Greinton (March 5, 1981 – September, 2010) is a British-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 who won on

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

courses in France and set two track records on dirt at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to t ...

in the United States.

Background

Greinton was bred by prominent Greek businessman and major horseracing owner/breeder,

Stavros Niarchos Stavros Spyrou Niarchos ( el, Σταύρος Σπύρου Νιάρχος, ; 3 July 1909 – 15 April 1996) was a Greek billionaire shipping tycoon. Starting in 1952, he had the world's biggest supertankers built for his fleet. Propelled by both ...

. He was named for the village of

Greinton Greinton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Somerset Levels and Moors at the foot of the Polden Hills, west southwest of Glastonbury and east of Bridgwater in the Sedgemoor district. History The parish of ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. He was trained in France by

François Boutin François Boutin (21 January 1937 – 1 February 1995) was a French Thoroughbred horse trainer. The son of a farmer, he was born in the village of Beaunay in the northerly Seine Maritime département. He began riding horses at a young age and ...

Racing career

European career

Greinton and made his racing debut on July 10, 1983 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 ...

. Ridden by French-based American jockey

Cash Asmussen Cash Asmussen (born March 15, 1962 in Agar, South Dakota) is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born Brian Keith Asmussen, in 1977 he legally changed his name to "Cash". From a Texas horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marily ...

, Geinton earned his first win then, with Asmussen aboard, made four more starts at age two and three, winning three and finishing second twice.

North American career

Stavros Niarchos sold Greinton in mid 1984 to American interests led by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer, Charlie Whittingham. Based in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, his victories there included three

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

races and he set new track records for 1 mile and 1¼ miles at

. With his victory aboard Greinton in the

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000 ...

on June 23, 1985, jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. became the second jockey in history to earn more than $100 million in career purses. Race caller

Trevor Denman Trevor Denman (born 24 September 1952) is a South African American sportscaster and public-address announcer specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing. Background Denman was born in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa. A part-time jockey and exe ...

said that Greinton's 1986 Santa Anita Handicap victory was one of the most memorable races he has ever called
CalRacing.com – April 21, 2006

Stud career

Retired to

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay ba ...

in the United States, in 1992 Geinton was purchased by Wolfgang Struebel owner of EPONA stud farm for his breeding operation in Germany. His offspring have met with modest success in racing. Greinton is still the fastest living miler and in 2009 the oldest active stud in Europe. He died September 2010 at Görlsdorf Stud, Germany, where he stood since 1996.

References

{{reflist
Greinton's pedigree and partial racing stats
1981 racehorse births 2010 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in France Racehorses trained in the United States Horse racing track record setters American Grade 1 Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 1-s