Le Pacha (foaled in 1938) was a Champion

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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 ...

. Bred by Andre Schwob, his dam was Advertencia, a daughter of two-time Arc winner,

Ksar Ksar or qṣar (), in plural ksour or qsour (), is a type of fortified village in North Africa, usually found in the regions predominantly or traditionally inhabited by Berbers (Amazigh). The equivalent Berber languages, Berber term used is ' ( ...

. He was sired by

Biribi Biribi, biribissi (in Italian), or cavagnole (in French), is an Italian game of chance similar to roulette, played for low stakes. It is played on a board on which the numbers 1 to 70 are marked. The game was banned in Italy in 1837. The playe ...

who won the 1926

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe () is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over a distance ...

and who was a son of the three-time

Leading sire in France The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in France for each year since 1887. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season. Due to the huge prize money of the Prix de l'Arc de Tr ...

, Rabelais. Raced by Philippe Gund, Le Pacha was trained by John Cunnington whose family founded the English Racing Colony in

Chantilly, Oise Chantilly ( , ; Picard language, Picard: ''Cantily'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department in the Nonette (river), Valley of the Nonette in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region of Northern Franc ...

. The dominant three-year-old in wartime France in 1941, Le Pacha went undefeated while winning the preeminent races for his age group, the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly ov ...

and the then 3,000 meter

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), an ...

. He followed these important wins by defeating older horses in winning the

, thus becoming the first of only two horses to ever win all three of the

French Classic Races The French Classic Races are a series of Group One Thoroughbred horse races run annually on the flat. The races were instituted in the nineteenth century, taking the British Classic Races as a model. In the original scheme, one race, the Poule d' ...

open to colts. In 1942, Le Pacha's best results were a win in the

Prix du Prince d'Orange The Prix du Prince d'Orange is a group-3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled ...

and a second to

Djebel : ''For mountains or other uses, see: Jabal (disambiguation), Jabal.'' Djebel (1937–1958) was a French Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse, who won 15 of 22 races during 1939–1942 including the Prix d'Essai, 2000 Guineas and Prix de l'Arc de ...

in the

Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is ...

. Retired to

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duty, he met with modest success as a sire while standing at Prince Aly Khan's Haras de Saint-Crespin near

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References

Le Pacha's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Winners 1938 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Arc winners Thoroughbred family 16