La Lagune (1965 – after 1970) was a French-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 c ...

racehorse and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. She initially made an impression by winning the

Prix de Condé The Prix de Condé is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,800 metres (about 1⅛ miles), and it is scheduled to take place ...

in the autumn of 1965 and added to her reputation with an emphatic victory in the Prix Vanteaux in the following spring. She was then sent to England for the Epsom Oaks and justified her position as favourite, as she ran out a very easy five

length 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 Interna ...

winner. She was unable to win again but ran well in defeat against very strong opposition before being retired at the end of the season. She had little chance to prove herself as a broodmare as she produced only one foal.

Background

Lagunette was an "immensely strong" looking bay mare with a broad white blaze and four white socks bred near

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

in France by the

Marquis du Vivier A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

she was consigned to the sales at Deauville and was bought for 25,000 francs (about £2,000) 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 ...

. During her racing career she was trained by Boutin at

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

and carried the red and white colours of Henry Berlin. She was one of the best horses sired by

Val de Loir Val de Loir (May 7, 1959 – October 30, 1974) was a French Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse who won important races in France including the Prix du Jockey Club, French Derby and was a Champion sire. Val de Loir stood at Haras de Sassy in Sain ...

who won the Prix du Jockey Club in 1962 and whose other progeny included

Val de l'Orne Val de l'Orne (1972–1993) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won four of his five races between September 1974 and June 1975 before his racing career was ended by injury. In 1974 he won on his debut and then finished second i ...

and Comtesse de Loir. Her dam Landerinette was unraced but went on to produce the

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 ...

winner

Lagunette Lagunette (17 April 1973 – after 1985) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. After winning one of her two races as a juvenile she improved to become a top-class performer in 1976, a year in which French-trained three-year-olds ...

Racing career

1967: two-year-old season

As a two-year-old La Lagune produced her most notable performance in October when she won the Prix de Condé over 2000 metres on heavy ground at Longchamp Racecourse. Although the field included male opponents, her closest pursuer was the

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

Mercuriale.

1968: three-year-old season

In April at Longchamp La Lagune was one of eight fillies to contest the Prix Vanteux over 1900 metres. Ridded by Gerard Thiboeuf she won by five

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 ...

in a performance which resulted in her being regarded as a leading contender for the Epsom Oaks. By May it appeared that her biggest obstacle in her path was the outbreak of strikes and civil unrest in France which at one point made it look as though she would be unable to travel to England. La Lagune arrived safely at Epsom and on 31 May she started the 11/8 favourite against thirteen opponents in the 190th running of the Oaks. With Thiboeuf again in the saddle she never looked to be in serious danger and came home five lengths clear of Glad One with Pandora Bay a short head away in third. Her win was the first major success for Boutin, and led to his stable attracting many leading owners and top-class horses over the next three decades. Having won over one and a half miles at Epsom La Lagune was dropped back in distance for the Prix de Diane over 2100 metres at Chantilly Racecourse but ran poorly and finished unplaced behind Roseliere. After a two-month break she produced a better effort on her return as she came home third behind Roseliere and Pola Bella in the Prix Vermeille. In her last two starts the filly was matched against world-class male opposition and ran creditably as she finished fifth in both the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Washington, D.C.International.

Breeding record

At the end of her racing career, La Lagune became a broodmare for her owner's stud but produced only one known foal: *Rose du Kentucky, a bay filly, foaled in 1970, sired by

Bold Lad Bold Lad (1962–1986) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Bold Lad bred and raced by Gladys Phipps and her brother Ogden L. Mills under their Wheatley Stable banner. His sire was eight-time leading sire in North Ame ...

. Won one race and produced Alchimiste who won 13 races in the United States. She was also the grand-dam of Trishyde, who won the

Prix de Malleret The Prix de Malleret is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to ...

in 1992.

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated La Lagune an "average" winner of the Oaks.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1965 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 7-e Epsom Oaks winners