Count Evremond de Saint-Alary (1868–1941) was a leading owner and breeder of

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 ...

racehorses 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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Heir of a well known family from the French West Indies, as a young man in his twenties Saint-Alary became involved in horse racing and in the early 1890s acquired

Haras de Saint Pair du Mont Haras de Saint Pair du Mont is a Thoroughbred horse breeding farm at Le Cadran near Cambremer in Calvados, Normandy. The business was founded circa the 1880s by renowned horseman, Leonce Delatre whose estate sold the property to Evremond de Sai ...

, a

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

farm at Le Cadran near

Cambremer Cambremer () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. A passionate man, Evremond de Saint-Alary once challenged a member of the

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

after he had written an

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

criticizing one of his horses. In 1893 Saint-Alary purchased a yearling at the Ventes de Deauville auction he named

Omnium An omnium (from Latin '' Omni'': of all, belonging to all) is a multiple race event in track cycling. Historically the omnium has had a variety of formats. In recent years, road racing has also adopted the term to describe multi-day races that fe ...

. One of the best horses he would ever own, under

jockey 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 ...

/ trainer Edgar Rolfe, Omnium won seventeen races in three years of competition including numerous important events such as the 1895

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 a ...

, the French equivalent of England's

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

. Omnium was retired to stud duty at Haras de Saint Pair du Mont and despite dying only a few years later, his successful progeny made him the leading

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 ...

in France in 1902. In 1920, Evremond de Saint-Alary scored the first of his two wins in France's most prestigious race, 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 ...

Comrade The term ''comrade'' (russian: товарищ, tovarisch) generally means 'mate', 'colleague', or 'ally', and derives from the Spanish and Portuguese, term , literally meaning 'chamber mate', from Latin , meaning 'chamber' or 'room'. It may also ...

, a

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

trained by

Peter Gilpin Peter Valentine Purcell Gilpin (1858 - 1928) was a British racehorse trainer. He was Champion Trainer in 1904 and his most notable winner was the filly Pretty Polly who won the Fillies Triple Crown in 1904. He also trained Comrade, the winner ...

who had cost Saint-Alary only twenty-five

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

, won the inaugural running of the Arc and also 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 it ...

. Saint-Alary raced in England as well where in the 1930s his horses trained by

Frank Carter Frank Carter may refer to: *Frank Carter (American football) (born 1977), American football player *Frank Carter (diver) (born 1942), British Olympic diver *Frank Carter (murderer) (1881–1927), Irish-born sniper murderer in Omaha, Nebraska *Frank ...

won two of the

Classic Races The British Classics are five long-standing Group races, Group 1 horse racing, horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for r ...

and in France his second Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1935. Evremond de Saint-Alary remained active in racing right up to the time of his death in 1941. In his honor, 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

was named for him.

Selected races won

* BOABDIL-24 fevrier 1891-Maisons-Laffitte *

Prix de la Forêt The Prix de la Forêt 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 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is ...

Omnium II Omnium II (1892-1901) was a Thoroughbred racehorse in France. He was purchased from the Countess Paul Le Marois at the Deauville Yearling sale by Count Evremond de Saint-Alary. He won a number of important French races and was a great long-di ...

(1894), Casternau (1896), Royal Mint (1897) *

- Omnium II (1895) *

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 take ...

- Omnium II (1896) * Prix Boïard - Omnium II (1896), Castelnau (1897) *

Prix du Prince d'Orange The Prix du Prince d'Orange is a group-3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to ...

- Omnium II (1895, 1896), Finglas (1928) *

Prix du Conseil Municipal The Prix du Conseil de Paris is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about miles), and it is sche ...

- Omnium II (1895 & 1896), Basse Pointe (1911), Porphyros (1940) *

Prix Gladiateur The Prix Gladiateur is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,100 metres (about 1 mile and 7½ furlongs), and it ...

- Omnium II (1896), Basse Pointe (1911) *

Prix de Guiche The Prix de Guiche is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts. It is run over a distance of 1,800 metres (about 1⅛ miles) at Chantilly in May. His ...

- Pas de Danse (1896) et Castelnau (1897) *

Poule d'Essai des Pouliches The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at ...

- Kizil Kourgan (1902) *

(1920), SAR (1921-1922)1st double winner property of Edmond Blanc

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

(1935) *

- Kizil Kourgan (1902), Brûleur (1913), Comrade (1920) *

1,000 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 (1,609 ...

- Kandy (1932) *

2,000 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 ...

- Le Ksar (1937)

References

Prix Saint-Alary at France Galop website with information on Evremond de Saint-Alary
(French language)
October 4, 1998 article concerning Evremond de Saint-Alary in The Independent, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Alary French racehorse owners and breeders British racehorse owners and breeders 1868 births 1941 deaths Owners of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners