Lord Glitters (foaled 20 April 2013) is a retired French-bred

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. He was trained in France where he won four races before being sold, gelded, and sent to race in England as a four-year-old where he won the valuable Balmoral Handicap in October 2017. In 2018 he showed very good form over one mile, winning the

Strensall Stakes The Strensall Stakes is a Group 3 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 and 177 yards (1,771 metres), and it is sche ...

and being placed in the

Lincoln Handicap The Lincoln Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Doncaster in late Marc ...

Queen Anne Stakes The Queen Anne Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and is scheduled to take p ...

and

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes 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 1 mile (1,609 metres), a ...

. As a six-year-old he finished third in the

Dubai Turf The Dubai Turf is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,800 metres (1 mile 1 furlong) on the turf at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai during the Dubai World Cup Night ...

before recording his biggest victory when he took the Queen Anne Stakes at the second attempt. In 2021 he secured a second Group 1 success, winning the

Jebel Hatta The Jebel Hatta is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 2000 at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Raced on turf, it is open to horses four-years-old and up who were bred in the Northern Hemisphere and to horses three-ye ...

, and won the first of two back-to-back victories in the

Singspiel Stakes The Singspiel Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Stakes is run during the latter part of June on the same card as the Queen's Plate, as of 2008 it carries Grade III status. Th ...

. His retirement was announced in July 2022.

Background

Lord Glitters is a grey gelding bred in France by SCA Elevage de Tourgeville. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the ...

in October 2014 he was offered for sale at Deauville and bought for €25,000 by Ecurie du Trieux. The colt was sent into training with Christophe Lotoux. He was sired by Whipper, a top-class sprinter-miler who won the

Prix Jacques le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run in August each year at Deauville over a distance of ...

in 2004 and 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 ...

in 2005. The best of his other offspring have included the

Prix du Moulin The Prix du Moulin de Longchamp is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is s ...

winner Recoletos. Lord Glitters' dam Lady Glitters showed modest racing ability, finishing second twice and third three times in ten starts. She was descended from the

Preis der Diana The Preis der Diana is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Düsseldorf over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and takes place in early Augus ...

winner Ordenstreue, making her a close relative of the

German Derby The Deutsches Derby is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Hamburg-Horn over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to t ...

winners Ordos and Orofino.

Racing career

2016: three-year-old season

Lord Glitters was ridden in his first five races by Arnaud Bourgeais. He was unraced as a juvenile and began his track career by finishing second in 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 ...

over 1800 metres on heavy ground at

Morlaix Morlaix (; , ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History The Battle of Morlaix, part of the Hundred Years' War, was fought near the town on 30 Septembe ...

on 3 April 2017. He then finished second again in a similar event at Chateaubriant before recording his first success in a maiden at the same track on 28 May, winning by two lengths from ten opponents. On 19 June he followed up in a minor race over 2000 metres at

Le Lion-d'Angers Le Lion-d'Angers () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Andigné was merged into Le Lion-d'Angers.Listed Grand Prix du Lion d'Angers in which he ran second to the favourite Floodlight. He failed to maintain his good run of form when he finished last of the five runners in a minor race at

Deauville Racecourse Hippodrome Deauville-La Touques is a race track for thoroughbred horse racing located in Deauville in the Calvados département, in the Normandy ''région'' of France. Originally called Hippodrome de la Touques, it was named for the Touques River ...

on 31 August. Lord Glitters ended his first season at Deauville in November when he finished fourth of the thirteen runners in a minor event on the synthetic

Polytrack The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...

surface.

2017: four-year-old season

Lord Glitters was ridden by

Christophe Soumillon Christophe Soumillon (born 4 June 1981) is a Belgian jockey based in France. Career Coming from a racing background, Soumillon is the son of jump jockey Jean-Marc Soumillon. He rode in pony races and left Belgium aged fifteen to go to the racin ...

on his first start of 2017 when he started at odds of 9.7/1 for the Prix du Bu on the polytrack at

Chantilly Racecourse Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred grass, turf race track, racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the ...

on 20 April and won "cosily" by two lengths from Alberello. He returned to the turf in the Prix Lavandin at

Saint-Cloud Racecourse Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France. During World War 1, the race course site housed the No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospita ...

on 15 May and won again, coming home lengths clear of his nine opponents at odds of 2/1. In July Lord Glitters returned to the Deauville sales ring and was bought for $306,477 by Jason Kelly & Elwick Stud. He was then gelded and sent to race in England where he was trained by David O'Meara at

Upper Helmsley Upper Helmsley is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, about seven miles east of York. The population taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of Gate Helmsley. History The village ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. He thenceforth carried the colours of Elwick Stud's owners Geoff and Sarah Turnbull. On his first appearance for his new connections, Lord Glitters carried 129 pounds in a valuable Handicap race over seven

furlongs 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 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains, or approximately 201 metres. It is no ...

