Pearl Cap (foaled 1928) was a French champion
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 ...
who is considered one of her country's greatest racing fillies.
Background
Owned and bred by the Esmond family, she was raced under the name of Miss Diana Esmond. She was trained by
Frank Carter Frank Carter may refer to:
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*Frank ...
, a member of the prominent racing family that began in France with
Thomas Carter (1805-1879), who immigrated from
Peckleton,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
in
England in 1831 and founded the
English Racing Colony in
Chantilly, Oise.
Pearl Cap is described by
France Galop as being "light-framed" and "lop-eared." On the race track, she won races from 1100 metres to 2400 metres. (0.68 to 1.5 miles).
Racing career
Racing at age two in 1930, Pearl Cap won five races, including victories over
colt
Colt(s) or COLT may refer to:
* Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age
People
*Colt (given name)
*Colt (surname)
Places
* Colt, Arkansas, United States
*Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United State ...
s in the
Prix Robert Papin as well as in the prestigious (now
Group One
Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...
),
Prix Morny. Her performances that year earned her France's champion two-year-old filly honors. In her three-year-old season, the filly again beat her male counterparts in major races. She finished second to
Prince Rose in the
Grand International d'Ostende at
Hippodrome Wellington
The Hippodrome Wellington (also ''Wellingtonrenbaan'') is a horse racing track in Ostend in the Flemish Region of Belgium built in 1883, renovated in 2011 and named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
The facility hosts both harnes ...
in
Ostend,
Belgium, a race her sire
Le Capucin won in 1924. After winning three Group One (today) races in France, including the
Prix de Diane, in October Pearl Cap defeated Prince Rose at
Longchamp Racecourse in
Paris when she became the first filly to ever win the
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Breeding record
Retired to broodmare duties, Pearl Cap was a disappointment as a broodmare until the age of sixteen, when she produced the 1947
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...
winner,
Pearl Diver
Pearl hunting, also known as pearling, is the activity of recovering pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or freshwater. Pearl hunting was prevalent in the Persian Gulf region and Japan for thousands of years. On the ...
.
Pedigree
Pearl Cap was inbred 4 × 4 to St. Simon, meaning that St. Simon appears twice in the fourth generation of her pedigree.
References
Pearl Cap's pedigree and partial racing stats
;Specific
{{Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Winners
1928 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in France
Racehorses trained in France
Arc winners
Thoroughbred family 16-b
Byerley Turk sire line