Camaree (1947 – after 1958) was a 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 and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. She showed promise as a juvenile when she won twice and finished second in the Prix Thomas Bryon. She reached her peak in the following spring when she took the

Prix Vanteaux The Prix Vanteaux is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,850 metres (about 1 mile and 1¼ furlongs) at ...

and was then sent to England where she recorded her biggest victory in the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...

. She ran unplaced when favourite for the

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 ya ...

and was retired from racing. She had little success as a broodmare.

Background

Camaree was a grey mare bred and owned by Jean Ternynck. As a young horse her grey colouring was not apparent and during her racing career she was officially described as

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. She was trained in France by Alexandre Lieux. She was sired by Maurepas, a top-class racehorse whose wins included 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), an ...

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 t ...

and

Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is ...

. As a breeding stallion, the best of his other foals included Burgos who won the (Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud) and Grand Prix d'Automne. Her dam, Couleur was a winner over

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

and later produced Camaree's full-sister Marmelade, the grand-dam of

Sea-Bird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

Racing career

1949: two-year-old season

As a two-year-old Camaree produced her best effort when finishing second to the colt Fort Napoleon in the Prix Thomas Bryon over 1500 metres at

Saint-Cloud Racecourse Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France. During World War 1, the race course site housed the No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospita ...

in November. She had previously won two minor races but ended the season ranked about eighteen pounds behind the top juveniles in France.

1950: three-year-old season

Camaree began her second season in the

Prix Vanteaux The Prix Vanteaux is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,850 metres (about 1 mile and 1¼ furlongs) at ...

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (, ) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for ...

in April and won despite her 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 ...

, being hampered by a slipping saddle. At Johnstone's urging, the filly was then sent to England to contest the 137th running of the 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

on 28 April. The

July Stakes The July Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and ...

winner Diableretta started favourite ahead of Stella Polaris ( Cornwallis Stakes) with Camaree next in the betting on 10/1. With Johnstone in the saddle she came home three lengths clear of Catchit and Tambara, who dead-heated for second place. Her winning time of 1:37.0 was a new record for the race. As Rae Johnstone chose to ride another French filly, Asmena, Gordon Richards took the ride when Camaree was stepped up distance and started favourite for the

Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 y ...

over one and a half miles at

Epsom Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 includin ...

on 25 May. Camaree took the lead three furlongs out but faded in the closing stages and finished unplaced behind Asmena.

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Camaree an "average" winner of the 1000 Guineas.

Breeding record

After her retirement from racing, Camaree became a broodmare for her owner's stud. She produced at least two foals, neither of whom made any significant impact: *Mea Culpa, a grey filly, foaled in 1954, sired by Bozzetto *Peticama, grey filly, 1958, by

Petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

Pedigree

*Camaree 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 ...

3 × 4 to Rabelais, meaning this stallion appears in both the third and fourth generations of her pedigree.

References

{{1000 Guineas Winners 1947 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 2-n 1000 Guineas winners