Marsyas (horse)
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Marsyas (also known as Marsyas II, 1940–30 May 1964) was a French
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 ...
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 was the dominant stayer in France in the mid-1940s, winning four consecutive editions of the 4,000
metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
Prix du Cadran The Prix du Cadran 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 4,000 metres (about 2 miles), and it is scheduled to t ...
from 1944 to 1947. He proved equally successful when campaigned in Britain in 1946. After winning seventeen of his twenty-seven races, he was retired to stud where he had limited success as a sire of winners.


Background

Marsyas was a chestnut horse with a narrow white blaze and white
socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...
on his hind legs, bred by his owner
Marcel Boussac Marcel Boussac (17 April 1889 – 21 March 1980) was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history. Born in Châteauroux, Indre, ...
at his Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard in Neuvy-au-Houlme in
Lower Normandy Lower Normandy (, ; ) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departments, Calvados, Manche and Orne, that cover ...
. He was sired by the British-bred stallion
Trimdon Trimdon is a village in County Durham, in England. Name and etymology The name ''Trimdon'' is recorded in the forms ''Tremeldon'' (1196) and ''Tremedon'' (1262) during the Medieval era. It appears to be of Old English origin, with the a meani ...
, winner of the
Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup 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 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4 ...
in 1931 and 1932. Marsyas's dam was the highly successful broodmare Astronomie, whose other progeny included the undefeated
Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...
,
Arbar Arbar was one of the five main divisions of the kingdom of Rama in prehistoric Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North- ...
, and Asmena.


Racing career

Marsyas's early career took place during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
which meant that he was confined to racing in his home country. During his three-year-old season in 1943, France's most important racecourse, Longchamp was closed and many important races were run at alternative venues. He won the
Prix Berteux The Prix Berteux was a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It was run at various tracks over a distance of 3,000 metres (about miles), and it was scheduled to take place each year in June or July. History Duri ...
at
Maisons-Laffitte Maisons-Laffitte () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the northern Île-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of northwestern Paris, from its ...
and was placed in the
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 ...
and the
Prix Royal Oak The Prix Royal-Oak is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,100 metres (about 1 mile and 7½ furlongs), an ...
, both of which were run at
Le Tremblay Le Tremblay () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Ombrée d'Anjou.Prix Kergorlay The Prix Kergorlay is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 3,000 metres (about miles), and it is scheduled to ...
(Le Tremblay),
Prix Jean Prat The Prix Jean Prat is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is s ...
(Maisons-Laffitte) and the
Prix Gladiateur The Prix Gladiateur is a Conditions races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse, Longchamp over ...
(Le Tremblay). The last-named race was run over the extreme distance of 6,200
metres The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
(almost four miles). He finished unplaced for the only time in his career in the 1944
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 ...
over 2,400 metres. In 1945 Marsyas won the Prix Jean Prat at Maisons-Laffitte and Prix du Cadran at Le Tremblay. In 1946, Marysas was beaten by
Chanteur Chanteur (also known as Chanteur II; 1942–1962) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who was one of a group of French horses, including Caracalla, Marsyas (horse), Marsyas, Arbar (horse), Arbar and Souverain, which dominated long-di ...
in the Prix Jean Prat, but then reversed the form with that horse to win his third Prix du Cadran. In May of that year he raced outside France for the first time when he won the White Rose Stakes at
Hurst Park Hurst Park Racecourse was a racecourse at Moulsey Hurst, West Molesey, Surrey, near the River Thames. It was first laid out in 1890 and held its last race in 1962. There was racing at nearby Hampton for many years until 1887. The first meeting ...
and was part of an exceptionally strong team of French stayers sent to
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. When racing in Britain, he was known as Marysas II. He bypassed the Ascot Gold Cup, in which his younger brother Caracalla defeated Chanteur, but won the longest race of the meeting, the
Queen Alexandra Stakes The Queen Alexandra Stakes is a flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot each June over a distance of 2 miles, 5 furlongs and 143 yards (4355 ...
over two and three-quarter miles. On subsequent visits to England that year he won the
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 ...
and the
Doncaster Cup The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles 1 furlong and 197 yards (3,600 m ...
. In October at Newmarket he moved down in distance and won the Lowther Stakes over one and a half miles, beating the
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
's colt Rising Light. Less than a week after this win, Marsyas competed in the
Jockey Club Cup A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
where he finished third to Felix. In his final season, Marsyas won the Prix du Cadran for the fourth time at the reopened Longchamp Racecourse, beating
Souverain Souverain (foaled 1943) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After winning his only race in 1945 he emerged as the leading European three-year-old of 1946 when his wins included the Grand Prix de Paris and the Prix Royal Oak in France a ...
by four lengths.


Assessment

Despite being the outstanding stayer in Europe in 1947, Marsyas was not included by 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 th ...
organisation in their annual ''Racehorses of 1947'', as he did not compete in Britain or Ireland that season. Souverain, who had been well beaten by Marsyas in the Prix du Cadran, was Timeform's top-rated older horse, with a rating of 135. In their book ''A Century of Champions'', based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Marsyas the fourteenth best French-trained horse of the 20th century. Among horses foaled in 1940, he was rated second behind the American champion
Count Fleet Count Fleet (March 24, 1940 – December 3, 1973) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the sixth winner of the American Triple Crown. He won the Belmont Stakes by a then record margin of twenty-five lengths. After an undefeated ...
.
Phil Bull Phil Bull (9 April 1910 – 11 June 1989), born West Yorkshire, England, was a professional gambler, racehorse owner and publisher, who founded the Timeform private handicapping system for British horseracing. Since 1948, Timeform have produced ...
described Marsyas as "a phenomenon among racehorses... If there is such a thing as a racehorse who stays forever, it is he."


Stud record

Marsyas was retired to become a breeding stallion at his owner's
stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...
in Normandy. He met with some success but none of his progeny achieved his own level of racing success. The best of his progeny included
Macip MacIP refers to a standard for encapsulating Internet Protocol (IP) packets within the AppleTalk DDP protocol. This allows Macintosh computers with LocalTalk networking hardware to access the normally Ethernet-based connections for TCP/IP based n ...
who won the
Prix Royal Oak The Prix Royal-Oak is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,100 metres (about 1 mile and 7½ furlongs), an ...
in 1955 and the
Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup 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 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4 ...
in 1956, and Marsyad, who won the
Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mi ...
. Marsyas died on May 30, 1964.


Pedigree


References

{{reflist 1940 racehorse births 1964 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 9-e