Revoque was

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

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. He was named European Champion Two Year Old at the

Cartier Racing Awards The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races (40%) plus the votes cast by British racing journalists (30%) and readers of th ...

and was officially rated the best two-year-old of 1996 by the International Classification. In his championship season Revoque was unbeaten in four starts including the

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 de la Salamandre The Prix de la Salamandre was a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It was run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it was scheduled to take place each year in Sep ...

and the Group One

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. He was retired after winning once from six starts as a three-year-old. He stood as a stallion in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

Background

Revoque, a "huge" bay horse, standing 16.2

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...

high, was bred in Ireland by the

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

based Minch Bloodstock. His sire Fairy King, a full brother to

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

, sired the winners of over five-hundred races, including

Helissio Helissio (1993–2013) was a Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Fairy King and a grandson of Northern Dancer. Owned by the Spanish businessman Enrique Sarasola, he was voted the European Horse of the Year for 1996 His career highlight was win ...

(

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

Falbrav Falbrav (foaled 28 February 1998) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire, bred in Ireland but trained in Italy and the United Kingdom during his racing career which ran from 2000 to 2004. He is notable for having won Group 1/Grade ...

and

Oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...

(

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

). His dam La Bella Fontana, a daughter of the

Cumberland Lodge Stakes The Cumberland Lodge Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metr ...

winner Lafontaine, also produced the

Prix Eugène Adam The Prix Eugène Adam is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1 miles), and it is scheduled to take ...

winner King of Tara. Revoque was sent to the

Tattersalls Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founding It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. T ...

November sales as a

weanling A weanling is an animal that has just been weaned. The term is usually used to refer to a type of young horse, a foal that has been weaned, usually between six months and a year. Once it is a year old, the horse is referred to as a yearling. The w ...

in 1994. He was bought for 36,000 gns by the bloodstock agent Dermot "Demi" O'Byrne on behalf of

Robert Sangster Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004)

. The intention was to sell the horse on at a profit as a yearling (a practice known as "pinhooking"), but Revoque grew so quickly that Sangster decided that he was "too big and boat-like" to attract bidders. He was therefore kept to race in Sangster's own colours and was sent into training with

Peter Chapple-Hyam Peter Chapple-Hyam (born 2 April 1963 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He trained Dr Devious to win The Derby in 1992 and repeated the feat with Authorized in 2007. He managed two Group One wins ...

Manton, Wiltshire Manton is a small village in Wiltshire, England, on the western outskirts of Marlborough just off the A4 Bath Road. History A settlement of twelve households and an estate held by Miles Crispin were recorded at ''Manetone'' in the 1087 Domesda ...

. He was ridden in all his races by John Reid

Racing career

1996: two-year-old season

Revoque made his debut in a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

at Ascot in July. Sent off the 7/2 second favourite he raced prominently before being moved into the lead inside the final

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

and running on strongly to win by half a

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 ...

from Shii-Take. In August he was sent to

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

for the

Acomb Stakes The Acomb Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at York over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year ...

(now a

Group Three AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...

race), for which he was made second favourite behind the odds-on In Command. Reid tracked the leaders on Revoque, before moving the colt into the lead a furlong from the finish. Revoque pulled away to win by two and a half lengths from Symonds Inn. The form of the race was later boosted when In Command, who finished third, won the Group One

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), ...

at Newmarket in October. Revoque was then moved up to Group One level to contest the Prix de la Salamandre at Longchamp in September, after a plan to run him in the Champagne Stakes was abandoned due to the unsuitably firm ground. In the Longchamp race he was held up by Reid in the early stages before making his challenge in the straight. Revoque accelerated into the lead and pulled away to win by three lengths from The West, with the odds-on favourite

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

in third. Immediately after the race he was offered at odds of 10/1 for the following year's

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

. A month later, Revoque returned to Longchamp and was made odds-on favourite for the Grand Critérium. After seeming to be struggling early in the straight he stayed on strongly to take the lead inside the final furlong and win by two lengths from Majorien. After the race Chapple-Hyam praised the colt as "the best two-year-old in Europe" and added that "once this horse gets into gear it's all over". The bookmakers reacted by cutting his odds for the 2000 Guineas to 7/1.

1997: three-year-old season

Before the start of the 1997 season Revoque was a supplementary entry for The Derby (he had not originally been entered the race) but he was first aimed at the 2000 Guineas. He made his debut in a recognised Guineas trial race, the

Greenham Stakes The Greenham Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs () at Newbury in ...

at Newbury. He started favourite, but in a closely contested finish he was beaten a head by Yalaietanee, losing his unbeaten record. Despite his defeat, his connections were happy with his performance, and Revoque was sent off 100/30 favourite in the 2000 Guineas three weeks later. He broke slowly and was towards the back of the field in the early running. As the race entered the closing stages, Revoque was trapped behind horses and Reid had to switch him to the outside to find a clear run. He then made rapid progress in the last two furlongs of the race to finish second, beaten three quarters of a length by

Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

Some observers considered him a rather unlucky loser. Revoque was expected to be a major contender for The Derby and looked impressive in training gallops. At

The Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the f ...

at the end of May however, he ran his first disappointing race, finishing sixth, beaten ten lengths by Desert King when favourite for the

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...

. Revoque had looked the likely winner in the straight but faded badly in the closing stages. The performance was explained when the colt was revealed to have been suffering from a viral infection which affected many of the horses in Chapple-Hyam's stable. The effects of the virus, and a recurring problem with lameness meant that Revoque was off the course for almost four months before reappearing in a minor stakes race at

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

in September. His two rivals included Bahhare, a colt who had once been favourite for the 2000 Guineas and had been ranked second to Revoque in the International Classification. Revoque raced in second before moving through easily to take the lead and winning "readily" by one and a half lengths. On his last two starts, Revoque failed to recapture his best form, running unplaced in the

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...

and the

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...

Assessment

At the

in November 1996, Revoque was named European Champion Two-Year-Old. The situation was somewhat confused, as a separate award for Champion Two-Year-Old ''Colt'' was given to

Bahamian Bounty Bahamian Bounty (10 February 1994 – 2 March 2020) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. He was named Cartier Champion Two-year-old Colt, European Champion Two-Year-Old Colt at the 1996 Cartier Racing Awards. In his ch ...

. In January 1997 the official International Classification ranked Revoque as the best two-year-old of the 1996 season. Timeform rated Revoque at 122 as a two-year-old and 124 as a three-year-old.
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Stud career

Revoque was retired to stand at the Morristown Lattin Stud in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, Ireland at an initial fee of £7,500. In 1999 he was shuttled to the Eliza Park Stud in Australia for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season. Revoque stood at the Rathbarry Stud, in

from 2004 to 2006 and was then moved to his current base at the Yorton Farm Stud in Shropshire where he stands at a fee of £1,500. Revoque has sired the winners of more than 200 races but none at the highest level. The best of his offspring has been Rebel Rebel, who finished second in the 2000 Guineas and won the

Poker Handicap The Poker Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four years old and older held over a distance of one mile (8 furlongs) on the turf held annually in mid June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. History The event ...

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

Pedigree

References

{{reflist, 2 Cartier Award winners 1994 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 14-c