Jim And Tonic (foaled 1994 in

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 ...

) is a retired French

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 ...

. He raced through age eight at tracks around the world and retired with earnings of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

4,561,647, the most ever for any French racehorse.

Background

Jim And Tonic was bred at

François François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

and Elizabeth Doumen's

Haras d'Ecouves Haras may refer to: * Al-Haras or the Haras, a bodyguard unit in service of caliphs during the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates * Haras Fyre Haras Fyre (born January 5, 1953), also known professionally as Patrick Grant, is an American singer, ...

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 in

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

. He was sired by Double Bed out of the mare Jimka]. At age two, Jim And Tonic was gelded following an abscess in a hoof that necessitated a lengthy recovery. Jim And Tonic was trained by François Doumen, renowned trainer of numerous successful flat racing horses as well as

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

greats

Ucello II Paolo Uccello ( , ; 1397 – 10 December 1475), born Paolo di Dono, was an Italian (Florentine) painter and mathematician who was notable for his pioneering work on visual perspective in art. In his book '' Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, ...

, The Fellow, and

Ubu III Ubu may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The title character of ''Ubu Roi'' (''King Ubu''), an 1896 French play by Alfred Jarry and subsequent plays *Ubu Repertory Theater, New York City, dedicated to presenting French plays translated into Eng ...

plus two-time

World Hurdle The Stayers' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain. It is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles ...

champion, Baracouda.

Racing career

Jim And Tonic won a conditions race in France in 1997 then won several more races there the following year. However, his most important win in 1998 came when he was sent overseas to Sha Tin Racecourse where his victory in the Hong Kong Bowl made him the first French horse to win a race in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. In 1999 Jim And Tonic raced in France, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and

. He finished second in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury Racecourse, third in the

Atto Mile The Woodbine Mile is a Grade I stakes race on turf for Thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up held annually in mid September at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada. Currently sponsored by Ricoh, the Woodbine Mile offers a purse of Can$1, ...

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

, and under French jockey Gerald Mosse, won both the

Hong Kong Cup The Hong Kong Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres (about miles or 10 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year in ...

and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse. Sent to

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, he finished a disappointing 9th in the Breeders' Cup Mile to the French longshot winner

Silic {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Silic , image = , caption = , sire = Sillery , grandsire = Blushing Groom , dam = Balletomane , damsire = Sadler's Wells , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1995 , country = France , colour = Bay , breeder ...

. Jim And Tonic continued his globetrotting in 2000. In France, he won his second Prix Perth at Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud. He was third in the Hong Kong Cup to winner Fantastic Light and second to Ouzo in the Singapore Airlines International Cup at Kranji Racecourse. In both 2000 and 2001, Jim And Tonic finished second in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup and won the 2001

Dubai Duty Free Stakes The Dubai Turf, known as Dubai Duty Free 1996 to 2014. is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,800 metres (1 mile 1 furlong) on the turf at Meydan Racecourse in Du ...

at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse.

Retirement

After logging more than a quarter of a million air miles, Jim And Tonic was retired at the end of the 2002 racing season to his birthplace at in Normandy.

References

2001 Dubai World Cup results at About, Inc., a part of The New York Times Company
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070323231013/http://horseracing.about.com/library/weekly/aa032401a.htm , date=2007-03-23 1994 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 1-l