Ascot Racecourse 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 Grade ...

on 7 October and finished second of the eighteen runners, beaten half a length by Accidental Agent. Two weeks later at the same track, the gelding was ridden by

Daniel Tudhope Daniel "Danny" Tudhope (born 1 December 1985) is a group race, Group 1-winning Scottish jockey. He is stable jockey to David O'Meara (racehorse trainer), David O'Meara, for whom he has won most of his major races. Background Tudhope grew up in ...

when he started 3/1 favourite for the Balmoral Handicap. After racing towards the rear of the field he produced a strong late run to take the lead in the final strides and won by a neck from the

Royal Hunt Cup The Royal Hunt Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

winner GM Hopkins. On his final race of the season Lord Glitters started favourite for the Listed

Ben Marshall Stakes The Robin Hood Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Nottingham over a distance of 1 mile and 75 yards (1,678 metres), and is sched ...

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 November but was beaten a neck into second place by Brace Zolo.

2018: five-year-old season

In the first half of 2018 Lord Glitters ran consistently well without being able to win. On his debut he carried top weight of 136 pounds in the

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 ...

in March and finished second to Addeybb, a gelding who won the

Sandown Mile The Sandown Mile is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Sandown Park in late April. ...

on his next start. 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 he stepped up to Group 1 level and finished a half-length second to Accidental Agent in the

, staying on strongly in the closing stages after struggling to obtain a clear run. In the Summer Mile Stakes at the same track a month later he was beaten a neck by the four-year-old Beat The Bank. After three consecutive second places Lord Glitters finished third to Lightning Spear and

Expert Eye Expert Eye (foaled 31 January 2015) is a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the most promising two-year-olds of his generation in 2017 when he won the Vintage Stakes but disappointed on his final start in the Dewhurst Stakes. In ...

in the

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes 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 1 mile (1,609 metres), a ...

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in l ...

, coming with a strong late run from the rear of the field. On 25 August Lord Glitters was dropped to Group 3 class for the Strensall Stakes over 1 mile 177 yards at

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

and started the 2/1 favourite against seven opponents. Ridden by Tudhope, he was restrained in the early stages before staying on strongly, taking the lead inside the final furlong and winning by half a length from

Mustashry Mustashry (foaled 9 March 2013) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He finished fourth on his only run as a juvenile and won two minor races in the following year. As a four-year-old in 2017 he improved to win two races including the Group 3 St ...

. After the race David O'Meara said "There was a small concern about going up a little bit in trip whether firstly he'd settle and secondly would he stay, but he did it well and he was well on top at the end. He's a very good horse. He's been unlucky not to have won a Group One in this country". The gelding was then sent to Canada to contest the

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Woodbine Mile The Woodbine Mile is a Grade I stakes race on turf for Thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up held annually in mid September at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada. Currently sponsored by Ricoh, the Woodbine Mile offers a purse of Can$1, ...

on 15 September but never looked likely to win and finished sixth to

Oscar Performance Oscar Performance (foaled April 6, 2014) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at age two. After losing his first two starts at age three, he rebounded to win the next three, including the G ...

. He ended the season in the

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II 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 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

at Ascot in October when he came home sixth behind

Roaring Lion Roaring Lion (22 February 190811 July 1999) was a Trinidadian calypsonian (calypso singer/composer). His 65-year career began in the early 1930s and he is best known for his compositions "Ugly Woman" (1933), " Mary Ann" and "Netty, Netty", wh ...

beaten two and three quarter length behind the winner after making steady progress in the last quarter mile.

2019: six-year-old season

On his 2019 debut Lord Glitters was sent to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

to contest the

over 1800 metres at

Meydan Racecourse Meydan Racecourse is a racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The grandstand is a half mile in length, and can accommodate over 60,000 spectators. Meydan opened on 27 March 2010, replacing Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, which formerly occu ...

on 30 March in which he started a 22/1 outsider and came from the rear of the field with a sustained late run to take third place behind the Japanese mares

Almond Eye Almond Eye (Japanese language, Japanese: アーモンドアイ, foaled 10 March 2015) is a champion Japanese Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who won the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing#Japan, Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown in 2018, and ...

and Vivlos. He returned to Europe for the

Lockinge Stakes The Lockinge Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at New ...

on 18 May at

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's List of ...

but ran very poorly and came home thirteenth of the fourteen runners, more than 20 lengths behind the winner Mustashry. At Royal Ascot on 18 June, with Tudhope in the saddle, Lord Glitters ran for the second time in the Queen Anne Stakes and started at odds of 14/1 in a sixteen-runner field. His old rivals Accidental Agent, Beat The Bank and Mustashry were again in opposition while the other contenders included

Barney Roy Barney Roy (foaled 29 January 2014) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning his only race as a juvenile in 2016 he emerged as a top-class performer in the following year. He won the Greenham Stakes and finished second in the 2000 Guin ...

(who started favourite),

Laurens Laurens may refer to: Places United States * Laurens County, Georgia * Laurens, Iowa, a city * Laurens (town), New York * Laurens (village), New York * Laurens, South Carolina, a city * Laurens County, South Carolina * Fort Laurens, an ...

