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{{Short description|French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse}}
{{Refimprove|date=October 2009}}

{{Thoroughbred racehorse infobox
{{Infobox racehorse
| horsename = Marsyas II
| horsename = Marsyas
| image =
| image =
| caption =
| caption =
Line 16: Line 17:
| trainer = [[Charles Semblat]]
| trainer = [[Charles Semblat]]
| record = 27: 17-4-5
| record = 27: 17-4-5
| earnings = Not found
| earnings =
| race = [[Prix de Lutèce]] (1943)<br>[[Prix du Cadran]] (1944, 1945, 1946, 1947)<br>[[Prix Kergorlay]] (1944)<br>[[Prix Gladiateur]] (1944)<br>[[Prix Vicomtesse Vigier|Prix Jean Prat]] (1944, 1945)<br>[[White Rose Stakes]] (1946)<br>[[Queen Alexandra Stakes]] (1946)<br>[[Goodwood Cup]] (1946)<br>[[Doncaster Cup]] (1946)<br>Lowther Stakes (1946)
| race = [[Prix Berteux]] (1943)<br>[[Prix du Cadran]] (1944, 1945, 1946, 1947)<br>[[Prix Kergorlay]] (1944)<br>[[Prix Gladiateur]] (1944)<br>[[Prix Vicomtesse Vigier|Prix Jean Prat]] (1944, 1945)<br>[[White Rose Stakes]] (1946)<br>[[Queen Alexandra Stakes]] (1946)<br>[[Goodwood Cup]] (1946)<br>[[Doncaster Cup]] (1946)<br>Lowther Stakes (1946)
| awards=
| awards=
| honours =
| honours =
| updated= December 19, 2006
| updated= December 19, 2006
}}
}}
'''Marsyas''' (also known as '''Marsyas II''', 1940&ndash;30 May 1964) was a French [[Thoroughbred]] [[horse racing|racehorse]] and [[Horse breeding#Terminology|sire]]. He was the dominant stayer in France in the mid-1940s winning four consecutive editions of the 4,000 [[metre]] [[Prix du Cadran]] between 1944 and 1947.<ref>{{cite web|author=Anne Peters |url=http://www.tbheritage.com/Breeders/FR/Boussac/Boussac.html |title=Marcel Boussac |publisher=Tbheritage.com |date= |accessdate=2013-01-19}}</ref> 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.
'''Marsyas II''' (1940&ndash;1964) was a [[France|French]] [[Thoroughbred]] [[horse racing|racehorse]] foaled at [[Marcel Boussac|Marcel Boussac's]] [[Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard]] in [[Neuvy-au-Houlme]] in [[Lower Normandy]]. Sired by two time [[Ascot Gold Cup]] winner [[Trimdon (horse)|Trimdon]], he was out of the very important mare, [[Astronomie]]. A descendant of [[Galopin]] on his [[Father|sire's]] side and [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|U.K. Triple Crown]] winner [[Flying Fox (horse)|Flying Fox]] on his dam's side, Marsyas is best known for winning four consecutive editions of the 4,000 meter [[Prix du Cadran]] between 1944 and 1947.


==Background==
Considered one of the best [[stayer (horse)|stayer]]'s ever to compete in France, Marsyas had an extraordinarily successful career both there and in [[United Kingdom|England]]. Of his seventeen career starts, he was unplaced only once and that was in the 1944 [[Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe]]. Having won many of France's other prominent races, including the 6,200 meter [[Prix Gladiateur]], in 1946 his owner sent him to race in England where he won five important races in a row. After claiming victory in his sixth English race, less than a week later Marsyas competed in the [[Jockey Club Cup]] where he finished third.
Marsyas was a chestnut horse with a narrow white [[Horse markings|blaze]] and white [[Horse markings#Leg markings|socks]] on his hind legs,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sporthorse-data.com/horse/315760/701/Horse_Marsyas_II-_2big.jpg |title=Marsyas_II image |publisher=sporthorse-data.com |date= |accessdate=2013-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041910/http://www.sporthorse-data.com/horse/315760/701/Horse_Marsyas_II-_2big.jpg |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> bred by his owner [[Marcel Boussac]] at his [[Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard]] in [[Neuvy-au-Houlme]] in [[Lower Normandy]]. He was sired by the British-bred stallion [[Trimdon (horse)|Trimdon]] winner of the [[Ascot Gold Cup]] in 1931 and 1932. Marsyas's dam was the highly successful broodmare [[Astronomie]], whose other progeny included the undefeated [[Caracalla (horse)|Caracalla]], [[Arbar (horse)|Arbar]], and [[Asmena (horse)|Asmena]].<ref name="bloodlines1">{{cite web|url=http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Families/Family9e.htm |title=Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Maid Of Masham - Family 9-e |publisher=Bloodlines.net |date= |accessdate=2013-01-19}}</ref>


