First Gold (1993–2011) was a

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

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 ...

that was trained by

François Doumen François Doumen (born 11 June 1940) is a retired French racehorse trainer. He was a winner of the King George VI Chase on five occasions with ''Nupsala (1987), The Fellow (1991, 1992), Algan (1994), First Gold (2000), and the Cheltenham Go ...

. The horse won the 2000

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a dis ...

race by a distance of 10 lengths when ridden by

Thierry Doumen Thierry is a French male given name, derived from the Germanic "Theodoric". It is the cognate of German "Dietrich" and " Dieter", Italian Teodorico, Derek and Derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in ...

, beating

Florida Pearl Florida Pearl (1992-2012) was an Irish-bred race horse who raced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was owned by Mrs Violet O'Leary and trained by Willie Mullins. His major race successes included the Champion Bumper, Royal & SunAlliance Ch ...

into second place.2000 King George VI Chase result and distances at Racing Post
/ref> At the time of the win the horse was owned by the Marquesa de Moratalla. After his King George VI success he was purchased by

J. P. McManus John Patrick McManus (born 10 March 1951) is an Irish businessman and racehorse owner. He was a major shareholder of Manchester United until his stake was bought out by Malcolm Glazer in 2005. Early life McManus was born in Limerick, Ireland, ...

, following which the horse won the

Punchestown Gold Cup The Punchestown Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 3 miles and ½ furlong (3 miles and 12 ...

and the Martell Cognac Cup. The horse was put down in January 2011 after suffering with

laminitis Laminitis is a disease of the feet of ungulates, found mostly in horses and cattle involving inflammation of the laminae. Clinical signs include foot tenderness progressing to inability to walk, increased digital pulses, and increased temperatur ...

References

External links

Racing career at goracing.ie
1993 racehorse births 2011 racehorse deaths National Hunt racehorses Racehorses trained in France Racehorses bred in France {{racehorse-stub