Parth (foaled 1920) was a British-trained

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 ...

best known for winning the 1923

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 ...

. The horse following the end of his career was sold by Mr. Goculdas to Sir Victor Sassoon in a deal which transferred all of Mr. Goculdas's bloodstock interests to Sir Victor Sassoon.

Background

Parth was a bay horse sired by

Polymelus Polymelus (1902–1924) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for five years (1914, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1921). Among his most famous descendants are Secretariat and Northern Dancer ...

, the five-time

Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current (2023) champion is Fra ...

. His dam was Willia, a daughter of the 1902

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 ...

winner William the Third. As a descendant of the mare Grand Duchess, Parth was a member of the same Thoroughbred family which produced

Manna Manna (, ; ), sometimes or archaically spelled Mahna or Mana, is described in the Bible and the Quran as an edible substance that God in Abrahamic religions, God bestowed upon the Israelites while they were wandering the desert during the 40-year ...

Blushing Groom Blushing Groom (8 April 1974 – 6 May 1992) was a French champion Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and sire (horse), sire. Background He was bred by American businessman John McNamee Sullivan and was raced by Aga Khan IV, HH Aga Khan IV. A ...

and

Mill Reef Mill Reef (23 February 1968 – 2 February 1986) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a three-year career from 1970 to 1972, he won twelve of fourteen races and finished second in the other two. The horse w ...

. Parth was first owned by the Indian textile magnate Mathradas Goculdas and later sold for 20,000

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 ...

to A. Kingsley Macomber, an American who maintained a sizeable racing operation in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and who had won the 1918

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

with War Cloud. The colt was trained at Ogbourne in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England by James H. Crawford.

Racing career

In 1923, Parth contested The Derby having previously won the Greenham Plate at Newbury: in both races he was ridden by the Australian jockey A. C. Walker. According to press reports, he was left twenty lengths behind the leaders at the start of the Derby, before staying on strongly in the straight to finish third behind

Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

and Pharos. He later finished fourth in the

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

to the filly Tranquil. In October, Parth was sent to Paris to contest the fourth running of the

a race which, while an important international test, had not yet attained the status of Europe's premier weight-for-age contest. After arriving in France at

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

, Parth spent thirty hours travelling by train to Paris. Ridden by Frank O'Neill, Parth started at odds of 35/4 and won by a neck from Massine, a French-trained three-year-old who went on to win the race (as well as 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 1924. Racing at age four, Parth's wins included the Great Jubilee Handicap at

Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom, licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London; it is 13 miles ...

in May in which he defeated Verdict (winner of the

Cambridgeshire Handicap The Cambridgeshire Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 fur ...

and the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards ...

) by a short head. In Autumn he ran second to

Pharos The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria, was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (280–247 BC). It has been estimated to have been at least ...

in the

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 ...

at Newmarket and third behind the

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

Teresina and Papyrus in the

Jockey Club Stakes The Jockey Club Stakes 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 and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres) ...

. Parth injured a tendon during the running for the City and Suburban Handicap.

Pedigree

*Parth was inbred 3 × 3 to Hampton, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the third generation of his pedigree.

References

{{Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Winners 1920 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Arc winners Thoroughbred family 22-d