Gildoran (foaled 6 June 1980) was an Irish-bred, British-trained

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 ...

and

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 ...

. A specialist stayer he won the

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...

in 1984 and 1985. His other wins included the Sagaro Stakes and the

Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3,219 ...

. In all, he won seven races in a twenty-two race career which lasted from 1983 until 1985, during which he showed an aptitude for extreme distances and fast ground. He made little impact at stud.

Background

Gildoran was a bay horse with a white star and stripe. He was one of the best horses sired by Rheingold, the winner of the 1973

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 ...

. Gildoran was the first foal of his dam

Durtal Durtal is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. It is around 32 km north-east of Angers the department capital. See also *Communes of the Maine-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 177 communes of th ...

, a top-class racemare who won the

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

in 1976. As a daughter of the influential broodmare Derna, Durtal was closely related to many leading racehorses including

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Zabeel Zabeel (25 October 1986 – 25 September 2015) was a New Zealand-bred racehorse who predominantly raced in Australia. He was retired to stud and became a champion sire. He is a bay son of Sir Tristram (IRE) from the Nureyev mare Lady Gisell ...

and Carnegie. Throughout his racing career Gildoran was owned by

Robert Sangster Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004)

and trained at

Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of ra ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Barry Hills Barry Hills (born 2 April 1937) is a retired British thoroughbred horse trainer. He lives in Lambourn, England. Biography Barry Hills had three sons in his first marriage, to Maureen Newson: John, Michael, and Richard. John (died 2014) was a ho ...

Racing career

1982 & 1983: early career

Gildoran raced twice without success over seven furlongs as a two-year-old in 1982. In 1983 he ran eight times, 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 ...

over twelve

furlong 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 ...

s 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 ...

, an apprentice riders' race at

Bath Racecourse Bath Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue on Lansdown Hill, about northeast of Bath, Somerset, England. It is owned and operated by Arena Racing Company. The racecourse is a left-handed oval track of 1 mile 4 furlongs and 25 yards ...

and a handicap race over one and three quarter mile at Goodwood. He finished unplaced in the

Ebor Handicap The Ebor Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 5 furlongs and 188 yards (2,787 metres). It is ...

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

in August and was then moved up in class and distance to contest the

Doncaster Cup The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles 1 furlong and 197 yards (3,600 metr ...

over two and a quarter miles in September. He produced his best performance of the season, finishing second 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 ...

to the five-year-old Karadar.

1984: four-year-old season

Gildoran began his third season by finishing unplaced in a handicap at Newmarket and then recorded his first important success when he won the Group Three Sagaro Stakes over two miles at

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

. Ridden by

Steve Cauthen Steve Cauthen (born May 1, 1960) is a retired American jockey. In 1977 he became the first jockey to win over $6 million in a year working with agent Lenny Goodman, and in 1978 he became the youngest jockey to win the U. S. ...

he started at odds of 11/2 and won from Society Boy and Another Sam. He was then assigned a weight of 139 pounds in the

Chester Cup The Chester Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2 miles, 2 furlongs and 147 yards () at Chester in ...

and finished unplaced behind Contester. In June Gildoran was sent to

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

where he started at odds of 10/1 for the Gold Cup over two and a half miles. The summer of 1984 was unusually hot and dry in England and the race was run on exceptionally fast ground. Gildoran overtook Karadar on the turn into the straight but was soon challenged by the six-year-old Irish runner Ore. Gildoran looked likely to be overtaken, but rallied strongly in the final furlong to win by a length from Ore in a new course record time of 4:18.81. Ridden by Cauthen and starting at odds of 9/4, Gildoran met Ore and Karadar again in the Goodwwod Cup in July. Gildoran turned the race into a procession, winning very easily by eight lengths from Ore who was in turn twelve lengths clear of Karadar in third. Gildoran then attempted to complete the Stayers' Triple Crown when he started the 1/2 favourite for the

. Running on softer ground than he had encountered in the summer, Gildoran finished last of the four runners behind Petrizzo, who was controversially disqualified in favour of the runner-up Wagoner. On his final appearance of the season he ran very poorly when unplaced behind Old Country in the

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 w ...

at Newmarket.

1985: five-year-old season

After finishing unplaced on his debut as a five-year-old, Gildoran finished second to

Longboat A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat ...

in the Sagaro Stakes and fourth to Destroyer in the Henry II Stakes at

Sandown Park Racecourse Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing ...

. On 20 June, Gildoran attempted to win a second Gold Cup at Royal Ascot against a field which included Old Country, Longboat, Destroyer and Petrizzo as well as the Yorkshire Cup winner Ilium and 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 ...

winner Yawa. Ridden by the Australian jockey

Brent Thomson Brent Thomson (born 1958 in Wanganui) is a New Zealand jockey, who is best known for winning the Cox Plate on four occasions and his association with the champion horse Dulcify. The son of a leading trainer Kevin Thomson, Brent became the c ...

, Gildoran started the 5/2 joint-favourite with Old Country. He took the lead from the start and held a three length lead turning into the straight. He was strongly challenged in the closing stages by Longboat and Destroyer but stayed on strongly to win by half a length. At Goodwood in July he led for most of the way before finishing third behind Valuable Witness. He was then aimed at the Doncaster Cup but sustained a tendon injury in training and was retired from racing.

Assessment

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 Gildoran a peak rating of 123 in 1984: he was rated 117 in 1983 and 1985. In 1984 he was named Champion Stayer by Gilbey Racing. In their book ''A Century of Champions'', based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Gildoran as a "poor" winner of the Gold Cup.

Stud record

Gildoran was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion. He had little success a sire of winners on the flat, but did produce several good

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

horses including Well Ridden (

Arkle Novice Chase The Arkle Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong (3 ...

) and Macs Gildoran ( Johnstown Novice Hurdle).

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1980 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 16-c