==Racing career==
Retired to [[horse breeding|stud]], Marsyas met with good success but none of his progeny achieved his own level of racing success. One of his sons, [[Macip]], won the [[Prix Royal Oak]] in 1955 and the [[Ascot Gold Cup]] in 1956. He died on May 30, 1964.
Marsyas's early career took place during the [[Second World War]] 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 Racecourse|Longchamp]] was closed and many important races were run at alternative venues. He won the [[Prix Berteux]] at [[Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse|Maisons-Laffitte]] and was placed in the [[Grand Prix de Paris]] and the [[Prix Royal Oak]], both of which were run at [[Tremblay Park|Le Tremblay]]. In the following season, Marsyas showed much improved form, winning most of France's top long-distance races including the Pix du Cadran at Le Tremblay, [[Prix Kergorlay]] (Le Tremblay), [[Prix Vicomtesse Vigier|Prix Jean Prat]] (Maisons-Laffitte) and the [[Prix Gladiateur]] (Le Tremblay). The last-named race was run over the extreme distance of 6,200 [[metres]] (almost four miles). He finished unplaced for the only time in his career in the 1944 [[Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe]] 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]] 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]] and was part of an exceptionally strong<ref name="google3185">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0Wk-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=4EsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3185,2327242&dq=marsyas+goodwood&hl=en |title=French horses sway in English racing |publisher=Indian Express |date=4 November 1946 |accessdate=2013-01-19}}</ref> team of French stayers sent to [[Royal Ascot]] 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]] over two and three-quarter miles. On subsequent visits to England that year he won the [[Goodwood Cup]] and the [[Doncaster Cup]].<ref name="google3185"/> In October at [[Newmarket Racecourse|Newmarket]] he moved down in distance and won the Lowther Stakes over one and a half miles beating the [[King George VI|King]]'s colt Rising Light.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article53248621 |title=TURF Success of French Horses |publisher=[[Western Mail (Western Australia)]] |date=7 Nov 1946 |accessdate=2013-01-19}}</ref> Less than a week after this win, Marsyas competed in the [[Jockey Club Cup]] where he finished third to Felix.<ref name="Mortimer">{{cite book | last1 = Mortimer|first1=Roger |last2=Onslow|first2=Richard|last3=Willett|first3=Peter| title=Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing|publisher=Macdonald and Jane’s| year=1978|isbn=0-354-08536-0}}</ref> In his final season, Marsyas won the Prix du Cadran for the fourth time at the reopened Longchamp Racecourse beating [[Souverain]] by four lengths.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2XYtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gpgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5785,1999050&dq=marsyas+cadran&hl=en |title=Marsyas triumphs again |publisher=[[Montreal Gazette]] |date=12 May 1947 |accessdate=2013-01-19}}</ref>
⚫
==References==
* [http://www.france-galop.com/COURSES/noms1.htm Information on Marsyas at France Galop] (French language)
* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/marsyas2 Marsyas II's pedigree and racing stats]


==Assessment==
Despite being the outstanding stayer in Europe in 1947, Marsyas was not included by the [[Timeform]] 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.<ref name="Guinness">{{cite book|last1=Morris|first1=Tony|last2=Randall|first2=John| title=Horse Racing: Records, Facts, Champions (Third Edition)|publisher=Guinness Publishing |year=1990|isbn=0-85112-902-1}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="century">{{cite book|last1=Morris| first1=Tony|last2=Randall|first2=John|title=A Century of Champions|publisher= Portway Press|year=1999|isbn=1-901570-15-0}}</ref>

