Prince Royal (horse)

Last updated
Prince Royal
Sire Ribot
Grandsire Tenerani
DamPange
DamsireKing's Bench
Sex Stallion
Foaled1961
CountryGreat Britain
Colour Bay
BreederCharles W. Wacker III
Owner1) Dr. Carlo Bassignana
Trainer1) Giuseppe Galbiati
2) Georges Bridgland
Record12: 7-0-1
Earnings 26,856,000 & 1,094,126
Major wins
Premio Tevere (1963)
Premio Besana (1964)
Gran Premio di Milano (1964)
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (1964)
Awards
Timeform rating 134 (1964) [1]
Timeform top-rated three-year-old (1964)

Prince Royal (19614 August 1983), known as Prince Royal II in the United States, was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning France's prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Thoroughbred Horse breed developed for racing

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are considered "hot-blooded" horses that are known for their agility, speed, and spirit.

Horse racing Equestrian sport

Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been unchanged since at least classical antiquity.

France Republic with mainland in Europe and numerous oversea territories

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.

Contents

Background

Bred by Charles W. Wacker III, Prince Royal was sired was the undefeated Italian runner and leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland, Ribot. [2] His dam, Pange, also produced Senibility, the grand-dam of the Breeders' Cup Turf winner Theatrical [3]

Italy republic in Southern Europe

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a European country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Italian Alps and surrounded by several islands. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean sea and traversed along its length by the Apennines, Italy has a largely temperate seasonal climate. The country covers an area of 301,340 km2 (116,350 sq mi) and shares open land borders with France, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. Italy has a territorial exclave in Switzerland (Campione) and a maritime exclave in the Tunisian sea (Lampedusa). With around 60 million inhabitants, Italy is the fourth-most populous member state of the European Union.

Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland

The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Galileo, who achieved his ninth title in 2017, when his progeny won over £15 million in prize money.

Ribot (horse)

Ribot was a British-bred Italian-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who is one of the Timeform top-rated racehorses of all time. Undefeated in sixteen races, he won over all distances, from 5 furlongs (1,000m) to 1m 7f (3,000m) in three countries and on all types of track conditions. He was the best Italian two-year-old of 1954, when his three wins included the Gran Criterium. He won his first four races of 1955 in Italy before being sent to France where he won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. In the following year he was even better, recording wide-margin victories in both the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Prince Royal was sold to Italy's Dr. Carlo Bassignana at the December 1961 Tattersalls sale for approximately $10,600 and sent into training with Giuseppe Galbiati in Italy.

Tattersalls auctioneer of race horses

Tattersalls is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Racing career

The colt began his career in racing at age two in Italy where he had one win in four of his 1963 starts with a third-place finish in Italy's most important race for his age group, the Gran Criterium. Racing at age three in 1964, Prince Royal won his first three starts before finishing fourth in the Gran Premio d'Italia. He came back to win the Gran Premio di Milano and ran away from the opposition to win the Premio Besana by fifteen lengths.

The Gran Criterium is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Milan over a distance of 1,500 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.

The Gran Premio d'Italia is a Listed flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.

The Gran Premio di Milano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.

Prince Royal was then sent to race in France. He ran in the Prix Royal-Oak in poor racing condition and was held back, finishing last to Baron Guy de Rothschild's winning colt, Barbieri. Negotiations, which had been going on prior to the Prix Royal-Oak, saw American Rex Ellsworth purchase Prince Royal for a reported US$400,000 who turned him over to French trainer, Georges Bridgland. For his new owner and trainer, Prince Royal was next entered in the October 4th running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Up against older horses, the three-year-old colt won the forty-third running of France's most important race. [4]

The Prix Royal-Oak is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,100 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October.

Guy de Rothschild Jewish-French banker, art collector, horse breeder

Baron Guy Édouard Alphonse Paul de Rothschild was a French banker and member of the Rothschild family. He owned the bank Rothschild Frères from 1967 to 1979, when it was nationalized by the French government, and maintained possessions in other French and foreign companies including Imerys. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1985.

Rex Cooper Ellsworth was a major owner in Thoroughbred racing and twice the leading breeder in the United States whose story was featured with a cover of the February 25, 1963 edition of Sports Illustrated magazine.

Following Prince Royal's Arc victory he was retired from racing and sent to the United States where he was registered as "Prince Royal II".

Assessment

In 1964, the Independent Timeform organisation awarded Prince Royal a rating of 134, making him the highest-rated three-year-old colt of the season ahead of The Derby winner Santa Claus. [1] In their book A Century of Champions, based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Prince Royal as an "average" winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. [5]

Timeform publishing company in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England founded in 1948

Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England founded in 1948 to provide information to fans, bettors, and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by the sports betting exchange Betfair in December 2006. Since 2 February 2016, it has been owned by Paddy Power Betfair.

Epsom Derby British Group 1 horse race for 3-year-olds over 1m 4f 10yds

The Derby Stakes, officially the Investec Derby, popularly known as the Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey over a distance of one mile, four furlongs and 6 yards, on the first Saturday of June each year.

Santa Claus (horse) Thoroughbred racehorse

Santa Claus (1961–1970) was a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He is most notable for his achievements as a three-year-old in 1964 when he won the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby, and the Irish Derby. His performances earned him the title of British Horse of the Year.

Prince Royal was the Italian Champion Three-Year-Old Colt of 1964. [6]

Stud record

Prince Royal served stud duty at owner Rex Ellworth's breeding operation in Southern California's Chino Valley from 1965 through 1973. He met with little success as a stallion, siring just seven stakes race winners from 268 foals. He did however have one son, Unconscious, who won the 1971 San Felipe Handicap and the 1972 Strub Stakes. Acquired by a Japanese breeder, he stood at stud in Japan from 1974 to 1983 and died on 4 August 1983. [7]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Prince Royal (GB), 1961 [8]
Sire
Ribot (GB)
1952
Tenerani (ITY)
1944
BelliniCavaliere D'Arpino
Bella Minna
TofanellaApelle
Try Try Again
Romanella (ITY)
1943
El Greco Pharos
Gay Gamp
Barbara Burrini Papyrus
Bucolic
Dam
Pange (GB)
1955
King's Bench (GB)
1949
Court Martial Fair Trial
Instantaneous
King's CrossKing Salmon
Doublure
York Gala (GB)
1939
His Grace Blandford
Malva
Princess GalahadPrince Galahad
Penny Flyer (Family: 3-h) [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1990). Horse Racing: Records, Facts, Champions (Third Edition). Guinness Publishing. ISBN   0-85112-902-1.
  2. Bowen, Edward L. (2004). Legacies of the turf: a century of great Thoroughbred breeders, volume 2. Lexington, KY: Eclipse Press. p. 175. ISBN   1-58150-117-X.
  3. 1 2 "Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Violante - Family 3-h". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  4. Staff (October 5, 1964). "U.S. horse Paris victor". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  5. Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press. ISBN   978-1-901570-15-1.
  6. Staff. "Charming Kitten". Equineline. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  7. Staff. "Prince Royal". Japan Race Horse Registry. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  8. "Prince Royal pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2013-08-25.