Musical theatre responsible for "Les Misérables", which became the longest-running international musical hit in history. The team, in collaboration with Richard Maltby Jr., continued to produce hits, including "Miss Saigon", inspired by the Puccini opera "Madama Butterfly". The British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber saw similar success with "Evita", based on the life of Argentina's Eva Perón; "Cats", derived from the poems of T. S. Eliot (both of which musicals originally starred Elaine Paige); "Starlight Express", performed on roller skates; "The Phantom of the Opera", derived from the Gaston Leroux novel, "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra"; and "Sunset Boulevard" (from the classic film of
Puccini (horse) another three lengths away in third. Rated by rider Michael Walker as the best horse he's ever ridden, Puccini is now expected to go to Australia and target such races as the Australian Derby and Cox Plate. Puccini (horse) Puccini (foaled 25 September 2010) is a New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse. On 1 March 2014 he won the 139th running of the New Zealand Derby. Born in 2010, Puccini is a half-brother to six-time Group 1 winner Sir Slick. He is also closely related to stakes-winning and Group 1-placed sprinter Little Wonder, who won a Group 3 event on the undercard