Almandin (foaled 27 March 2010) is a

Thoroughbred 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 c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

bred in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and trained in Germany and Australia. He was the winner of the 2016 Melbourne Cup, ridden by

Kerrin McEvoy Kerrin McEvoy (born 28 October 1980) is an Australian jockey who is best known for winning three Melbourne Cups. In Europe, McEvoy rode several big winners for Godolphin including Rule of Law in the St Leger Stakes at Doncaster in 2004 and Ibn ...

and trained by

Robert Hickmott Robert Hickmott (born 28 January 1969) is an Australian racehorse trainer and former Australian rules footballer, who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). In 2012, he became the first former football ...

Background

Almandin is a bay gelding bred in Germany by . He was sired by

Monsun Monsun (4 March 1990 – 9 September 2012) was a bay (horse), bay Thoroughbred horse, racehorse and stallion bred in Germany by Gestüt Isarland and owned by Georg von Ullmann, Baron Georg von Ullmann. Background Monsun was a son of Germany's f ...

, who also sired the 2013 Melbourne Cup winner,

Fiorente Fiorente (foaled 2008) is a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Ireland and trained in Australia. When racing in Europe, he showed high-class form, winning the Princess of Wales's Stakes in 2012. He had greater success when campaigned in Australia, ...

, and the 2014 Melbourne Cup winner,

Protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

. Almandin's dam Anatola was a half-sister to the German Oaks winner Amarette.

Racing career

In his first two seasons, Almandin was trained in Europe by Wilhelm Giedt and then Jean-Pierre Carvalho and raced in France and Germany. On 1 June 2014 he recorded his biggest victory in Europe when he won the Group Two

Grosser Preis der Badischen Unternehmen The Grosser Preis der Badischen Wirtschaft is a Group 2 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take ...

over 2000 metres, beating

by three quarters of a

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...

. He then had a lengthy spell due to an issue with a tendon. In 2016, Almandin began racing in Australia, in the colours of Lloyd Williams and trained by

. Williams syndicated the gelding with music promoter

Michael Gudinski Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (22 August 1952 – 2 March 2021) was an Australian record executive and promoter who was a leading figure in the Australian music industry. Born and raised in Melbourne to Jewish Russian immigrants, Gudinski formed ...

, Sydney businessman and thoroughbred owner John Ingham,

Quiksilver Quiksilver is a brand of surf-inspired apparel and accessories that was founded in 1969 in Torquay, Australia, but is now based in Huntington Beach, California. It is one of the world's largest brands of surfwear and boardsport-related equipm ...

founder Alan Green,

Rip Curl Rip Curl is a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of Surfing#Equipment, surfing sportswear (also known as ''boardwear'') and accompanying products, and a major athletic sponsor. Rip Curl has become one of the largest surfing companies in Aust ...

co-founder Brian Singer and construction industry figures Vin Sammartino and Phil Mehrten. In his first Australian run, over 1600 metres in June 2016, Almandin finished sixth; he then recorded two further unplaced finishes. On 24 September 2016, he won the Listed Harry White Classic over 2400 metres at

Caulfield Racecourse Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is located nine kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, on the boundary of Caulfield and Caulfield East in Melbourne's south eastern suburbs. The Reserve was set aside for three purposes, racing, recreation and a publi ...

beating his stablemate Assign by two lengths. Eight days later, he was moved up in class and distance for the Group 3

Bart Cummings James Bartholomew Cummings (14 November 1927 – 30 August 2015), also known by his initials J. B. Cummings, was one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He was known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as he w ...

over 2500 metres at Flemington. Ridden as in his previous start by

Damien Oliver Damien Oliver (born 22 June 1972) is an Australian thoroughbred racing jockey. Oliver comes from a racing family; his father Ray Oliver had a successful career until his death in a race fall during the 1975 Kalgoorlie cup in Western Australia. ...

he started favourite and won by one and a half lengths from Zanteca. On 1 November 2016, Almandin started at odds of around 10/1 for the Melbourne Cup at Flemington. Ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, he engaged in a stirring duel with the Irish challenger Heartbreak City for most of the straight, before taking the lead and winning in the final strides.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist Melbourne Cup winners Thoroughbred family 2-n 2010 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Germany Racehorses trained in Germany Racehorses trained in Australia Individual male horses