Scratch, also known as Scratch II (foaled 1947) was a French

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 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" a ...

best known for winning the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a ...

and the

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

St Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...

in 1950. Scratch won the

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

in England as a two-year-old and emerged as one of the best of a very strong generation of French-trained colts in the following year. He won the

Prix de Guiche The Prix de Guiche is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts. It is run over a distance of 1,800 metres (about 1⅛ miles) at Chantilly in May. His ...

and

Prix Greffulhe The Prix Greffulhe is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Saint-Cloud in May. History The eve ...

in the early part of the year and then defeated the year's outstanding three-year-old colt

Tantieme Tantième (1947–1966) was a French Thoroughbred horse racing champion and prominent sire who twice won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, France's most prestigious horse race. He also won several other important conditions races including the Gran ...

in the

. In the autumn of 1950 he won the St Leger by defeating

Vieux Manoir Vieux Manoir (1947–1981) was a French Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and Champion sire. Background Bred by Edouard Alphonse de Rothschild, Baron Edouard A. de Rothschild and raced by his son Guy de Rothschild, Guy following his death in 1 ...

, who had beaten him in 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 it ...

. He won the

Prix Jean Prat The Prix Jean Prat is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is sched ...

as a four-year-old before being retired to stud where he had an unremarkable record as a sire of winners in Europe and South America.

Background

Scratch was a chestnut horse with a white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

and a white

sock 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 ...

on his right hind leg bred by his owner

Marcel Boussac Marcel Boussac (17 April 1889 – 21 March 1980) was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history. Born in Châteauroux, Indre, ...

. He was sired by Pharis, the undefeated winner of the 1939

. Scratch's dam Orlamonde was an unsuccessful racehorse but produced several other winners including Damno, who won the

Prix d'Arenberg The Prix d'Arenberg is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,100 metres (about 5½ furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place ...

. Orlamonde's dam Naic was a half sister of the Prix du Jockey Club winner Ramus and also produced the

Grand Prix de Deauville The Grand Prix de Deauville is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,500 metres (about 1 mile and 4½ furl ...

winner Jock. Scratch was sent into training with

Charles Semblat Charles Henri Semblat, (1897–1972) was a French jockey and racehorse trainer. Semblat was leading French jockey for more than twenty years before his riding career was ended by injury. He subsequently had an even more successful career as traine ...

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

Racing career

1949: two-year-old season

Scratch won twice as a two-year-old in 1949. In late summer he was sent to England for the Solario Stakes of seven

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 ...

s at

Sandown Park Racecourse 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 racing ...

. He was ridden by the British-born, French-based jockey

Charlie Elliott Charles Standish Elliott MBE (24 April 1912 – 1 January 2004) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1932 and 1953, an international umpire and a part-time footballer. Elliott was born in Bolsover, Derbyshire. ...

and won at odds of 7/4.

1950: three-year-old season

In the spring of his three-year-old season, Scratch won the Prix de Guiche over 1800

metres The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

Chantilly Racecourse Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the country's main hors ...

and the Prix Greffulhe (beating L'Amiral) over 2100 at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

. He was beaten into second place by Lacaduv in the

Prix Noailles The Prix Noailles is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlon ...

at Longchamp. In June, Scratch faced Lacaduv again in the Prix du Jockey Club over 2400m at Chantilly. Scratch was ridden by the Australian jockey

Rae Johnstone William Raphael "Rae" Johnstone (13 April 1905 – 29 April 1964), was an Australian flat-race jockey. After enjoying considerable success in his native country, he relocated to Europe in 1932 and spent most of the rest of his life in France. He ...

and started at odds of 3.8/1 against fourteen opponents. In an extremely close finish, Scratch won by a short-head from the François Mathet-trained

, with Lacaduv in third place. In his next race, Scratch was moved up in distance for the

over 3000m at Longchamp. He finished fourth behind

, Alizier and Lacaduv. On 9 September, Scratch was sent to England to contest the St Leger over 14 furlongs at

Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy. History Doncas ...

in which he was again opposed by Vieux Manoir. Ridden by Johntone, he started at odds of 9/2 in a field of fifteen runners. Saturn made the early running before Vieux Manoir, the favourite, took the lead five furlongs from the finish. Scratch was not among the early leaders but finished strongly to overtake Vieux Manoir inside the final furlong and win by a length, with the two French colts finishing five lengths clear of the British filly Sanlinea. He became the first French horse to win the St Leger since Rayon d'Or in 1870. Scratch's win gave Semblat his third British classic of the 1950 after winning The Derby with

Galcador Galcador (1947–1970) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from autumn 1949 to June 1950 he ran four times and won three races. In 1950 he won England's most prestigious race, The Derby. He never raced aft ...

and the Oaks with Asmena and helped to make him British Champion trainer despite the fact that he had never set foot in the country during the season, On his return from England, Scratch ran in France's most prestigious race, the

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 ...

over 2400m at Longchamp. He finished fourth of the twelve runners behind Tantieme, Alizier and L'Amiral.

1951: four-year-old season

In May 1951 won the older horses' version of the Prix Jean Prat over 3000m at Longchamp. He finished unplaced behind Pan in the Ascot Gold Cup and was again unplaced behind

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in the inaugural running of 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 ...

Assessment

In 1950, the independent

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 ...

organisation gave Scratch a rating of 134, placing him two pounds below the top-rated three-year-old Tantieme. In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Scratch a "superior" winner of the St Leger.

Stud record

Scratch was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion. In his third and final season at stud in Europe he sired Dushka, a filly who won the

Prix de Diane The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 2,100 metre ...

in 1958. In 1955 Scratch was offered for sale at auction: he was sold for £52,500 and exported to Argentina.

Pedigree

References

{{St Leger Winners 1947 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 14-f St Leger winners