Rayon d'Or

Rayon d'Or
Sire	Flageolet
Grandsire	Plutus
Dam	Araucaria
Damsire	Ambrose
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1876
Country	France
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	Haras de Dangu
Owner	Frédéric de Lagrange (France); William L. Scott (USA)
Trainer	Tom Jennings, Sr.
Record	23: 17-2-3
Earnings	F500,000+
Major wins
	Lavant Stakes (1878); Newmarket Glasgow Stakes (1878); Clearwell Stakes (1878); Challenge Stakes (1879); Champion Stakes (1879); Great Foal Stakes (1879); Sussex Stakes (1879); Zetland Stakes (1879); St. James's Palace Stakes (1879); Prix du Cadran (1880); Prix Rainbow (1880); Rous Memorial Stakes (1880); British Classic Race wins:; St. Leger Stakes (1879)
Awards
	Leading sire in North America (1889)
	Last updated on January 6, 2010

Last updated May 04, 2019

Rayon d'Or (1876–1896) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion sire in the United States. Bred by Frédéric de Lagrange at his Haras de Dangu stud farm in Dangu, Eure, he was sired by Flageolet whose wins included the Prix Morny (1872), Goodwood Cup (1873) and Jockey Club Cup (1873) and whom Rayon d'Or would help make the Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1879. Rayon d'Or's dam was the good producing mare Araucaria, sired by Ambrose. Araucaria was the last foal of the mare Pocahontas whom Thoroughbred Heritage says is "one of the most influential thoroughbreds of all time, male or female."

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.

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 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.

Rayon d'Or was conditioned for racing by Tom Jennings, Sr., a member of the pioneering English Racing Colony at Chantilly, Oise. Jennings was the trainer of Gladiateur, winner of the British Triple Crown in 1865.

Chantilly is a commune in the Oise department in the valley of the Nonette in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. Surrounded by Chantilly Forest, the town of 11,000 inhabitants falls within the metropolitan area of Paris. It lies 38.4 km north-northeast of the centre of Paris and together with six neighbouring communes forms an urban area of 36,474 inhabitants.

Gladiateur (1862–1876) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who won the English Triple Crown in 1865. Gladiateur is called a legend by France Galop and "One of the best horses ever to grace the turf in any century" by the National Sporting Library of Middleburg, Virginia. Gladiateur was not very successful as a sire but his performance on the track remains one of the most impressive in Thoroughbred horse racing history.

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing 3-race horse honor in various countries

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, comprises three races for three-year-old thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment in thoroughbred racing. The term originated in mid-19th century England and nations where thoroughbred racing is popular each have their own Triple Crown series.

Rayon d'Or raced from age two through four, winning important races in England and France at distances of one mile to mile and a quarter such as the Sussex and Champion Stakes, and at endurance distances such as the 4,000 meter Prix du Cadran at Longchamp Racecourse and the Prix Rainbow at 5,000 meters. Rayon d'Or's most important win came in the Classic St. Leger Stakes.

The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late July or early August.

The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs, and it is scheduled to take place as part of British Champions Day each year in October.

Prix du Cadran Flat horse race in France

The Prix du Cadran is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 4,000 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in early October.

Stud record

Rayon d'Or was retired to stud at Haras de Dangu where he sired only a few foals before being sold in the dispersal of the Haras de Dangu horses in November 1882. He was purchased by American businessman, and former member of the United States House of Representatives, William Scott. Rayon d'Or was brought to the United States to stand at Scott's Algeria Stock Farm at Erie, Pennsylvania where he sired most of his major winners. In 1889 he became the first French-bred stallion to top the American leading sires list. Scott died in 1892, and the Algeria Stud was dispersed. Rayon d'Or was purchased by August Belmont Jr. who stood him at his Nursery Stud in Kentucky.

A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is intact—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring. A specialized vocabulary exists for de-sexed animals and those animals used in grading up to a purebred status.

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they compose the legislature of the United States.

William Lawrence Scott was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania as well as a prominent horse breeder and horse racer.

Rayon d'Or notably sired:

Tea Tray (b. 1885) - won Monmouth Handicap (1890)
Gypsy Queen (b. 1886) - won Spinaway Stakes (1888), Gazelle Stakes (1889)
Tenny (b. 1886) - won Brooklyn Handicap (1890)
Chaos (b. 1887) - won the 1889 Futurity Stakes
Banquet (b. 1887) - on July 18, 1890, he set a new North American record of 2:03.75 for a mile and a quarter on dirt. Won 1891 Monmouth Handicap, 1892 Manhattan Handicap
Liza (b. 1892) - won Swift Stakes (1894), Travers Stakes (1895)
Soufflé (b. 1893) - in 1896 she won the Kentucky Oaks, Latonia Oaks, and Jerome Handicap. Named the retrospective American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly
Don de Oro (b. 1894) - won Tremont Stakes (1896), Kenner Stakes (1897)
Octagon (b. 1894) - won Toboggan Handicap (1897, 1898), Withers Stakes (1897), Brooklyn Derby (1897). Sire of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame filly, Beldame.

The Philip H. Iselin Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to horses three years of age and older, the race was first run in 1884. In 1891, New Jersey state legislators began a move to ban parimutuel betting and the race had to be moved to the Jerome Park Racetrack and the Morris Park Racetrack in The Bronx, New York. With a legislated permanent ban, after the 1893 running, the Monmouth Park Racetrack was shut down and the property sold. In 1946, Thoroughbred racing returned to a new Monmouth Park facility, spurred on by the burgeoning American economy after the end of World War II.

The Spinaway Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old fillies, it is a Grade I event contested at a distance of seven furlongs on dirt. The Spinaway is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, providing a "Win and You're In" berth for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

The Gazelle Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, New York. Open to three-year-old fillies, it is a Grade II event run over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on dirt. The race is sometimes a stepping stone to the Breeders' Cup Distaff. Until 2004, the race name was the Gazelle Handicap.

Through another of his daughters, St Priscilla, Rayon d'Or was also the damsire of the outstanding runner, Stromboli.

Rayon d'Or died at Nursery Stud on July 15, 1896 at age twenty.

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References

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