Mont Tremblant (foaled 1946) was a French-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 ...

racehorse who won the 1952

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs (3 ...

. Originally trained in France, he was switched to a British stable and made an immediate impact, defeating a strong field to win the Gold Cup as a six-year-old. In the following season he finished third in the

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of ...

and fourth in the Gold Cup before producing arguably his best performance by running second under top weight in the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

. His later career was repeatedly interrupted by injury.

Background

Mont Tremblant was a chestnut gelding with a white blaze and three white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

bred in France by

François Dupré François Louis Jules Dupré (; 3 December 1888 – 26 June 1966) was a French, hotelier, art collector, and owner of the Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farm, Haras d'Ouilly. He was a grandson of the painter Jules Dupré. Dupré s ...

. He was sired by the

Prix du Cadran The Prix du Cadran is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 4,000 metres (about 2 miles), and it is scheduled to ta ...

winner Gris Perle, a representative of the

Byerley Turk The Byerley Turk (c. 1680 – c. 1703), also spelled Byerly Turk, was the earliest of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock (the other two are the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian).Ahnert ...

sire-line. Mont Tremblant's dam Paltoquette was a great granddaughter of Lady Cynosure (a full-sister to

Polymelus Polymelus (1902–1924) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for five years (1914, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1921). Among his most famous descendants are Secretariat and Northern Dan ...

) whose other descendants have included Provoke and

Right Royal Right Royal (1958–1973) was a French Thoroughbred race horse 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 com ...

. The horse was named by Dupre after a mountain in Quebec.

Racing career

Mont Tremblant began his racing career in France where he won on the flat and over hurdles before being bought by

Dorothy Paget Dorothy Wyndham Paget (21 February 1905 – 9 February 1960) was a British racehorse owner and sponsor of motor racing. Early life Paget was the daughter of Lord Queenborough and Pauline Payne Whitney of the American Whitney family. She was ...

and imported to England. The gelding was sent into training with

Fulke Walwyn Fulke Thomas Tyndall Walwyn CVO (8 November 1910 – 18 February 1991) was a British jockey and a celebrated racehorse trainer, who was particularly successful in National Hunt racing. Life Walwyn was born in Wrexham. His twin sister, Helen Jo ...

at his Saxon House stable in

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. In the 1951/52 National Hunt season Mont Tremblant was matched against more experienced competition. Walwyn had problems getting the horse to peak fitness as the gallops at Lambourn were frozen, and was greatly aided when his rival trainer Bill Wightman allowed him to use his training facilities at

Upham, Hampshire Upham is a small village and civil parish in the south of England located in Hampshire approximately 7 miles south-east of Winchester . The village There is a small post office and a local primary school. The village is divided into two parts: Up ...

. In February he won a valuable handicap chase at

Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 16 miles south-west of Charing Cross, London and on a border of Greater London. The site has ...

, conceding weight to his rivals. On 6 March, the six-year-old, ridden by David Dick, contested the 25th running of the

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs (3 ...

on 6 March and started at odds of 8/1 in a thirteen-runner field.

Silver Fame Silver Fame (foaled 1939) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1951 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After beginning his racing career in Ireland he moved to England and became one of the leading steeplechasers of his time. He won races at the ...

and Greenogue returned after fighting out the finish in 1951 but the 7/2 favourite was

Freebooter Freebooter may refer to: * Marine freebooters, or pirates * Filibuster (military), an individual who engages in unauthorized warfare against foreign countries * Rapparee, the Irish usage * Meadowbrook Freebooters, American polo team * Freebooter (c ...

the winner of the 1950

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

. The other runners included the improving six-year-old E.S.B. and the

Vincent O'Brien Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish race horse trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in a worldwide poll hosted by the ''Racing Post''. In ...

-trained

Knock Hard Knock Hard (foaled 1944) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1953 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He showed good form on the flat, winning the Irish Lincoln Handicap and finished second in the Irish Cesarewitch and the November Handicap. As a ...

. Greenogue went to the front and maintained his advantage until the final turn by which point Knock Hard, Mont Tremblant, E.S.B. and Shaef were his closest pursuers. Freebooter had already fallen, whilst

Fred Winter Frederick Thomas Winter, (20 September 1926 – 5 April 2004) was a British National Hunt racing racehorse jockey and trainer. He was British jump racing Champion Jockey four times and British jump racing Champion Trainer eight times. He is th ...

on Shaef was holding on to his horse's head after his bridle became dislodged on the first circuit. Knock Hard fell at the penultimate fence when looking the likely winner and E.S.B was still going well when falling at the last. Mont Tremblant was left with a clear advantage and drew away up the run-in to win by ten lengths from Shaef, with the 66/1 outsider Galloway Braes four lengths back in third. Mon Tremblant continued to show top-class form in the early part of the following season when

Dick Francis Richard Stanley Francis (31 October 1920 – 14 February 2010) was a British steeplechase jockey and crime writer whose novels centre on horse racing in England. After wartime service in the RAF, Francis became a full-time jump-jockey, wi ...

replaced the injured David Dick. He won at Kempton, took the Stanley Chase at

Sandown Park 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 rac ...

and then finished second to Halloween in the

at Kempton in December. Francis said that "Mont Tremblant was a dream of a horse to ride, for he was a very deliberate jumper and had a long, graceful stride". On a cold, misty day in March he faced eleven opponents as he attempted to repeat his 1952 success in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. When the horses emerged from the fog approaching the third last he was disputing the lead with Galloway Braes and E.S.B. but was unable to make further progress and faded in the closing stages to finish fourth behind Knock Hard, Halloween and Galloway Braes. Later that month Mont Tremblant started at odds of 18/1 for the 1953 Grand National in which he carried top weight of 153 pounds and finished second, twenty lengths behind the Vincent O'Brien-trained Early Mist. Mon Tremblant remained in training for several years and finished fourth in the 1953 Gold Cup but suffered recurrent injury problems and never won again at the highest level.

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the

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 t ...

rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Mont Tremblant an "average" Gold Cup winner. In 2002 Randall rated his performance in the 1953 Grand National as the sixth-best in the race since World War II.

Pedigree

External links

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coverage of 1952 Gold Cup">British Pathe">British Pathe
coverage of 1952 Gold Cup

References

{{Cheltenham Gold Cup winners 1946 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 3-f Byerley Turk sire line Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Cheltenham Festival winners National Hunt racehorses