Aureole (1950–1974) was a British

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 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 ...

and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" ...

who was owned by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. In a career that lasted from August 1952 until July 1954, he ran fourteen times and won eleven races. As a three-year-old in 1953, he won the Lingfield Derby Trial before finishing second to Pinza in both the Derby and the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot o ...

. He reached his peak as a four-year-old in 1954 when he won his last four races: the Victor Wild Stakes at Kempton, the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2 ...

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

, the

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

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...

and Britain's most prestigious all-aged race, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. After retiring from racing he was sent to stud, where he became a successful sire of winners.

Background

Aureole was a bright chestnut horse 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 by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

. When the King died in 1952, the ownership of the unraced two-year-old colt passed to his daughter,

. Aureole was sired by Hyperion who won the Derby and the St Leger in 1933 before becoming a highly successful breeding stallion. He was

Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who ...

on six occasions. Aureole's dam, Angelola, finished second in The Oaks and came from the same branch of Thoroughbred Family 2-f which produced

Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that ...

Highclere Highclere (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish situated in the North Wessex Downs (an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. It lies in the northern part of the county, near the B ...

and Pebbles. Aureole was sent into training with Cecil Boyd-Rochfort at Freemason Lodge stables 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 h ...

. In training, the colt was temperamental and excitable: Boyd-Rochfort, however, reportedly welcomed these attributes as he believed that the best of Hyperion's offspring tended to be difficult and high-spirited characters.

Racing career

1952: two-year-old season

Aureole made his first appearance at

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It attracts around 35 ...

in August. He delayed the start by "playing up", but won comfortably. He was then off the course for two months before running in October at Newmarket here he contested the

Middle Park Stakes The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is ...

, one of the year's most important two-year-old races. He finished sixth behind

Nearula Nearula (1950–1960) was an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for winning the classic 2000 Guineas in 1953. Trained in Yorkshire, he was the top-rated British two-year-olds of 1952 when he won the Middl ...

, a colt who went on to win the 1953

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 ...

1953: three-year-old season

Aureole began his three-year-old season in the

, in which he finished strongly to take fifth place behind

. He was then moved up in distance for the Lingfield Derby Trial over one and a half miles. He won easily to establish himself as a leading contender for the Epsom Derby. In the week of his owner's

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

Aureole started at odds of 9/1 for the Derby, with Pinza and Premonition being made 5/1 joint-favourites in a field of twenty-seven runners. Aureole became highly agitated before the race, but ran well to finish second, four lengths behind Pinza. He developed a slight cough after the Derby and ran disappointingly in the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furl ...

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built-up area of ...

, finishing third to the French challenger Artur. In late July at Ascot he was again matched against Pinza in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a race named after his owner's parents. He finished second again, this time beaten three lengths. Later in the summer, he was treated by a

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

in an attempt to improve his temperament. In the St Leger 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, Aureole was made 6/4 favourite ahead of the

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and ...

winner Northern Light. Both the Queen and

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

were in attendance on a fine autumn day which attracted a crowd of 250,000 to the Yorkshire course. Aureole again became agitated in the preliminaries and refused to settle in the race, fighting the attempts of his jockey

Harry Carr __NOTOC__ Harry C. Carr (1877–1936) was an American reporter, editor and columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times.'' In 1934 he was given an honorable mention by a Pulitzer Prize committee on awards. When a heart attack claimed his life at the ag ...

to restrain him. He challenged for the lead in the straight but faded to finish third behind his stable companion Premonition, beaten six lengths. He ended the season with a win in 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 ...

at Ascot, where he was ridden by Eph Smith, as Carr was unable to make the weight. Smith got along so well with the colt that he replaced Carr as Aureole's regular jockey.

1954: four-year-old season

Aureole made his first appearance of 1954 in the Coronation Stakes over ten furlongs at Sandown in April. The race was extremely rough and Aureole, the 4/5 favourite, appeared to be an unlucky loser as he finished second to the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) 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 ...

winner Chamier. He then returned to one and a half miles to win the Victor Wild Stakes at Kempton. At the Epsom Derby meeting, Aureole recorded his most important win up to that time as he won the

by five lengths from Chatsworth, with Nearula in third. After the race, Boyd-Rochfort professed himself to be "delighted" by the performance. Aureole was then sent to Royal Ascot to contest the Hardwicke Stakes. Smith struggled to obtain a clear run until the closing stages, and Aureole was a narrow winner from the French colt Janitor. Aureole returned to Ascot in July for the fourth running of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes for which he was made 9/2 favourite against sixteen opponents. Aureole's behaviour before the race was as bad as ever and he unseated Smith on the way to the start. In the race he started slowly but recovered well, took the lead entering the straight, and won by three-quarters of a length from Vamos, with the 2000 Guineas winner Darius in third. After the win, described as "one of the most popular victories in British turf history" the Queen was heard to remark "wasn't it a wonderful performance, I hope all Sandringham are on it". As part of the victory celebration, the Queen sent a crate of

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

to the Press tent. Aureole did not race again and was retired to stud. His season's winnings of £30,092 enabled the Queen to be the leading owner in Britain in 1954.

Assessment

Aureole was given a rating of 132 by

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 ...

in 1954, making him the highest-rated older horse in Europe.

Stud career

Aureole proved to be a highly successful stallion, being Champion sire in 1960 and 1961. His progeny included

St. Paddy St. Paddy (1957–1984) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1960, he won both the Epsom Derby and the St Leger. His performances in both 1960 and 1961 were instrumental in making his sire Aureole the Leading sire in Great Br ...

(Epsom Derby), Saint Crespin III (

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 ...

), Aurelius (St Leger), Provoke (St Leger) and Vienna, the sire of Vaguely Noble.

Pedigree

References

{{Elizabeth II Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom 1950 racehorse births 1974 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 2-f Chefs-de-Race King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winners