Arctique Royale (22 April 1978 – 2000) was an Irish

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 and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. As a two-year-old she made only two appearances, winning a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

at the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

on her debut and then taking the

Moyglare Stud Stakes The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled ...

at the same track. She was beaten on her first run of 1982 but then recorded her biggest win in the

Irish 1000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

. She was beaten in her last four races and was retired from racing at the end of the year. She had considerable success as a broodmare.

Background

Arctique Royale was a "lightly-made" bay mare with no white markings bred in Ireland by her owner Paddy Prendergast. She was trained throughout her racing career by her breeder's son

Kevin Prendergast Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

. She was sired by Royal and Regal, an American stallion who recorded his biggest win in the 1973

Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturd ...

. Her dam Arctic Melody was a top-class racemare who defeated

Aunt Edith Aunt Edith (1962–1986) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and broodmare. In a career which lasted from 1964 until October 1966 she ran nine times and won four races. As a three-year-old in 1965 she won the Nassau Stakes and the Prix Vermeil ...

in the 1965 edition of the

Musidora Stakes The Musidora Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () at ...

before becoming a successful broodmare. Her other foals included Racquette (third in the

Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it is s ...

) and Le Melody, the dam of Ardross and the female-line ancestor of

Electrocutionist Electrocutionist (February 24, 2001 - September 9, 2006) was a Thoroughbred racehorse. Electrocutionist won eight of his 12 career starts, including three Grade I's, and won more than $5.6 million. Racing four times for the operation based in bo ...

and

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

Racing career

1980: two-year-old season

On her racecourse debut Arctique Royale started favourite for a

over five

furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

at the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse -- usually referred to as simply the Curragh -- is one of Ireland's most important Thoroughbred racecourses. It is situated on the Curragh plain in County Kildare, between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. History T ...

in May and won by two and a half

lengths 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 Intern ...

from Hear A Rhapsody after drawing clear of her ten opponents in the closing stages. Paddy Prendergast died in June and for the rest of the year the filly was owned by the

executor An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used. Overview An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...

s of his estate. After a three-month break the filly returned in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (the a Group Two race over six furlongs) at the Curragh in August. Starting the 5/4 favourite she accelerated in the final furlong and won by a length from Lady Tiffany with the early leader Lady Nightingale three quarters of a length back in third place. Kevin Prendergast did not run the filly again that year, stating that she needed more time to mature.

1982: three-year-old season

Before the start of the 1982 season Arctique Royale was bought privately by the French owner Jean-Pierre Binet. The filly began her second campaign in the

Athasi Stakes The Athasi Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres) at the Curragh in earl ...

over seven furlongs at the Curragh in April and sustained her first defeat as she finished fourth behind Martinova, Overplay and Castlemaine. On 23 May, ridden by

Gabriel Curran Gabriel Curran (died 2008) was an Irish flat racing jockey. Curran rode the winners of two Irish Classic Races during his career as well as the English 2,000 Guineas on Nebbiolo in 1977. He rode for trainer Kevin Prendergast and after retiring ...

, she was one of fifteen three-year-old fillies to contest the Irish 1000 Guineas over one mile on heavy ground at the Curragh. Martinova started favourite ahead of

Blue Wind Blue Wind (3 May 1978 – 21 June 1996) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the classic Oaks Stakes in 1981. She showed promising form as a two-year-old in 1980 when she won two of her five races includ ...

with Arctique Royale the 7/1 joint third choice in the betting alongside the British-trained Star Pastures. In the last quarter mile the race devolved into a prolonged struggle between Arctique Royale and Blue Wind, with the Prendergast filly prevailing by a short head after a "fierce duel". Her win gave "Squibs" Curran his second and final Irish Classic after

Nebbiolo Nebbiolo (, ; pms, nebieul ) is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero, G ...

in the 1977

Irish 2000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...

. Arctique Royale ran four more times before the end of the season without recovering her Classic winning form. At the Curragh in late June she was stepped up in distance for the Pretty Polly Stakes over ten furlongs but was beaten three lengths into second place by Happy Bride, a filly who had finished fifth in the Guineas. It was later reported that she had come into

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

shortly before the race. In the

on 18 July she started the 7/2 second favourite but never looked likely to win and finished sixth of the ten runners behind Blue Wind. After a two-month break she returned to the track and was matched against male opposition in the Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

. She started a 16/1 outsider and finished sixth behind her owner's more fancied runner Kings Lake. On her final run she was sent to France and finished unplaced in the

Prix de l'Opéra The Prix de l'Opéra is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it ...

