Halling (14 March 1991 – 2 February 2016) was an American-bred, British-trained racehorse. He was notable for completing the double of the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

and the

International Stakes The International Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards ...

in 1995 and 1996.

Background

Halling was sired by

Diesis In classical music from Western culture, a diesis ( or enharmonic diesis, plural dieses ( , or "difference"; Greek: "leak" or "escape" is either an accidental (see sharp), or a very small musical interval, usually defined as the differe ...

out of the mare Dance Machine. He was bred by the

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

, Cyril Humphris. The colt was trained in the early part of his career by

John Gosden John Harry Martin Gosden (born 30 March 1951) is a British Horse trainer, racehorse trainer. He has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including victories in the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Epsom Derby, Derby, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, A ...

and subsequently by Hilal Ibrahim in Dubai and then by

Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor (; born 16 November 1968 in Dubai) is a horse racing horse trainer, trainer in Great Britain. Formerly a policeman, he took out his training licence in 1995 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Mohammed bin Ra ...

Racing career

1994: three-year-old season

As a three-year-old, Halling got his first win in the August 1994 Harrogate Handicap at Ripon Racecourse. He followed this with two further victories, including the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket in October, ridden by

Frankie Dettori Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), is an Italian jockey who was based in England for a career spanning over 35 years. He was British flat racing Champion Jockey three times (1994, 1995 and 2004) and rode the winners of 287 ...

1995: four-year-old season

Halling was transferred to Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation in late 1994 and subsequently gained multiple Group 1 successes, starting with the 1995

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

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 ...

followed by the

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, ridden on both occasions by

Walter Swinburn Walter Robert John Swinburn (7 August 1961 – 12 December 2016) was a flat racing jockey and trainer who competed in Great Britain and internationally. Biography Swinburn was born in Oxford. He was the son of Wally Swinburn, who won t ...

. In the 1995

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Champion ...

, held that year at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead, New York, Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough ...

, Halling finished eleventh and last.

1996: five-year-old season

In the spring of 1996 Halling was unplaced behind

Cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

in the

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operate ...

. He later won the Group One

Prix d'Ispahan The Prix d'Ispahan 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 1,850 metres (about 1 mile and 1¼ furlongs), ...

at Longchamps in France. He completed the feat of winning both the Eclipse and International Stakes for the second straight year. He finished his racing career at Newmarket, running second to 1,000 Guineas winner Bosra Sham in the 1996

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong a ...

. Halling also won four races on the dirt track at Nad Al Sheba in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

. In all, he ran 18 times, winning 12 races.

Stud career

Retired to stud at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket in 1997–2003 and in 2004–05 at the Emirates Stud Farm in

, Returned at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket in 2006–14 Pensioned from stud duties in 2014 Died at Dalham Hall Stud on 2 February 2016 owing to "the infirmities of old age".Racing Post
His offspring included

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882 – 21 December 1963) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master", he is widely regarded ...

Norse Dancer Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a Medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nors ...

Cavalryman Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and Opinion Poll (

Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3 ...

References

{{Cartier Champion Older Horse 1991 racehorse births 2016 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Cartier Award winners Thoroughbred family 10-c