World Series, a competition in which points were awarded for performances in a number of international races.
2001: five-year-old season Spring In March he attempted to win a second Sheema Classic and almost succeeded, taking the lead a furlong out, but being caught on the line and beaten a nose by the Japanese outsider
Stay Gold. Despite the defeat, his connections announced that they were "delighted" with the performance. As in 2000, Fantastic Light spent the middle of the season racing in Europe. At the end of May he was sent to Ireland where he won the
Tattersalls Gold Cup, taking the lead a furlong from the finish and beating
Golden Snake by a neck with
Kalanisi third. After the race, Godolphin's racing manager, Simon Crisford, said that Fantastic Light would be aimed at the top middle-distance races in Europe, calling him "very special... a fantastic horse".
Summer Despite this result, Kalanisi was made favourite when the horses met again in the
Prince of Wales's Stakes (by this time a Group One race) at
Royal Ascot, a contest that was expected to be one of the best of the meeting. Fantastic Light raced behind the leaders before being moved up by Dettori to take the lead in the straight. He soon went clear with what
The Daily Telegraph described as a "ruthless display of speed", and although Kalanisi attempted to challenge, Fantastic Light stayed on to win "comfortably" by two and a half lengths. After the race,
Sheikh Mohammed talked confidently about a meeting with the unbeaten
Derby winner
Galileo. As in the Prince of Wales's Stakes, Dettori settled Fantastic Light in the early stages before moving him out to challenge in the straight. Galileo had already taken the lead but Fantastic Light moved up and went level a furlong out. The two horses raced side by side for several strides, but Galileo then pulled ahead to win by two lengths.
Autumn The second meeting between Fantastic Light and Galileo was scheduled for the Irish Champion Stakes at
Leopardstown in September and was highly anticipated. This time Dettori rode Fantastic Light more positively as part of an agreed Godolphin plan, sending him past the
Ballydoyle pacemaker to take the lead two furlongs out. Michael Kinane immediately brought Galileo to challenge and the two horses raced alongside each other all the way to the line. Galileo appeared to gain a slight advantage, but Fantastic Light, stayed on strongly under pressure to regain the lead and win by a head in a "thrilling" contest. The British Horseracing Authority described the event as "one of the greatest races witnessed throughout the current decade", whilst readers of the
Racing Post placed it seventh (the third highest for a flat race) in their list of the 100 Greatest Races. For Fantastic Light's final start, he was sent back to America for a second attempt at the
Breeders' Cup, held in October 2001 at
Belmont Park. It was expected that he would run against Galileo again in the
Classic, while Godolphin's
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner,
Sakhee was aimed for the
Breeders' Cup Turf. Shortly before the race, however, the two Godolphin horses switched targets, the rationale apparently being that Sakhee would be better suited by the dirt surface. In the
Turf, Dettori placed Fantastic Light just behind the pace as the race was led first by
With Anticipation and then by
Timboroa. Making his challenge in the straight, Fantastic Light took the lead just over a furlong out and held off the strong late challenge of the
St Leger winner
Milan to win by three quarters of a length, with the rest of the runners more than five lengths further back. The time of 2:24.36 was a new course record. Summarising Fantastic Light's career, Crisford called him "the ultimate modern-day racehorse." A projected run in the Japan Cup did not materialise and his retirement was announced shortly afterwards. He had already amassed sufficient points to secure a second Emirates World Series. ==Race record==