[[Phil Bull]] described Marsyas as "a phenomenon among racehorses... If there is such a thing as a racehorse who stays forever, it is he."<ref name="century"/>

==Stud record==
Marsyas was retired to become a breeding stallion at his owner's [[horse breeding|stud]] 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]] who won the [[Prix Royal Oak]] in 1955 and the [[Ascot Gold Cup]] in 1956,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Wy81AAAAIBAJ&sjid=DKYLAAAAIBAJ&pg=1676,2026452&dq=marsyas+goodwood&hl=en |title=Too much advice on breeding |publisher=[[Glasgow Herald]] |date=21 January 1957 |accessdate=2013-01-19}}</ref> and Marsyad, who won the [[Dewhurst Stakes]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Anne Peters |url=http://www.tbheritage.com/Breeders/FR/Boussac/Boussac2.html |title=Marcel Boussac 2: Golden Years |publisher=Tbheritage.com |date=1980-03-21 |accessdate=2013-01-19}}</ref> Marsyas died on May 30, 1964.

==Pedigree==
{{Pedigree
|name = Marsyas (FR), chestnut stallion 1940<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.equineline.com/Free-5X-Pedigree.cfm?page_state=ORDER_AND_CONFIRM&reference_number=300182&registry=T&horse_name==Marsyas%20II%20(FR)&dam_name==Astronomie%20(FR)&foaling_year=1940&nicking_stats_indicator=Y |title=Marsyas pedigree |publisher=equineline.com |date=2012-05-08 |accessdate=2013-01-19}}</ref>
|f = Trimdon (GB)
|m = Astronomie (FR)
|ff = [[Son-in-Law]] (GB)
|fm = Trimestral (GB)
|mf = Asterus (FR)
|mm = Likka (FR)
|fff = [[Dark Ronald]]
|ffm = Mother-in-Law
|fmf = [[William the Third (horse)|William the Third]]
|fmm = Mistrella
|mff = [[Teddy (horse)|Teddy]]
|mfm = Astrella
|mmf = [[Sardanapale (horse)|Sardanapale]]
|mmm = Diane Mallory
|ffff = [[Bay Ronald]]
|fffm = Darkie
|ffmf = Matchmaker
|ffmm = Be Cannie
|fmff = [[St. Simon (horse)|St. Simon]]
|fmfm = Gravity
|fmmf = [[Cyllene (horse)|Cyllene]]
|fmmm = Ark Royal
|mfff = [[Ajax (horse)|Ajax]]
|mffm = Rondeau
|mfmf = Verdun
|mfmm = Saint Astra
|mmff = [[Prestige (horse)|Prestige]]
|mmfm = Gemma
|mmmf = Nimbus
|mmmm = Ferula (Family: 9-e)<ref name="bloodlines1"/>
|}}

⚫
==References==
{{reflist}}


[[Category:1940 racehorse births]]
[[Category:1940 racehorse births]]
[[Category:1964 racehorse deaths]]
[[Category:1964 racehorse deaths]]
[[Category:Thoroughbred racehorses]]
[[Category:Racehorses bred in France]]
[[Category:Racehorses bred in France]]
[[Category:Racehorses trained in France]]
[[Category:Racehorses trained in France]]
[[Category:French racehorses]]
[[Category:Thoroughbred family 9-e]]

Latest revision as of 18:27, 24 January 2022

Marsyas
SireTrimdon
GrandsireSon-in-Law
DamAstronomie
DamsireAsterus
SexStallion
Foaled1940
CountryFrance
ColourChestnut
BreederMarcel Boussac
OwnerMarcel Boussac
TrainerCharles Semblat
Record27: 17-4-5
Major wins
Prix Berteux (1943)
Prix du Cadran (1944, 1945, 1946, 1947)
Prix Kergorlay (1944)
Prix Gladiateur (1944)
Prix Jean Prat (1944, 1945)
White Rose Stakes (1946)
Queen Alexandra Stakes (1946)
Goodwood Cup (1946)
Doncaster Cup (1946)
Lowther Stakes (1946)
Last updated on December 19, 2006

