Gladiateur (1862–1876) was a French

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racehorse who won the English Triple Crown in 1865. Gladiateur is called a legend by

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and "One of the best horses ever to grace the turf in any century" by the

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. Gladiateur was not very successful as a sire but his performance on the track remains one of the most impressive in

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

history.

Background

A large colt, Gladiateur was a horse who raced best at long distances. He was bred by Count Frederic de Lagrange at his Haras de Dangu at Dangu, Eure in the

Upper Normandy Upper Normandy (french: Haute-Normandie, ; nrf, Ĥâote-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Upper and Lower Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. History It was created in 1956 from two d ...

region of France.Morris, Simon; ''Tesio Power 2000 - Stallions of the World'', Syntax Software He was sired by the French horse Monarque on Miss Gladiator,Gladiateur
at horseracinghistory.co.uk, accessed 16 March 2012 a mare by the

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horse Gladiator, who had been purchased by French interests at the age of nine and brought to stand at stud in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Miss Gladiator was also the dam of Villafranca.

Racing career

Gladiateur's owner sent him to England to be trained by

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. Developing the colt slowly, he did not begin racing until the fall of 1864 and won only one of the three races he entered. At age three, things were very different as Gladiateur was the most dominant horse in

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an racing while becoming the first foreign horse to win the English Triple Crown. After winning the 1865

2,000 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 a ...

then the most prestigious race in England, The Derby, Gladiateur was sent to race in

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. In front of happy fans who dubbed him " The Avenger of Waterloo", he easily won 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 i ...

. At age four, Gladiateur continued to dominate, winning numerous important races in England and France including a forty-length victory in the Ascot Gold Cup.

Stud record

He was retired to

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duty at the end of his four-year-old season having won sixteen of his nineteen races. He first stood at Middle Park Stud in

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in 1867 and 1868 and then at his owner's Haras de Dangu in France 1869 and 1870. Following the invasion of France by

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during the Franco-Prussian War, Count Frederic de Lagrange shipped his horses out of the country to the safety of England where they were sold at a

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auction. Gladiateur was purchased by an English breeder (William Blenkiron) who brought him back to Middle Park Stud but following his new owner's death, in 1873 he was sold to Dunmow Stud Farm in

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. He was the sire of Fair Maid of Kent, dam of Kentish Fire (IRE) who won 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 ...

Stakes and Frigate, a Grand National Steeplechase winner. Suffering from a disease of the

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, Gladiateur was

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in January 1876. He is buried at Dunmow Stud Farm but his tail is at the

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in Newmarket.

References

* Thibault, Guy. ''L'épopée de Gladiateur'' (English: "The Epic Story of Gladiateur") (

UNIC Unic was a French manufacturer founded in 1905, and active as an automobile producer until July 1938. After this the company continued to produce commercial vehicles, retaining its independence for a further fourteen years before being purcha ...

, 1990)
France Galop website on the Prix Gladiateur and biography
(French language)

{{St Leger Winners 1862 racehorse births 1876 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 5-h Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing winners Epsom Derby winners 2000 Guineas winners St Leger winners