Background
Oath is a small, "neat" bay horse bred in Ireland by Mrs Max Morris. He was from one of the last groups of foals sired by the Northern Dancer stallion Fairy King out of the Troy mare Sheer Audacity. Apart from Oath, Fairy King, who died in 1999, sired the winners of over five-hundred races, including Helissio (Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe) and Falbrav (Japan Cup).
His dam, Sheer Audacity produced several good winners,the most notable being Pelder, who won three Group One races, including the Prix Ganay.
As a yearling, Oath was sent to the Goffs sales in County Kildare, where he was bought for IR£450,000 by The Thoroughbred Corporation, a syndicate headed by the Saudi prince Ahmed Salman (1958–2003). Like all of Salman's horses, which included War Emblem, Point Given and Royal Anthem, Oath raced in a distinctive white bridle.
He was originally sent into training with Roger Charlton at Beckhampton, but after his first race he was moved to the stable of Henry Cecil at Newmarket. After his move, he was ridden in all his races by Kieren Fallon.
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