Wikipedia
Alinghi is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup, as well as other competitions. Bertarelli had raced several smaller yachts named Alinghi previously, but 2003 was his first attempt at the America's Cup. Alinghi challenged for and won the 2003 America's Cup in Auckland New Zealand and successfully defended it at the 2007 America's Cup in Valencia, Spain. Alinghi lost the America's Cup to the Golden Gate Yacht Club and their team BMW Oracle Racing in a Deed of Gift match in Valencia, Spain in February 2010.
For the 2003 event, Team New Zealand as the holder of the America's Cup, in consultation with Prada, the Challenger of Record, removed the nationality rule that stipulated that all of the crew members must be nationals of the challenging syndicate.
Alinghi took full advantage of this rule change and hired many of the world's top America's Cup sailors particularly from New Zealand. New Zealanders saw the defection of key members of Team New Zealand to Alinghi as an act of disloyalty to their home countryunderstandable against a background of strong nationwide public support for Team New Zealand that they saw as representing their country rather than just representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
After a series of discussions with Team New Zealand it was announced that they would compete in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in 2009.
In July 2010, it appeared that the team was being disbanded and would not compete in future America's Cups. On 26 November 2010, Alinghi formally confirmed that it would not participate in the 2013 America's Cup.
Alinghi (foaled 20 August 2001) is an Australian Thoroughbred racemare who won four Group One races, including the Newmarket Handicap and A$4,161,740 in prize money. She was by the leading sire, Encosta De Lago from Oceanfast by Monde Bleu (GB). Oceanfast's racing record was 12 starts for 2 wins, 3 seconds and 3 thirds for $82,760 and Alinghi is her only stakes winner up until July 2009.
Alinghi was trained by Lee Freedman. She is one of the few fillies to win the Newmarket Handicap in just her 3-year old year of racing, the Newmarket Handicap is the greatest sprint race in Australia and has been won by some of the greatest horses to have been seen in Australia such as Placid Ark, Schillaci, Bernborough, Wakeful, Ajax and more recently by Takeover Target, Weekend Hussler and Black Caviar.
Some of Alinghi's other Group 1 wins were the AAMI Blue Diamond Stakes which is the second best Juvenile stakes race in Australia, the Ascot Vale which is Victoria’s premier three-year-old sprint race, the Thousand Guineas which is run over 1,600 metres and the Robert Sangster Stakes, a 1,200-metre race held in South Australia.
Over Alinghi's short career she beat other Group 1 winners including Hollow Bullet and most notably another three-year-old champion in Fastnet Rock.
Alinghi was never unplaced until her last start in Australia which was her sixteenth start, she finished fourth in the T J Smith Stakes at Randwick Racecourse.
Alinghi was later sent to the United States where her race conditioning was taken over by U.S. Racing Hall of Famer trainer, Robert Frankel. Alinghi won her first start in the Grade III Ballston Spa Handicap over 1,700 metres at Saratoga Race Course on 30 August 2005 before finishing eighth in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes at Keeneland in Kentucky. Alinghi was retired in late 2005 after suffering a tendon injury at track work in America while being prepared for her next start at Santa Anita Park and was retired to Arrowfield Stud.
Alingi's dam Oceanfast elevated herself to elite status at Easter of 2008 when her Encosta De Lago yearling set a new record of $2.6 million for a filly sold in Australia.