Brulette (1928 – December 1950) was a French-bred

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 ...

racehorse and broodmare. After winning one minor race as a juvenile she emerged as a top-class middle-distance horse in the following year, winning the Prix Penelope and the

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards ...

as well as finishing second in the

Prix Vermeille The Prix Vermeille 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 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), a ...

and fourth in the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

. When campaigned over longer distances in 1932 she won the

Prix du Cadran 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 (about 2 miles), and it is scheduled to ta ...

in France before being transferred to England where she won the Goodwood Cup and

Jockey Club Cup A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

. After failing to reproduce her best form in 1933 she was retired from racing. Although she had little immediate success as a dam of winners she had a long-term impact through her daughters and was the female-line ancestor of

All Along All Along (7 April 1979 – 23 February 2005) was a champion Thoroughbred racemare that was foaled in France. She was one of the top fillies of the last part of the 20th century, racing mostly in Europe. All Along was named into the Nationa ...

Vaguely Noble Vaguely Noble (1965–1989) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in the United Kingdom and France. The colt is best known as the winner of the 1968 Group One Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe when he defeated the best horses from Engla ...

Diminuendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between note (music), notes or phrase (music), phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpreta ...

, Enstone Spark and Casamento.

Background

Brulette was a bay mare bred in France by the Englishman Charles Wilfred Birkin. Birkin sent his filly into training with Frank Carter at

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

. She was sired by Bruleur, an outstanding racehorse who won the

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and i ...

and

Prix Royal-Oak 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 (about 1 mile and 7½ furlongs), a ...

in 1913 before becoming a successful breeding stallion. He was the

Leading sire in France The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in France for each year since 1887. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season. Due to the huge prize money of the Prix de l'Arc de T ...

in 1921, 1924 and 1929. Bruleur was a representative of the

Byerley Turk The Byerley Turk (c. 1680 – c. 1703), also spelled Byerly Turk, was the earliest of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock (the other two are the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian).Ahnert ...

sire line, unlike more than 95% of modern thoroughbreds, who descend directly from the

Darley Arabian The Darley Arabian (foaled c. 1700) was one of three dominant foundation sires of modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock. The other two founders were the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk. This bay Arabian horse was bought in Aleppo, ...

. Her dam, the British-bred mare Seaweed had previously produced Hotweed (a full-brother to Brulette) who won the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over ...

and the Grand Prix de Paris in 1929.

Racing career

1930: two-year-old season

Brulette ran twice as a juvenile in France in 1930, winning on her second start.

1931: three-year-old season

In the spring of 1931 Brulette won her first two races in France including a five length victory in the Prix Penelope over 2100 metres at

Saint-Cloud Racecourse Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France. During World War 1, the race course site housed the No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospita ...

. Charles Birkin then received an offer of £10,000 for the filly but refused to sell. Brulette was then sent to England for the 153rd running of the

Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards ( ...

over one and a half miles at

Epsom Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...

on 5 June and started the 7/2 joint-favourite alongside the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,60 ...

runner-up Lady Marjorie while the best-fancied of the other thirteen runners included

Four Course Four Course (1928 – 1932) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She was one of the best two-year-old fillies of her generation in England when she won three of her four races, namely the July Stakes, Richmond Stakes and Gimcrack Stakes. I ...

, Lindos Ojos (third in the Guineas) and Links Tor. The race took place on a wet and miserable day but attracted a large crowd which included the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. Ridden by Charlie Elliott, Brulette tracked the leaders but approaching the final furlong she was boxed in on the rails in third place behind Links Tor and Four Course. Fortunately for the French filly's supporters, Links Tor edged away from the rail, enabling Elliott to squeeze Brulette through the resulting gap and produce a strong late run. She won by a length from Four Course with Links Tor three-quarters of a length away in third. Her owner commented "I think she is something out of the common... She is a lazy sort, and it was a long time in the race before she got properly going". Brulette was campaigned in France for the remainder of the season. On 27 June was matched against male opposition in the