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

in October.

Assessment

In 1980 the independent

Timeform Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by ...

organisation gave Arctique Royal a rating of 102 p (the p indicating that she was expected to improve), making her 22 pounds inferior to Timeform's top two-year-old filly

Marwell Marwell Zoo is a zoo situated in Colden Common near Winchester, in the English county of Hampshire. It is owned and run by the registered charity Marwell Wildlife. The zoo is home to 1,208 animals of 149 species. The charity undertakes a rang ...

. In the Irish Free Handicap she was given a weight of 113 pounds, three pounds behind her stablemate Lady Blackfoot, who was the top-rated Irish-trained juvenile filly of the year. In the 1981 Irish Free Handicap Arctiue Royale was rated the fourth-best three-year-old filly in Ireland behind Blue Wind,

Condessa Condessa (15 March 1978 – 2005) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. In two seasons of racing she was highly tried, racing twenty-one times, winning five times and finishing second twice. As a two-year-old she won two minor races from eigh ...

and Happy Bride. Timeform gave her a rating of 113, 20 pounds behind their best three-year-old filly

Breeding record

After retiring from racing, Arctique Royale became a broodmare. She produced fifteen foals and eight winners between 1983 and 1998: *Lake Success, a colt, foaled in 1983, sired by Kings Lake. Winner in France. *Gold and Glory, bay colt, 1984, by

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where P ...

*Truly Special, bay filly, 1985, by

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

. Won races in France and Italy, female-line ancestor of Moonstone (Irish Oaks), Cerulean Sky (

Prix Saint-Alary The Prix Saint-Alary is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred Filly, fillies. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse, Longchamp ove ...

), Naval Crown and

US Army Ranger United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

. *All of Me, bay colt, 1986, by Be My Guest. Won two races. *Unheard Melody, filly, 1987, by Lomond *Armorique, bay filly, 1988, by

Top Ville Top Ville (5 April 1976 – November 13, 1998) was an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In the autumn of 1978, the colt established himself as one of the leading two-year-old colts in France with wins in the Prix Sa ...

. Failed to win in five races. *Modhish, bay colt, 1989, by

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

. Won three races including the

Grand Prix de Deauville The Grand Prix de Deauville is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,500 metres (about 1 mile and 4½ furl ...

and

Prix Jean de Chaudenay The Prix Jean de Chaudenay was a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It was run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it was scheduled to take place each year in May or ...

. *Zeami, bay colt, 1990, by

Soviet Star Soviet Star (20 April 1984 – 7 October 2014) was an American-bred French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was bred in Kentucky, sold as a yearling for $310,000 and sent to race in Europe where he proved to be an outstanding sprinter ...

*Arctique Lady, filly, 1991, by

Last Tycoon Last Tycoon (9 May 1983 – 27 May 2006) was an Irish bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the Breeders' Cup Mile and as a leading sire in Australia. Background Last Tycoon was bred in Ireland by his owner Richard C. Strauss's Ki ...

*Russian Snows, bay filly, 1992, by Sadler's Wells. Won four races including the

Prix de Royallieu The Prix de Royallieu is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,800 metres (about 1 mile and ...

. *Truly Generous, chestnut filly, 1993, by Generous. Won two races including the Listed Prix Petite Étoile. *Antarctique, bay colt, 1994, by Sadler's Wells. Won three races. Successful sire of jumpers. *Banquise, bay filly, 1995, by Last Tycoon. Won one race. *Enteshal, bay colt, (later

gelded A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, making th ...

), 1997, by Sadler's Wells *Marghub, bay colt, (later

), 1998, by

Darshaan Darshaan (18 April 1981 – 21 May 2001) was a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and a Champion sire and broodmare sire. Background Darshaan was a brown horse bred by his owner Aga Khan IV. He was sired by the British stallion ...

. Failed to win in fifteen races.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1978 racehorse births 2000 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 23 Irish Classic Race winners