Gallic League (24 March 1985 – after 1997) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...

. He showed his best form in the autumn of his two-year-old season but continued to run well in major sprint races for the next two years. In 1987 he won two minor races and finished third in the Norfolk Stakes before returning from a three-month absence to win the

Flying Childers Stakes The Flying Childers Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 5 furlongs and 3 yards (1,008 metres), and it is sch ...

and then recorded his biggest win in the

Middle Park Stakes The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it i ...

. As a three-year-old he won the Leisure Stakes and finished third in the

Greenham Stakes The Greenham Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs () at Newbury ...

. In 1989 he took the

Ballyogan Stakes The Ballyogan Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at The Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), ...

and was placed in both the

Duke of York Stakes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

and the

King's Stand Stakes The King Charles III Stakes (formerly the King's Stand Stakes) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 fu ...

. After his racing career he stood as a breeding stallion in Europe and South Africa.

Background

Gallic League was a brown horse with a small white

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

, bred in the United Kingdom by N. Abbott. He was from the penultimate crop of foals sired by the horse Welsh Saint, who recorded his biggest win in the 1970 edition of the

Cork and Orrery Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. Three-year-olds foaled in the Southern Hemisphere are also eligible. It i ...

. Gallic League's dam, Red Rose Bowl, won over seven furlongs as a two-year-old in Ireland in 1982. She was a granddaughter of Gallissa, a half-sister to

Lorenzaccio ''Lorenzaccio'' is a French Play (theatre), play of the Romantic period written by Alfred de Musset in 1834, set in 16th-century Florence, and depicting Lorenzino de' Medici, who killed Florence's tyrant, Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, ...

. As a foal, Gallic League was put up for auction at Newmarket and sold for 10,000

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 ...

. In the following year he was returned to Newmarket for the Open Yearling Sale and was bought for 24,000 guineas by representatives of the British businessman

Robert Sangster Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004) Towards the end of his life he spent much of his time in Barbados and Australia. Death Sangster died of pancreatic cancer in London, on 7 April 2004, aged 67. British Classic Race wins * 1, ...

. The colt was sent into training with

Barry Hills Barry Hills (born 2 April 1937) is a retired British thoroughbred horse trainer. He lives in Lambourn, England. Biography Barry Hills had three sons in his first marriage, to Maureen Newson: John, Michael, and Richard. John (died 2014) was a h ...

Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of r ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

Racing career

1987: two-year-old season

On his racecourse debut Gallic League contested a five

furlong 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 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or 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 ...

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 ...

in April and finished second to the William Jarvis-trained Colmore Row. He recorded his first victory in maiden over the same distance at Bath Racecourse, taking the lead soon after the start and accelerating away from his rivals in the second half of the race. He started odds-on favourite for a minor race at

Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October. History Racing at ...

but looked to have thrown away his chance before the start, becoming very agitated in the preliminaries and then panicking in the starting stalls. He almost unseated his jockey

Greville Starkey Greville Michael Wilson Starkey (21 December 1939 – 14 April 2010) was an English jockey who rode almost 2,000 winners during a 33-year career on the flat. Starkey scaled the heights of his profession during his 33-year career in which ...

as he attempted to break out of the stalls but went on to take the lead after a furlong and won impressively. He was then stepped up in class and started joint-favourite for the Norfolk Stakes at

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Gra ...

in June. After being restrained in the early stages he made some progress in the last quarter mile but appeared unsuited by the soft ground and finished third behind Colmore Row and Classic Ruler. Gallic League suffered from sore shins after his defeat at Ascot and did not reappear until September when he contested the Group Two Flying Childers Stakes over five furlongs at

Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's List of British flat horse races#Group 1, 36 annual Group One, Group 1 flat races, the St Leger ...

