Surfers Paradise (14 October 1987 - c.1999) was a New ZealandThoroughbredracehorse who is best remembered for winning the Cox Plate in 1991. By Crested Wave, Surfers Paradise was named after Queensland's iconic beachside strip.
At two and three, he won 10 of his 13 starts, including the New Zealand 2000 Guineas, the New Zealand Derby, the Air New Zealand Stakes, and the Rosehill Guineas, but finished sixth, as 10/9 favourite (approximately $2.10), in the AJC Derby when attempting to win his ninth race in a row. At four, Surfers Paradise mixed his form in the early part of the spring, with unplaced runs on wet tracks interspersed with seconds to Rough Habit in the Mudgway Stakes and Castletown in the Kelt Capital Stakes. As a result, Surfers Paradise was an outsider, at 14/1, for his Australian reappearance in the Cox Plate. Entering Moonee Valley's short home straight, an audible roar breaks out from the crowd as Super Impose races to the lead, and dies away to silence as Surfers Paradise takes over midway down the straight. The trainer of the runner-up, Lee Freedman, quipped that it was the first time anything had ever come from behind to beat Super Impose. Freedman later reflected that it was a 'funny feeling' in that, while he would have preferred to win, he was 'happy' that the O'Sullivans (trainers Paul and Dave and jockey Lance) had won because he had always had friendly relations with them and they had finished second in three previous runnings of the race - with Shivaree (1979), (Our) Waverley Star (1986), and Horlicks (1988). Surfers Paradise became the third New Zealand Derby winner - after Bonecrusher (1985) and Castletown (1989) - to pass $2 million in prizemoney. After this preparation, Surfers Paradise had a further 22 starts in New Zealand, and won six races, including the Hawke's Bay Cup. In three subsequent visits to Australia, however, he finished near the tail of the field in each of his six starts.
"Pretty Brown Eyes" was released as the lead single from the album on April 23, 2013.
"Summertime of Our Lives" was released as the second single from the album on June 18, 2013
"La Da Dee" was released as the third single from the album on September 12, 2013. This song was featured in the film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 24,000 copies in its first week. The album has sold 62,000 copies in the US as of June 2015.
In Canada, the album debuted at No. 2 on the Top Canadian Albums chart.
Surfers Paradise is a suburb within the local government area of City of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. At the 2011 census, Surfers Paradise had a population of 19,668. Colloquially known as 'Surfers', the suburb has many high-rise apartment buildings and a wide surf beach. The feature of the heart of the suburb is Cavill Mall, which runs through the shopping and entertainment precinct. Cavill Avenue, named after Jim Cavill, an early hotel owner, is one of the busiest shopping strips in Queensland, and the centre of activity for night life. One of the features of the area is the Surfers Paradise Meter Maids designed to build goodwill with tourists.
Surfers Paradise is the Gold Coast's entertainment and tourism centre and the suburbs high-rise buildings are the best known feature of the city's skyline.
History
James Beattie, a farmer, became the first European to settle in the area when he staked out an 80-acre (32ha) farm on the northern bank of the Nerang River, close to present-day Cavill Avenue. The farm proved unsuccessful and was sold in 1877 to German immigrantJohan Meyer, who turned the land into a sugar farm and mill. Meyer also had little luck growing in the sandy soil and within a decade had auctioned the farm and started a ferry service and built the Main Beach hotel. By 1889, Meyer's hotel had become a post receiving office and subdivisions surrounding it were named Elston, named by the Southport postmaster after his wife's home in Southport, Lancashire, England. The Main Beach Hotel licence lapsed after Meyer's death in 1901 and for 16 years Elston was a tourist town without a hotel or post office.
The surfer’s paradise of Sydney’s northern beaches in Australia are a world away, in every sense, from grimy London... The surfer’s paradise of Sydney’s northern beaches in Australia are a world away, in every sense, from grimy London.
The horses were competing in an annual 'mock race day' on the sand at Surfers Paradise Beach, an event which sees celebrities and VIPs ride horses along the sand in front of hundreds of onlookers.
