El Bodegon (foaled 26 April 2019) is an Irish-bred, British-trained

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 ...

. He was one of the best European two-year-olds in 2021 when he won three of his five races including the

Prix de Conde Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who al ...

and the Criterium de Saint-Cloud.

Background

El Bodegon is a bay colt with a white star and snip and two white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...

bred in Ireland by Cecil & Martin McCracken. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the ...

in October 2020 he was consigned to the

Tattersalls Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founding It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. ...

sale and was bought for 70,000

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

by the trainer John Ferguson. He entered the ownership of the Nas Syndicate & A F O'Callaghan and was taken into training by Ferguson at

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 14 miles west of Bury St Edmunds and 14 miles northeast of Cambridge. In 2021, it had a population of 16,772. It is a global ...

. He was sired by Kodiac, a sprinter who won four minor races from twenty starts and finished second in the Hackwood Stakes and fourth in the

Prix Maurice de Gheest The Prix Maurice de Gheest is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,300 metres (about 6½ furlongs), and it is s ...

. Like his full-brother

Invincible Spirit Invincible Spirit (foaled 17 February 1997) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old, he won two out of his four races, but as a three-year-old, he only raced twice and was unsuccessful on both occasions. In 20 ...

, he became a very successful breeding stallion, siring many major winners including Tiggy Wiggy,

Fairyland Fairyland (Early Modern English: ''Faerie''; ( Scottish mythology; cf. (Norse mythology)) in English and Scottish folklore is the fabulous land or abode of fairies or ''fays''. Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of ...

and

Hello Youmzain Hello Youmzain (foaled 22 April 2016) is a French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2018 he showed top class form to win two of his three races including the Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte. In the following year ...

. El Bodegon's dam Al Andalyya showed little racing ability, failing to win in five attempts, but did better as a broodmare, producing the

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under Handicap (horse racing), handicap conditions. This is for all horses aged three years old and older. It takes place over a distance of 2400 met ...

winner Best Solution. Her dam Kushnarenkovo was a daughter of the

Park Hill Stakes The Park Hill Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards ...

winner Eva Luna, whose other foals included

Brian Boru Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...

Sea Moon Sea Moon (foaled 6 March 2008) is a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He was initially trained in Britain and as a three-year-old in 2011 he won the Great Voltigeur Stakes, was runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Turf and finished third in the St ...

and the dam of

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Racing career

2021: two-year-old season

El Bodegon began his racing career in a

maiden race In horse racing, a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the s ...

over six

furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains, or approximately 201 metres. It is no ...

on soft ground at

Windsor Racecourse Windsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is near the M3 and the M4 and the town has two railway stations. It is one of only two figure-of-eight ...

on 5 July when he started at odds of 11/1 and finished second to Fast Response, beaten half a

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by the winner. Later that month the colt started at 13/2 for a novice race (for horses with no more than two previous wins) over seven furlongs at

Sandown Park 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 racin ...

, where he was ridden on his debut by Daniel Muscutt. Racing on heavy ground and in driving rain, El Bodegon raced in second place before taking the lead approaching the final furlong and drew away in the closing stages to win by two lengths. For the rest of the season, El Bodegon was campaigned in France. Ryan Moore took the ride when the colt was stepped up in class and started a 16/1 outsider for the

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: * Group 3 element, chemical element classification * Group 3 (motorsport), FIA classification of cars used in auto racing and rallying * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image ...

Prix La Rochette The Prix La Rochette is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take pl ...

over 1400 metres 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 ...

on 5 September. In a change of tactics he led from the start but was overtaken in the last 50 metres and came home third behind Acer Alley and Making Moovies '' ic', beaten half a length and a short neck. Twenty four days later El Bodegon was moved up in distance for the Group 3

over 1800 metres at

Chantilly Racecourse Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred grass, turf race track, racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the ...

and went off the 7.9/1 fourth choice in a six-runner field. Ridden by

Ioritz Mendizabal Ioritz Mendizabal (born 5 May 1974 in Oiartzun) is a Spanish Basque people, Basque flat racing jockey, who is long-term based in France. He won his first race in 1990 and joined the stable of Jean-Claude Rouget the following year. Mendizabal is ...

he raced just behind the leaders before overtaking the front-running True Testament 200 metres from the finish and "kept on well" to win by one and a quarter lengths. Mendizabal was again in the saddle when El Bodegon started the 9.2/1 fifth choice in the betting for the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud over 2000 metres on heavy ground 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 ...

on 23 October. The

Zetland Stakes The Zetland Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres), an ...

winner Goldspur went off favourite, while the other seven runners included Unconquerable (second in the Zetland), Martel (Prix Tanerko) and Dreamflight (

Prix Thomas Bryon The Prix Thomas Bryon is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take ...

). El Bodegon led from the start, drew clear of his opponents 300 metres from the finish and came home a length and a half clear of Stone Age despite being eased down by Mendizabal in the final strides. After the race Ferguson said "We love the horse and from his last win we planned this is where we wanted to go. But leading with a furlong to go wasn't really part of my planning... He's improved with every run and mentally as well, he takes his traveling very well... He's not overly big but there's a lot of presence about him and it's very exciting to wonder what we might have next year. I can't see him not improving. You have to aim high when you have a horse like this."

Pedigree

* El Bodegon 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 ...

4 × 4 to Northern Dancer, meaning that this stallions appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{Reflist 2019 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 14-c