. Ridden for the first time by

Steve Cauthen Steve Cauthen (born May 1, 1960) is a retired American jockey. In 1977 he became the first jockey to win over $6 million in a year working with agent Lenny Goodman, and in 1978 he became the youngest jockey to win the U. S. ...

he started at odds of 5/2 after reports that he had defeated the four-year-old Handsome Sailor in a training gallop. Gallic League took the lead from the start and set a very fast pace despite a strong headwind. He drew away from his rivals in the last quarter mile and won by two and a half lengths from Tommy Daly with J Cheever Loophole in third ahead of Classic Ruler. Gallic League was then stepped up in class and distance for the Group One Middle Park Stakes over six furlongs at

on 3 October. With Cauthen again in the saddle he was made the 6/4 favourite ahead of

Rahy Rahy (February 18, 1985 – September 22, 2011) was a Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who competed in United Kingdom, England and the United States. Background Bred by Hill 'n' Dale Farms in Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington, Rahy was a son of ...

, Persian Heights, Digamist (winner of the

Phoenix Stakes The Phoenix Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is ...

) and the 50/1 outsider Golden Garter. He took the lead from the start and soon had his opponents struggling with the exception of Rahy who looked his only real danger. Gallic League accelerated entering the final furlong and won "comfortably" by a length and a half from Rahy with a gap of four lengths back to Persian Heights in third place.

1988: three-year-old season

Gallic League began his second season in the

Greenham Stakes The Greenham Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs () at Newbury ...

(a major trial race for the

2000 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 ...

) over seven furlongs at Newbury on 16 April. He led for most of the way before being overtaken in the final furlong and finished third to Zelphi and Intimidate. He was thereafter kept to sprint distances. On 21 May he was made the 8/15 favourite for the Listed Leisure Stakes over six furlongs at

Lingfield Park Lingfield Park Racecourse (commonly referred to as Lingfield) is a horse racing course at Lingfield in Surrey, United Kingdom. It is owned by the ARC Racing and Leisure Group, formerly Arena Leisure Plc. Lingfield is best known as a winter ...

in which he was matched against older horses for the first time. Ridden by Michael Hills he led from the start and won easily by two lengths from the filly Posada. He was then made odds-on favourite for the

at Royal Ascot but finished fifth of the eight runners behind Chilibang. In his two other races in 1988 Gallic League finished unplaced in the

July Cup The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 me ...

and the

William Hill Sprint Championship The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is sc ...

1989: four-year-old season

On his first appearance of 1989, Gallic League ran fourth to Silver Fling in the Palace House Stakes and then produced his best effort for a year when he was runner-up to

Indian Ridge Indian Ridge (22 March 1985 – 17 October 2006) was an Irish-bred British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. He showed promising but unexceptional form as a two-year-old in 1987 when he won twice from four starts in minor races. He ...

in the

on 18 May. He was then sent to Ireland for the Group Three Ballyogan Stakes over five furlongs at the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse is a flat racecourse in County Kildare, Ireland. The racecourse is home to Ireland’s five most important flat races, known as the Irish Classic Races, Classics. Racing takes place 23 days each year from the end of March ...

on 5 June and started 5/2 favourite against fourteen opponents headed by the Cork and Orrery Stakes winner Big Shuffle. With Hills in the saddle he led from the start and won by five lengths from the Flying Childers Stakes winner Shuttlecock Corner. In June he made his second attempt to win the King's Stand Stakes and came much closer than in 1998 as he was beaten a neck and head into third by Indian Ridge and Tigani. His form deteriorated thereafter, and he finished unplaced in the July Cup, 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 ...

and the Phoenix Sprint Stakes.

Assessment

In the official International Classification for the European two-year-olds of 1987 Mister Majestic was rated the ninth best colt in Europe, seven pounds behind the top-rated Warning. The independent Timeform organisation gave him a rating of 119 p (the "p" indicating that he was expected to make more than usual improvement), eight pounds inferior to Warning, who was their best juvenile of the year. In their annual ''Racehorses of 1987'', Timeform commented "look no further for the champion sprinter of 1998".

Stud record

Gallic League was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion in Ireland and was later exported to South Africa. The best of his European offspring was probably Soreze, who won the Listed Marble Hill Stakes in 1994.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1985 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 5-h