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 ...

but finished unplaced behind the colt Barneveldt. She ran very well in defeat in two subsequent races, finishing second to Pearl Cap in the

and fourth behind the same horse in the

1932: four-year-old season

Charles Birkin, had bred Brulette and owned her throughout her racing career, died in England in April 1932. In May Brulette began her third season in the Prix du Cadran over 4000 metres at Longchamp in May and won from Bruledur (runner-up in the Prix du Jockey-Club) and Barneveldt. She was then bought by

Lord Woolavington James Buchanan, 1st Baron Woolavington, (16 August 1849 – 9 August 1935), known as Sir James Buchanan, Bt, from 1920 to 1922, was a British businessman, philanthropist, and racehorse owner and breeder. Early life Buchanan was born in Brockv ...

for a sum reported to be in excess of £5,000 and relocated to England where she entered the Beckhampton stable of

Fred Darling Frederick Darling (1884–1953) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who trained a record-equalling seven English Derby winners. Darling's father, Sam Darling senior, was a trainer at Beckhampton, near Avebury in Wiltshire, who train ...

. On her first appearance for her new connections Brulette contested the

Queen Alexandra Stakes The Queen Alexandra Stakes is a flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot each June over a distance of 2 miles, 5 furlongs and 143 yards (4,355 ...

over two and three quarter miles at Royal Ascot, but was beaten by

Brown Jack Brown Jack (1924–1948) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that raced over hurdles and then on the flat. He was a "stayer" – a horse specialising in longer races. He won the second Cheltenham Champion Hurdle in 1928, but his main claim to fam ...

who was winning the race for the fourth time. In the Goodwood Cup on 28 July Brown Jack and Ut Majeur (

Cesarewitch The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres ...

) started 9/4 joint-favourites with Brulette, ridden by Gordon Richards, the 5/2 third choice in a five-runner field. Racing on very heavy ground Brulette won by four lengths from Brown Jack, with ten lengths back to Ut Majeur in third place. On 27 October at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of British horserac ...

Brulette was allowed a

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in the

when no horses appeared to oppose her.

1933: five-year-old season

Brulette remained in training as a five-year-old in 1933 but failed to recover her best form. She finished unplaced in both the Ascot Gold Cup and the Goodwood Cup.

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Brulette an "average" winner of the Oaks.

Breeding record

At the end of her racing career, Brulette was retired to become a broodmare in England. She produced at least twelve foals between 1935 and 1950: *Croix de Feu, a bay filly, foaled in 1935, sired by Press Gang *Protein, brown filly, 1936, by

Manna Manna ( he, מָן, mān, ; ar, اَلْمَنُّ; sometimes or archaically spelled mana) is, according to the Bible, an edible substance which God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert during the 40-year period follow ...

. Female-line ancestor of

. *Thoroughfare, chestnut colt, 1938, by Fairway. Winner. *Brulee, bay filly, 1939, by Fairway *Tropical Sun, chestnut filly, 1940, Hyperion. Winner, third in Epsom Oak. Female-line ancestor of

, Enstone Spark and Casamento. *Muirburn, bay filly, 1941, by Easton *Desert Sun, bay filly, 1942, Hyperion. Winner. Female-line ancestor of

. *Brusque, filly, 1943, by Casanova. Winner. *Stockade, bay colt, 1944, by Big Game *Tudor Rose, bay filly, 1945, by

Owen Tudor Sir Owen Tudor (, 2 February 1461) was a Welsh courtier and the second husband of Queen Catherine of Valois (1401–1437), widow of King Henry V of England. He was the grandfather of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty. Background Owe ...

*Gotte d'Azur, filly, 1947, by Montrose *Spun Sugar, bay filly, 1950, by Honeyway Brulette died in December 1950 from colic.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1928 racehorse births 1950 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 1-d Epsom Oaks winners Byerley Turk sire line