Rantzau (1946–1971) was a French-bred racehorse that went on to be an extremely influential sire of

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

, and

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

horses, and is considered to be one of the most influential stallions from the French studbook. Rantzau stood .

Background and breeding

Henri Tambareau purchased the Thoroughbred mare, Rancune, in 1943 for use as a broodmare. She had won several times on the racetrack, and came from good lines, including that of the famous jumping sire

Bay Ronald Bay Ronald (foaled 3 May 1893) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that had a huge impact on the breeding of sport horses, mainly through his son Dark Ronald and grandson Teddy, and also carried on his lines in the Thoroughbred racing world, through h ...

. Rantzau's sire, Foxlight, was one of the best stallions of the French national stud Le Haras du Pin, and also had the blood of

in his pedigree. After a notable career at the track, Foxlight retired to stud duty where he was quite successful, producing both flat racers and steeplechasers. His racing blood included that of Foxlaw (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 ...

and Newmarket Jockey Club Stakes) and Foxhunter (winner of the Ascot Gold Cup).

Career on the track

As a three-year-old, Rantzau raced nine races between 2,000 and 3,000 meters, winning two and placing in five. He was then purchased by

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, ...

Breeding career

Marcel Boussac went on to sell Rantzau to the French National Stud at

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.showjumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows are l ...

producer, moving up to the 11th spot in 1962, and fifth in 1963. In 1964, Rantzau was ranked second leading producer of showjumpers, second only to the great Furioso. In 1970, a new ranking for "best sires of dams" was published, in which Rantzau was ranked 3rd, behind Ibrahim and Furioso. The next year, the year of his death, he was placed first. Although Ibrahim took the number-one spot again in 1973, Rantzau held onto fourth place in 1980, and again managed to rank number one in 1981, ten years after his death. Rantzau tended to produce sensitive, "difficult" horses, that were very athletic and generally excellent jumpers. Despite this reputation, riders of international calibre were interested in purchasing his offspring.

Progeny

Cor de la Bryere Cor de la Bryère (23 April 1968 – 27 April 2000), nicknamed "Corde", is one of the most influential sires in modern warmblood breeding. He is known as the "Reserve Stallion of the Century", second only to Landgraf I. He stood . Pedigree Cor ...

: the most famous of Rantzau's sons. One of the most influential stallions in

Holsteiner The Holsteiner is a horse breed originating in the Schleswig-Holstein region of northern Germany. It is thought to be the oldest of warmblood breeds, tracing back to the 13th century. Though the population is not large, Holsteiners are a domin ...

breeding, sired international jumpers and dressage horses, and produced 49 approved sons. His offspring are still dominating the international scene today. *Labrador C:

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

show jumper *Starter: dam sire of Baloubet du Rouet *Medrano: International show jumper, competed for the Netherlands *Qualibet Z: International eventer, ridden by Jean-Luc Cornille, competed at the World Eventing Championships in

Punchestown Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish Nationa ...

*Radar II: Grand Prix showjumper, ridden by Piero d’Inzeo, won internationally as a five-year-old *Nageur: International show jumper for Portugal *Pascha du Bourg: International show jumper for Spain *Osiris C *Luxeuse B *Roi du Manoir *Prince Royal *Sire du Logis *Amour de Juilley *Unic F *Beau Fixe International showjumpers descended within four generations: *Atout d'Isigny: Silver medal at the World Championship * Baloubet du Rouet: triple World Cup winner *Calei Joter: Bronze medal * Calvaro V: Olympic Silver *Calvaro Z *Carthago Z *Cassiana Joter: Olympic team Bronze *

Cento Cento (; Bolognese dialect, Northern Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, City Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, Centese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The name Cento is a reference to the centur ...

: Olympic team Gold *Classic Touch: individual Olympic Gold *Operette la Silla *Souviens Toi III: team silver at the World Championships *Twist du Valon

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rantzau (Horse) Sport horse sires 1946 racehorse births 1971 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Thoroughbred family 23

Background and breeding

Career on the track

Breeding career

Progeny

See also

References