Marienbard (foaled 1997) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred

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 ...

best known for his win in the

2002 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The 2002 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was a horse race held at Longchamp on Sunday 6 October 2002. It was the 81st running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. The winner was Marienbard, a five-year-old horse trained in Great Britain by Saeed bin Suroo ...

Background

Marienbard is a bay horse bred in Ireland by Saif Ali. He was sired by the Caerleon, a son of the 1971 British Triple Crown champion, Nijinsky whose other progeny include the Epsom Derby winner Generous. Marienbard was an unusually late foal, being born on 26 May 1997. The colt was originally sent into training with the veteran Michael Jarvis at

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...

Racing career

Marienbard was late to develop and did not race as a two-year-old. In 2000 the colt won his first three races including a Listed race at

Haydock Park Racecourse Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Merseyside, North West England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the racecourse is set in an area of parkland bounded by the towns of Haydock to the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield ...

. He was then moved up in class to finish second in the Great Voltigeur Stakes, sixth (behind Millenary) in the St Leger Stakes and second in the St. Simon Stakes. At the end of the season, Marienbard was bought by

Sheikh Mohammed Sheikh Muhammad (1560–1650) was a Muslim saint-poet who is venerated by Hindus. Sheikh Muhammad or alternatively Sheikh Muhammed, Sheikh Mohammad, Sheikh Mohammed may also refer to (in chronological birth order): * Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wah ...

's Godolphin Racing and transferred to the stable of Saeed bin Suroor. From then on he spent his winters in Dubai and his summers at Newmarket. In 2001, Marienbard was campaigned over staying distances. On his seasonal debut he captured his first important race, the

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in a ...

Yorkshire Cup. He finished fifth in 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 ...

over two and a half miles, second in the Grand Prix de Deauville and third to winner

Vinnie Roe Vinnie Roe is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He won the Irish St. Leger for four years in succession (2001–2004) and was named European Champion Stayer in the Cartier Racing Awards for 2002. He also became known inte ...

in the Group I

Irish St. Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...

. At the end of 2001, Marienbard finished seventh behind

Ethereal Ethereal may refer to: *Ethereal (horse), a horse that won Australia's Caulfield Cup as well as Melbourne Cup in 2001 *Ethereal wave, or simply ethereal, a subgenre of dark wave music *Wireshark, formerly named Ethereal, a free and open-source pack ...

, to whom he was conceding seven pounds, in the Melbourne Cup. In 2002, the focus of Marienbard's career shifted to middle-distance races and he had his best season, winning four of six starts including three consecutive Group 1 races. In Germany he won the Grosser Preis von Baden and the

Deutschland-Preis The Großer Preis von Berlin, formerly known as the Deutschland-Preis, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Hoppegarten over a distance of 2,400 metres (ab ...

then capped off his racing career with a three-quarter length victory over

Sulamani Sulamani (April 9, 1999 – February 18, 2017) was an Irish-bred thoroughbred race horse who competed and won in Dubai, Europe and North America. A great-grandson of English Triple Crown champion, Nijinsky, he made his racing debut in April 200 ...

and High Chaparral in France's most prestigious race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Stud record

Following his Arc win in October 2002, Marienbard was retired to stud duty and was sent to stand at East Stud on the island of

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

in Japan. In 2009, Marienbard was returned to Ireland to stand at the Kilbarry Lodge stud.

References

{{Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Winners 1997 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Arc winners Racehorses trained in the United Arab Emirates Thoroughbred family 12-g