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Reliance (11 April 1962 – August 1979) 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 two-year-old, Reliance won his first five races as a three-year-old in 1965 including the Prix du Jockey Club, Grand Prix de Paris, and Prix Royal Oak. He sustained his only defeat when finishing second to
Sea-Bird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...
in 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 ...
. He was then retired to stud, where he had some success as a
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 ...
of winners.


Background

Reliance was a bay colt bred in France by his owner François Dupré. He was sired by Dupre's stallion Tantieme the double winner of 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 ...
who went on to be the champion sire in France in 1962 and 1965. His dam was the outstanding broodmare Relance, who had previously produced the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner
Match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
and The Derby winner Relko. Reliance was trained at Chantilly by François Mathet and ridden in his races by
Yves Saint-Martin Yves Saint-Martin (born 8 September 1941 in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, France) is a retired champion jockey in French Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing. He is widely considered one of the greatest riders in French racing history. ...
.


Racing career

Reliance was not raced as a two-year-old and made his debut when winning the Prix Moronniers in April 1965. He was then moved up in class for the Prix Hocquart, a trial race for the Prix du Jockey Club, run over 2,400
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 ...
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 ...
in May. He won the race, defeating the Critérium de Saint-Cloud winner Carvin. With the outstanding French colt
Sea-Bird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...
engaged in The Derby Reliance started the 1/2 favourite for the Prix du Jockey Club over 2400m 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 ...
in June. Reliance won by three-quarters of a length from Diatome, a colt who went on to win the Washington, D.C. International Stakes later that year, with Carvin third. Three weeks later, Reliance moved up in distance for the Grand Prix de Paris over 3000m at Longchamp. He started the 11/10 favourite and won by a length, with Diatome again taking second. After a two-month break, Reliance prepared for a meeting with Sea-Bird by running in the 3,100m Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp in September. He took his unbeaten record to five by beating the Irish-trained Ragazzo, the winner of the Great Voltigeur Stakes on his previous start. The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe attracted a strong international field, with the usual strong challenges from Britain, Italy, and Ireland augmented by the presence of
Tom Rolfe Tom Rolfe (April 14, 1962 – June 12, 1989) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. He was the leading colt of his generation in the United States, winning the Preakness Stakes and being voted ...
from the United States and Anilin from the Soviet Union. Reliance tracked the leaders on the inside rail before moving up to challenge for the lead in the straight. Although he was unable to cope with the speed of Sea Bird, who drew clear in the closing stages to win by six lengths, Reliance finished five lengths clear of the other runners, who were headed by Diatome.


Assessment

The independent Timeform organisation awarded Reliance a rating of 137 in 1965. In the 1960s only Sea Bird (145),
Vaguely Noble Vaguely Noble (1965–1989) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in the United Kingdom and France. The colt is best known as the winner of the 1968 Group One Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe when he defeated the best horses from Engla ...
(140 in 1968) and Exbury (138 in 1963) were ranked more highly. In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Reliance the eleventh best French racehorse of the 20th century, and placed him fifty-fifth in their global ranking.


Stud record

Reliance was based in England for his stud career, standing at the Harwood Stud in
Newbury, Berkshire Newbury is a market town in West Berkshire, England, in the valley of the River Kennet. It is south of Oxford, north of Winchester, southeast of Swindon and west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. It is also where West Berkshire Council is hea ...
. He had his greatest success as a sire of stayers, with his progeny including Proverb ( Chester Vase,
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 ...
, Doncaster Cup), Recupere ( Prix du Cadran) and Tug of War (Goodwood Cup). He was also the sire of the broodmare Doubly Sure, the dam of
Kris The kris or is a Javanese culture, Javanese asymmetrical dagger with a distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade, although ma ...
,
Diesis In classical music from Western culture, a diesis ( or enharmonic diesis, plural dieses ( , or "difference"; Greek: "leak" or "escape" is either an accidental (see sharp), or a very small musical interval, usually defined as the differe ...
,
Keen Keen, Keen's, or Keens may refer to: People * Keen (surname) * Thomas Keens (1870-1953), British politician Music and song * "Keen" (song), a single by That Petrol Emotion * Keen Records, American record label * Keening, traditional Irish la ...
, Rudimentary and
Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some countries' political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. The term is also sometimes used for the ...
. Other daughters produced the champion sprinter Moorestyle, 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 ...
winner Longboat, and the St. James's Palace Stakes winner Persian Heights. Reliance was euthanised in August 1979 after suffering from a chronic sinus condition.


Pedigree


References

{{reflist 1962 racehorse births 1979 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 16-h Chefs-de-Race