Marsyas (also known as Marsyas II, 1940–30 May 1964) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the dominant stayer in France in the mid-1940s winning four consecutive editions of the 4,000 metre Prix du Cadran between 1944 and 1947.[1] 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

[edit]

Marsyas was a chestnut horse with a narrow white blaze and white socks on his hind legs,[2] bred by his owner Marcel Boussac at his Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard in Neuvy-au-Houlme in Lower Normandy. He was sired by the British-bred stallion Trimdon winner of the Ascot Gold Cup in 1931 and 1932. Marsyas's dam was the highly successful broodmare Astronomie, whose other progeny included the undefeated Caracalla, Arbar, and Asmena.[3]

Racing career

[edit]

Marsyas's early career took place during the Second World War 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 at Maisons-Laffitte and was placed in the Grand Prix de Paris and the Prix Royal Oak, both of which were run at Le Tremblay. In the following season, Marsyas showed much improved form, winning most of France's top long-distance races including the Pix du Cadran at Le Tremblay, Prix Kergorlay (Le Tremblay), Prix Jean Prat (Maisons-Laffitte) and the Prix Gladiateur (Le Tremblay). The last-named race was run over the extreme distance of 6,200 metres (almost four miles). He finished unplaced for the only time in his career in the 1944 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe 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 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 and was part of an exceptionally strong[4] team of French stayers sent to Royal Ascot 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 over two and three-quarter miles. On subsequent visits to England that year he won the Goodwood Cup and the Doncaster Cup.[4] In October at Newmarket he moved down in distance and won the Lowther Stakes over one and a half miles beating the King's colt Rising Light.[5] Less than a week after this win, Marsyas competed in the Jockey Club Cup where he finished third to Felix.[6] In his final season, Marsyas won the Prix du Cadran for the fourth time at the reopened Longchamp Racecourse beating Souverain by four lengths.[7]

Assessment

[edit]

Despite being the outstanding stayer in Europe in 1947, Marsyas was not included by the Timeform 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.[8]

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.[9]

Phil Bull described Marsyas as "a phenomenon among racehorses... If there is such a thing as a racehorse who stays forever, it is he."[9]

Stud record

[edit]

Marsyas was retired to become a breeding stallion at his owner's stud 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 who won the Prix Royal Oak in 1955 and the Ascot Gold Cup in 1956,[10] and Marsyad, who won the Dewhurst Stakes.[11] Marsyas died on May 30, 1964.

Pedigree

[edit]
Pedigree of Marsyas (FR), chestnut stallion 1940[12]
Sire
Trimdon (GB) 		Son-in-Law (GB) Dark Ronald Bay Ronald
Darkie
Mother-in-Law Matchmaker
Be Cannie
Trimestral (GB) William the Third St. Simon
Gravity
Mistrella Cyllene
Ark Royal
Dam
Astronomie (FR) 		Asterus (FR) Teddy Ajax
Rondeau
Astrella Verdun
Saint Astra
Likka (FR) Sardanapale Prestige
Gemma
Diane Mallory Nimbus
Ferula (Family: 9-e)[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Anne Peters. "Marcel Boussac". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  2. ^ "Marsyas_II image". sporthorse-data.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  3. ^ a b "Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Maid Of Masham - Family 9-e". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  4. ^ a b "French horses sway in English racing". Indian Express. 4 November 1946. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  5. ^ "TURF Success of French Horses". Western Mail (Western Australia). 7 Nov 1946. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  6. ^ Mortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane’s. ISBN 0-354-08536-0.
  7. ^ "Marsyas triumphs again". Montreal Gazette. 12 May 1947. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  8. ^ Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1990). Horse Racing: Records, Facts, Champions (Third Edition). Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-902-1.
  9. ^ a b Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press. ISBN 1-901570-15-0.
  10. ^ "Too much advice on breeding". Glasgow Herald. 21 January 1957. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  11. ^ Anne Peters (1980-03-21). "Marcel Boussac 2: Golden Years". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  12. ^ "Marsyas pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
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