Bago (born February 3, 2001, in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) was the

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an Three-Year-Old Champion

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 ...

race horse in 2004. Bred by the Niarchos family, Bago is best known for winning the 2004

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 over a distance ...

amongst his five

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

successes.

Background

Bago's dam Moonlight's Box, a daughter of the Champion Sire Nureyev, who also sired

Miesque Miesque ( ; March 14, 1984 – January 20, 2011) was a champion Thoroughbred racemare. At age three, she was a dual Classic winner in France and Britain, then went on to win the Breeders' Cup Mile in America. Her four-year-old campaign was highl ...

, the dual

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...

winner. She in turn is out of Group 1 winning Coup de Genie, a full sister to Machiavellian. In 1989, Bago's sire

Nashwan Nashwan (1 March 1986 – 19 July 2002) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. After winning both his starts as a two-year-old, he developed into an outstanding performer in the spring and summer of ...

won the

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 (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...

, The Derby, the

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

and the

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 ...

in one season, a feat no other horse has yet equalled. He was trained by

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city ** US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Chantilly (Charlotte neighborhood), North Carolina ...

-based Englishman

Jonathan Pease Jonathan Edward Pease (born 8 June 1952 in Northumberland, England) is a member of the prominent Pease family (Darlington), Pease family and a Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse Horse trainer, trainer. The son of Derrick Allix Pease and the H ...

, also renowned for being the mentor of many top-class horses including Tikkanen, Spinning World, Act One etc., Bago was ridden during his entire career by top French jockey Thierry Gillet.

Racing career

Bago won all four starts as a two-year-old, including the Critérium International by six lengths. In 2004, Bago was hit by a virus that kept him off the track all spring and took him out of contention for the spring classics. However, his return to Chantilly saw him win the Prix Jean Prat over nine furlongs. He then went to Longchamp for the Grand Prix de Paris. Following a third-place finish to another Niarchos family-bred Prix du Jockey Club winner Sulamani at

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

in the Juddmonte International, he ended his three-year-old career with a win in the

. In the race, Bago passed his rivals in the home straight and beat Cherry Mix on the finishing line. In 2005, Bago won one of his seven starts. However, all his races were at the very highest level; they included racing in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, the

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and

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, as well as finishing 3rd in the

, 2nd in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Pollardstown Fen, the larges ...

, 3rd in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Newbury, and 4th in the Breeders' Cup Turf at Belmont. In the

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

, he received a severe cut and the right hind shoe was torn off during the race, which was the only time he ever finished out of the top four.

Stud record

Bago was retired from racing and stood his first season at stud in

in 2006. He had immediate success, siring the Kikuka Sho winner Big Week in his first crop of foals but his later record was disappointing. It was only in 2019 that he sired his second Grade 1 winner when Chrono Genesis won the Shuka Sho.

Pedigree

References

Bago's pedigree and racing stats
{{Cartier Champion Three-year-old Colt 2001 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Orne Racehorses trained in France Arc winners Cartier Award winners Thoroughbred family 2-d