Diesis (23 April 1980 – 18 November 2006) was a British

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

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

. An outstanding two-year-old in 1982, he did not reach the same heights at three but went on to become an extremely successful breeding stallion in the United States.

Background

Diesis was a chestnut horse with a white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

and three white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

bred in England by his owner 9th Baron Howard de Walden. He was sired by

Sharpen Up Sharpening is the process of creating or refining the edge joining two non-coplanar faces into a converging apex, thereby creating an edge of appropriate shape on a tool or implement designed for cutting. Sharpening is done by removing material ...

out of the noted broodmare Doubly Sure, making him a full brother to the champion miler

Kris The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...

and

Keen Keen, Keen's, or Keens may refer to: People *Keen (surname) *Thomas Keens (1870-1953), British politician Music and song * Keen (band), Italian band * Keen (song), "Keen" (song), a single by That Petrol Emotion * Keen Records, American record ...

, and a half-brother to several other good winners including

Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. Communist states In Communist states the presidi ...

and Rudimentary (

Sandown Mile The Sandown Mile is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Sandown Park in late April. Histor ...

). The colt was named after the printer's symbol "‡" also known as a "double dagger". He was trained by

Henry Cecil Sir Henry Richard Amherst Cecil (11 January 1943 – 11 June 2013) was a British flat racing horse trainer. Cecil was very successful, becoming Champion Trainer ten times and training 25 domestic Classic winners. These comprised four winners o ...

at his Warren Place stable in

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...

Racing career

As a juvenile, Diesis won three races from four starts. After running fifth in 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 ...

on his debut he won the Rhys-Jenkins and Standing Stakes by seven lengths. He was then moved up in class and won the

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

Middle Park Stakes The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is s ...

over six furlongs at

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

in October. Later that month he returned to Newmarket for the

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), ...

over seven furlongs, in which he was matched against Gorytus an unbeaten colt from the

Dick Hern William Richard Hern (20 January 1921 – 22 May 2002) was an English Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and winner of sixteen British Classic Races between 1962 and 1995, and was Champion Trainer on four occasions. Following his early career ...

stable with an exceptional reputation. Gorytus ran very poorly (he was widely believed to have been drugged) and Diesis won his second Group One race very easily. He was the highest rated European two-year-old in the 1982 International Classification, a collaboration between the official handicappers of Britain, France and Ireland. Diesis was also rated the best two-year-old of the season by the independent Timeform organisation. The spring of 1983 was unusually cold and wet, and Henry Cecil, along with many other trainers, had difficulty bringing his horses to peak fitness. His problems were compounded when Diesis suffered from lameness in early April and then injured a leg shortly before his seasonal debut in the

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

. On 30 April Diesis started 100/30 favourite for the Guineas, but finished eighth of the sixteen runners behind Lomond. On his only other race, Diesis was beaten by The Noble Player in a seven furlong race at Kempton Park in May.

Stud record

Although standing as a

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, Diesis' most successful progeny ran in Europe, including

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 (2, ...

and

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 ...

winners

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

, Love Divine and

Ramruma Ramruma (foaled 17 February 1996) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse who was bred in the United States, but trained in the United Kingdom during a racing career which lasted from September 1998 until September 2000. In 1999, Ramruma won five of ...

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

winner Elmaamul, multiple Group 1 winning, ten-furlong specialist Halling and

Flemensfirth Flemensfirth (16 March 1992 – 26 May 2023) was a Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion, who was bred in the United States but trained in the United Kingdom during a racing career which ran from 1994 to 1997. He is best known as a successful sire ...

. Diesis' great-grandson Serpentine won the Epsom Derby in 2020. He also sired North American Grade 1 winners Continuously,

Husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...

, Rootentootenwooten, ex-English trained Storm Trooper and 2010

Arlington Million The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on the turf. It was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of m ...

winner

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

. Diesis was

euthanised Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditio ...

on 18 November 2006 at Mill Ridge Farm,

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

after fracturing a hip.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1980 racehorse births 2006 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 2-o