Polytain (22 April 1989 – after 2000) 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 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 ...

. Unraced as a juvenile, he won his first two races and then finished third before finishing third in the

Prix La Force The Prix La Force is a Group 3 (horse racing), Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (abo ...

and then recording an upset win in 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 ...

. His subsequent form was disappointing as he failed to win in his remaining nine races. He made no impact as a breeding stallion.

Background

Polytain was a chestnut horse bred in France by Jean-Luc Lagardère. He was sired by

Bikala Bikala (12 March 1978 – 25 December 1994) was an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Having been bought very cheaply as a yearling he developed into a top-class middle-distance performer and was rated among the best ...

, who won the

in 1981 and the

Prix Ganay The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at L ...

in 1982. The best of his offspring was probably

Apple Tree An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are cultivated worldwide. The tree originated in Central A ...

whose wins included the

Europa-Preis The Preis von Europa is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Cologne over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place ea ...

, Turf Classic,

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Polytain's dam Paulistana was sired by the

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for old ...

winner Pretense and was a granddaughter of Tempted. During his racing career, Polytain was owned by Mme Bruno Houillion and trained by Antonio Spanu.

Racing career

1992: three-year-old season

Polytain began his racing career in the Prix de Crespieres over 1800 metres

Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse The Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte at 1 avenue de la Pelouse in the northwestern Parisian suburb of Maisons-Laffitte in France was a turf horse racing facility and track for Thoroughbred flat racing. Opened in 1878 by Joseph Oller, inventor of t ...

on 30 March 1992. Ridden for the only time by

Freddy Head Frédéric Head (born 19 June 1947) is a retired horse trainer and champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. His grandfather, William Head, and father, Alec Head, who also competed as prominent jockeys and trainers, raised “Freddy,” at th ...

, he won by four lengths from Triple Trouble on soft ground. Fifteen days later, ridden by the apprentice jockey Stephane Coerette, he won the Prix Aveu over 2100 metres 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 ...

, beating Acaste and Indian Flight by a neck and a length. William Mongil took the ride when Polytain was moved up in class to contest the Group Three

over 2000 metres at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (, ) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for ...

on 21 May. He turned into the straight in sixth and made steady progress in the straight to finish third, beaten half a length and a neck by the favourite Break Bread and Standiford, Despite his defeat at Longchamp Polytain was again stepped up in class for the 155th running of the Prix du Jockey Club over 2400 Metres 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 7 June in which he was ridden or the first time 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 ...

and started a 36.5/1 outsider. His sixteen opponents included Break Bread, Johann Quatz (winner of the

Prix Lupin The Prix Lupin was a Conditions races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It was run at Longchamp Racecourse, Longchamp over a distance of 2,100 m ...

) Apple Tree (

Prix Greffulhe The Prix Greffulhe is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Saint-Cloud in May. History The ev ...

), Adieu au Roi (

Prix Hocquart The Prix Hocquart is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1 mile and 4 furlongs) at ...

), Grand Plaisir (

Prix Noailles The Prix Noailles is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ fu ...

), Silver Kite (

Prix Yacowlef The Prix Yacowlef is a Conditions races, Listed Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. Since 2016, it is run each November at Chantilly Racecourse over a ...

), and Jape ( Premio Guido Berardelli). Dettori restrained the colt in the early stages and reached the final turn in twelfth place. He made steady progress in the straight, caught the

André Fabre André Fabre (; born 9 December 1945) is a French thoroughbred horse racing horse trainer, trainer. The son of a diplomat, Fabre graduated from university with a law degree but then decided to pursue a career in thoroughbred horse racing. He beg ...

-trained Modhish approaching the last 200 metres and was driven clear to win by one and a half lengths. Marignan finished second ahead of Contested Bid, Johann Quatz and Modhish. After a three-month break, Polytain returned in September for the

Prix Niel The Prix Niel is a Group 2 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), in September each ...

over 2400 metres at Longchamp. Ridden again by Dettori he started the 6/4 favourite but never looked likely to in and finished last of the eight runners behind Songlines. On 4 October, the colt contested France's most prestigious race, the

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 ...

, but made no impact, finishing tailed-off last of the eighteen runners behind

Subotica Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...

1993: four-year-old season

Polytain remained in training as a four-year-old, but failed to win in seven races. He started promisingly when finishing third, beaten a head and a neck by Marildo and Dear Doctor in the

Prix d'Harcourt The Prix d'Harcourt is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Longchamp in ...

at Longchamp in April, but then ran sixth of the eight runners behind

Vert Amande Vert Amande (foaled 1988 in France) is a Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Bred by Guy da Rothschild, Baron Guy de Rothschild at his Haras de Meautry in Lower Normandy, he was purchased and raced by the prominent Spanish industrialist, Enriq ...

in the

Prix Ganay The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at L ...

. The colt then finished unplaced in the Grand Prix d'Evry, the

and the Grand Prix de Vichy. In late autumn, the colt was dropped in class for the Listed Prix Niceas at Maisons-Laffitte and was beaten a nose by the Irish-trained Portico. On his final racecourse appearance, Polytain finished sixth in the Listed Prix Edellic at Saint-Cloud on 13 December.

Stud record

Polytain was retired to stud at the end of the 1993 season. By 1998, he was standing at Besnate, near

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

in Italy, He was not a success as a breeding stallion, siring a few minor winners of French steeplechases. His last reported foal was born in 2001.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1989 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 4-r