Romanised In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

, One Master and Dream Castle (

). Lord Glitters was restrained at the rear of the field as Mythical Magic set the pace, but began to make progress two furlongs out One Master went to the front. The grey gelding headed One Master inside the final furlong and held off the sustained challenge of Beat The Bank to win by a neck. After the race Tudhope said "He deserves to land a big one and is a super horse on his day. When things go right for him, he's very good. David said to ride him as cold as I could and be brave on him, but if there's anywhere you can do that it's here—that last furlong is a long way. I got a lovely split and the race panned out perfectly." Lord Glitters failed to win in his four remaining starts on 2019. He finished fifth behind

Too Darn Hot "Too Darn Hot" is a song written by Cole Porter for his musical ''Kiss Me, Kate'' (1948). Background In the stage version, it is sung at the start of Act 2, and in the 1948 original Broadway production, it was sung by Lorenzo Fuller (as Paul) ...

in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on 31 July and was then moved up in distance for 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 ...

over furlongs at York three weeks later and came home sixth of nine runners, beaten four lengths by the winner

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In October he ran for the second time in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot but looked unhappy on the heavy ground and finished eighth. For his final run of the year the gelding was sent to California for the

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a conditions races, Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a sod, grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup World C ...

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

on 2 November when he finished ninth after failing to recover from a slow start. In the

2019 World's Best Racehorse Rankings The 2019 World's Best Racehorse Rankings, sponsored by Longines was the 2019 edition of the World's Best Racehorse Rankings. It was an assessment of Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorses issued by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorit ...

Lord Glitters was given a rating of 117, making him the 112th best racehorse in the world.

2020: seven-year-old season

The 2020 flat racing season in Britain was disrupted by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and Lord Glitters did not appear on the track until 10 July when he finished fourth behind Mohaather in the Group 2 Summer Mile Stakes at Ascot. He then ran twice at York, running third in the

York Stakes The York Stakes is a Group 2 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 (2,063 metres), and it is scheduled to take pl ...

over furlongs on 25 July and then finishing third again when favourite for the Strensall Stakes on 22 August. In the ten furlong Doonside Cup at

Ayr Racecourse Ayr Racecourse at Whitletts Road, Ayr, Scotland,''British Racing and Racecourses'' () by Marion Rose Halpenny – Page 71 was opened in 1907. There are courses for Flat racing, flat and for National Hunt racing. History Horse racing in Ayr dat ...

in September he kept on well from the rear of the field to take second place, beaten three quarters of a length by the winner Addeybb. In October he made his third attempt to win the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and finished sixth behind The Revenant. He ended the season with a trip to Bahrain where he finished a close fifth behind the locally trained Simsir in the Bahrain International Trophy over 2000 metres at Sakhir Racecourse on 20 November.

2021: eight-year-old season

Lord Glitters began his 2021 campaign in Dubai, as he had done in 2019, and made his seasonal debut in the Group 2

over 1800 metres at Meydan on 21 January. Ridden by the Dutch jockey Adrie de Vries he went off the 8/1 fourth choice behind Military March ( Autumn Stakes), Zakouski (

Zabeel Mile The Zabeel Mile, is a horse race run over a distance of 1,600 metres (one mile) on turf in late February or early March at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. The race is named after a locality in Western Dubai. Not related with New Zealand stallion Zabee ...

) and Kinross ( Hyde Stakes) in a field of eleven which also included Dream Castle (

) and Mythical Magic (Zabeel Mile). After being restrained towards the rear, the gelding made good progress to take the lead 300 metres from the finish before drawing away to win by three lengths from Zakouski and record his first victory for nineteen months. David O'Meara commented: "He was brilliant. The race fell right for him but Adrie gave him a great ride. He ran a lovely race in Bahrain in November when it wasn't run to suit. The fact he's eight now but is still able to run to that sort of level is amazing. That was a hell of run and we know he likes the track." Three weeks later, over the same course and distance, the gelding finished third behind Zakouski and Court House in the Group 2

Al Rashidiya Al Rashidiya () is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Al Rashidiya is located south of Dubai International Airport in Deira, the eastern region of Dubai. The locality is bounded to the north by route D 89 (Al Khawaneej Road) ...

, beaten less than a length by the winner.

2022: nine-year-old season

Lord Glitters once again began the season in Dubai, finishing fourth in the Al Rashidiya before taking the Singspiel Stakes for the second time, beating the favourite Royal Fleet by a length. He then started favourite for the Jebel Hatta, but finished lame in sixth place five lengths behind winner Alfareeq. He returned to England to run in the

Brigadier Gerard Stakes The Brigadier Gerard Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 209 yards (), an ...

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. The neighbouring resort of Shanklin and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake are sited just to the south of t ...

on 26 May. He made no impression in the race, finishing last of five runners, thirteen lengths behind Bay Bridge. It was to be his final race. In July 2022 it was announced that Lord Glitters was retiring to pasture at his owners' Durham stud.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2013 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 8-a