Fortina (1941–1968) was a French-bred

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse who won the 1947

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs ( ...

. He was and remains the only entire horse to win the race. After establishing himself as a top-class steeplechaser in France he was sent to England and won the Gold Cup on his second British start. He was then retired to become a breeding stallion and became a very successful sire of

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

horses.

Background

Fortina was a

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

horse bred in France. He was the best horse sired by Formor, a French bred stallion and a representative of the

Byerley Turk The Byerley Turk (c. 1680 – c. 1703), also spelled Byerly Turk, was the earliest of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock (the other two are the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian).Ahner ...

sire line. Fortina's dam Bertina was a daughter of the leading French stallion

La Farina La Farina (1911–1935) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who was noted for his rivalry with his contemporary Sardanapale and has been regarded as one of the best French horses of the 20th century. In 1913 he showed promise as a ju ...

and a female-line descendant of the influential Hungarian broodmare Kunst.

Racing career

Fortina began his racing career in France. He won four steeplechases and finished second to Lindor as a five-year-old in the 1946

Grand Steeplechase de Paris The Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris is a Group 1 Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in France which is open to Horse racing, horses aged five years or older. It is run at Auteuil Hippodrome, Auteuil over a di ...

. In the autumn of 1946 he was bought by Lord Grimthorpe and brought to England to be trained by Hector Christie in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

and made a successful British debut in the Lancashire Chase. The winter of 1946/47 was exceptionally severe and many National Hunt fixtures, including the Cheltenham Festival, were either cancelled or postponed. The 20th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was eventually staged on 12 April with Fortina starting at odds of 8/1 in a twelve-runner field. The 3/1 favourite was

Dorothy Paget Dorothy Wyndham Paget (21 February 1905 – 9 February 1960) was a British racehorse owner and sponsor of motor racing. Early life Paget was the daughter of Lord Queenborough and Pauline Payne Whitney of the American Whitney family. She was a ...

's eight-year-old Happy Home whilst the other leading contenders appeared to be Coloured Schoolboy (ridden by

Fred Rimell Thomas Frederic Rimell (24 June 1913 – 12 July 1981), better known as Fred Rimell, was a British champion National Hunt racing jockey and horse trainer. He was champion jockey three times and leading trainer five times. Rimell was the fi ...

) and Prince Blackthorn. Ridden by the amateur Richard Black, Fortina raced in second place behind Chaka before taking the lead on the second circuit. He quickly went clear and was never in any danger of defeat, winning by ten lengths from Happy Home, with six lengths back to Prince Blackthorn in third. In the 1947/1948 National Hunt season Fortina was beaten by

Silver Fame Silver Fame (foaled 1939) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1951 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After beginning his racing career in Ireland he moved to England and became one of the leading steeplechasers of his time. He won races at the C ...

in the Emblem Chase and then finished unplaced behind Rowland Roy in the

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 distance of ...

. He was then retired to stud.

Stud record

At the end of his racing career Fortina became a breeding stallion at the Grange Stud at

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. It is located in the barony of Condons and Clangibbon, and is in the Dái ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

. He proved to be a very successful National Hunt sire, with his offspring including

Fortria Fortria (foaled 1952) was an Irish National Hunt horse best known as the first dual winner of the Champion Chase and winner of the inaugural Mackeson Gold Cup. Although very successful over two miles, he also excelled at longer distances, and won ...

Fort Leney A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

(Cheltenham Gold Cup), Glencaraig Lady (Cheltenham Gold Cup), Brasher (

Scottish Grand National The Scottish Grand National is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ayr, Scotland, over a distance of about 4 miles (3 ...

), Flying Cottage (

Carolina Cup The Carolina Cup is an annual steeplechase horse race held at the Springdale Race Course in Camden, South Carolina. The race holds the National Steeplechase Association attendance record of 71,000 people. The Carolina Cup has raised thousands of ...

), Olympia (

Irish Grand National The Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5,834 m ...

) Splash (Irish Grand National) and Fort Devon (

Maryland Hunt Cup The Maryland Hunt Cup is a Timber race, which is an American Steeplechase. It was first run on May 26 1894 and won by Johnny Miller. Eight horses have won the race three times but no horse has won it four times. It is considered one of the most d ...

). He was also the only Cheltenham Gold Cup winning horse to sire another Cheltenham Gold Cup winning horse. Died on 13 May 1968

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the

Timeform Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by ...

rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Fortina an "average" Gold Cup winner. Fortina's name is remembered in Fortina Close, a residential street in Cheltenham.

Pedigree

References

{{Cheltenham Gold Cup winners 1941 racehorse births 1968 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 4-e Byerley Turk sire line Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Cheltenham Festival winners National Hunt racehorses