Ajax (1901 – 15 February 1915) was an undefeated French

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

who won the 1904

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 ov ...

and

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), an ...

and was an influential

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" an ...

Breeding

Bred and raced by

Edmond Blanc Edmond Blanc (22 February 1856 – 12 December 1920) was a horse breeder as well a French politician. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1893 to 1894, and from 1898 to 1902, representing Hautes-Pyrénées. He also served as ...

, he was by

Flying Fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

and out of Amie, whose sire Clamart also won the Grand Prix de Paris. Ajax is a brother to Adam, a sire who was exported to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1906 and then in 1908 to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

.Pryor, Peter, ''The Classic Connection'', Cortney Publications, Luton, 1979

Racing record

Ajax was trained by Robert Denman and ridden by

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), 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 ...

George Stern Georges Stern (29 Sep 1883 – October 28, 1928), nicknamed "The King of the Derbies"and "King of the Jockeys", was France’s most famous jockey in the early part of the 20th century. Besides France, he also rode in England. Stern was born in Cha ...

. In 1904 the three-year-old colt won the two most prestigious races in France, the

and the

before retiring undefeated after five starts. At

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

, Ajax was an influential stallion who sired Union (his first classic winner and the 3rd dam of

Le Pacha Le Pacha (foaled in 1938) was a Champion France, French Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Bred by Andre Schwob, his dam was Advertencia, a daughter of two-time Arc winner, Ksar (horse), Ksar. He was sired by Biribi (horse), Biribi who won th ...

) and

Teddy Teddy is an English language given name, usually a hypocorism of Edward or Theodore or Theodora. It may refer to: People Nickname * Teddy Atlas (born 1956), American boxing trainer and fight commentator * Teddy Bourne (born 1948), British Olym ...

. His daughters produced the undefeated Havresac II, Invershin, Massine and Le Correge. Ajax died on 15 February 1915.

Pedigree

''Note: b. =

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, br. =

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

, ch. =

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

'' * Ajax was

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...

3x4 to

Galopin Galopin (1872–1899) was a Great Britain, British Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. In a racing career which lasted from June 1874 until October 1875 he ran nine times and won eight races. He was one of ...

. This means that the stallion appears once in the third generation and once in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Ajax at ''Thoroughbred Heritage''
1901 racehorse births 1915 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France French Thoroughbred Classic Race winners Undefeated racehorses Thoroughbred family 2-i

Breeding

Racing record

Pedigree

See also

References

External links