Rayon d'Or (1876–1896) 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 ...

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 Champion sire in the United States. Bred by Frédéric Lagrange at his

Haras de Dangu Haras may refer to: * Al-Haras or the Haras, a bodyguard unit in service of caliphs during the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates * Haras Fyre Haras Fyre (born January 5, 1953), also known professionally as Patrick Grant, is an American singer, ...

stud farm in

Dangu, Eure Dangu () is a commune on the river Epte in the Eure department in the Normandy region in northern France. It is home to the renowned Haras de Dangu, once a large estate and thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm owned by Count Fré ...

, he was sired by

Flageolet The flageolet is a woodwind instrument and a member of the fipple flute family which includes recorders and tin whistles. Its invention was erroneously ascribed to the 16th-century Sieur Juvigny in 1581. There are two basic forms of the instrum ...

whose wins included the

Prix Morny The Prix Morny is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is scheduled ...

(1872),

Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3,2 ...

(1873) and

Jockey Club Cup A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

(1873) and whom Rayon d'Or would help make the

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 ...

in 1879. Rayon d'Or's dam was the good producing mare Araucaria, sired by Ambrose. Araucaria was the last foal of the mare

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

whom ''

Thoroughbred Heritage The National Sporting Library & Museum or NSLM (formerly the National Sporting Library) is a research library and art museum in Middleburg, Virginia in the United States. History The National Sporting Library was founded in 1954 in the personal ...

'' says is "one of the most influential thoroughbreds of all time, male or female." Rayon d'Or was conditioned for racing by Tom Jennings, Sr., a member of the pioneering English Racing Colony at

Chantilly, Oise Chantilly ( , ) is a commune in the Oise department in the Valley of the Nonette in the Hauts-de-France region of Northern France. Surrounded by Chantilly Forest, the town of 10,863 inhabitants (2017) falls within the metropolitan area of Pa ...

. Jennings was the trainer of

Gladiateur Gladiateur (1862–1876) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who won the English Triple Crown in 1865. Gladiateur is called a legend by France Galop and "One of the best horses ever to grace the turf in any century" by the National Sporting Li ...

, winner of the British Triple Crown in 1865. Rayon d'Or raced from age two through four, winning important races in England and France at distances of one mile to mile and a quarter such as the

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

and

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 furlo ...

, and at endurance distances such as the 4,000 meter

Prix du Cadran The Prix du Cadran is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 4,000 metres (about 2 miles), and it is scheduled to tak ...

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 ...

and the Prix Rainbow at 5,000 meters. Rayon d'Or's most important win came in the Classic St. Leger Stakes.

Stud record

Rayon d'Or was retired to stud at Haras de Dangu where he sired only a few foals before being sold in the dispersal of the Haras de Dangu horses in November 1882. He was purchased by American businessman, and former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, William Scott. Rayon d'Or was brought to the United States to stand at Scott's Algeria Stock Farm at

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

where he sired most of his major winners. In 1889 he became the first French-bred stallion to top the American leading sires list. Scott died in 1892, and the Algeria Stud was dispersed. Rayon d'Or was purchased by

August Belmont Jr. August Belmont Jr. (February 18, 1853 – December 10, 1924) was an American financier. He financed the construction of the original New York City subway (1900–1904) and for many years headed the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, which ran ...

who stood him at his Nursery Stud in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. Rayon d'Or notably sired: * Tea Tray (b. 1885) - won Monmouth Handicap (1890) * Gypsy Queen (b. 1886) - won

Spinaway Stakes The Spinaway Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old fillies, it is a Grade I event contested at a distance of seven furlongs (1,408 metres) on dirt. ...

(1888), Gazelle Stakes (1889) * Tenny (b. 1886) - won

Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Invitational Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year ...

(1890) * Chaos (b. 1887) - won the 1889 Futurity Stakes *

Banquet A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

(b. 1887) - on July 18, 1890, he set a new

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the ...

record of 2:03.75 for a mile and a quarter on dirt. Won 1891 Monmouth Handicap, 1892

Manhattan Handicap The Manhattan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York. Currently offering a purse of $1,000,000, the Grade I Manha ...

* Liza (b. 1892) - won

Swift Stakes Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, a ...

(1894),

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to internati ...

(1895) * Soufflé (b. 1893) - in 1896 she won the

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday ...

, Latonia Oaks, and Jerome Handicap. Named the retrospective

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when b ...

* Don de Oro (b. 1894) - won

Tremont Stakes The Tremont Stakes is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race run annually for two-year-olds over the distance of 5½ furlongs on the dirt in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event carries a purse of US$150,000. History First ...

(1896), Kenner Stakes (1897) *

Octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, w ...

(b. 1894) - won

Toboggan Handicap The Toboggan Stakes, formerly the Toboggan Handicap, is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the first week of March at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York. Open to horses aged three and older, the Grade III event is contest ...

(1897, 1898),

Withers Stakes The Withers Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The event currently carries a purse o ...

(1897),

Brooklyn Derby The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade III stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over a ...

(1897). Sire of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame filly, Beldame. Through another of his daughters, St Priscilla, Rayon d'Or was also the damsire of the outstanding runner,

Stromboli Stromboli ( , ; scn, Struògnuli ) is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing Mount Stromboli, one of the four active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Si ...

. Rayon d'Or died at Nursery Stud on July 15, 1896 at age twenty.

References

Rayon d'Or's pedigree and partial racing stats

{{St Leger Winners 1876 racehorse births 1896 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires Belmont family Thoroughbred family 3-n St Leger winners