Parth (horse)

Parth (foaled 1920) was a British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1923 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Parth
Oct 7, 1923, at Longchamp
Sire	Polymelus
Grandsire	Cyllene
Dam	Willia
Damsire	William the Third
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1920
Country	United Kingdom
Colour	Bay
Owner	Mathradas Goculdas A. Kingsley Macomber
Trainer	James H. Crawford
Major wins
Greenham Stakes (1923) Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (1923) Great Jubilee Handicap (1924) Churchill Stakes (1924)

Background

Parth was a bay horse sired by Polymelus, the five-time Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland. His dam was Willia, a daughter of the 1902 Ascot Gold Cup winner William the Third. As a descendant of the mare Grand Duchess, Parth was a member of the same Thoroughbred family which produced Manna, Blushing Groom and Mill Reef.^[1]

Parth was first owned by the Indian textile magnate Mathradas Goculdas and later sold for 20,000 guineas^[2] to A. Kingsley Macomber, an American who maintained a sizeable racing operation in Europe^[3] and who had won the 1918 Preakness Stakes with War Cloud.^[4] The colt was trained at Ogbourne in Wiltshire, England by James H. Crawford.^[5]

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.^[6] 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 and Pharos.^[7] He later finished fourth in the St. Leger Stakes to the filly Tranquil. In October, Parth was sent to Paris to contest the fourth running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe 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, Parth spent thirty hours travelling by train to Paris.^[5] Ridden by Frank O'Neill, Parth started at odds of 35/4 and won by a neck from Massine,^[8] a French-trained three-year-old who went on to win the race (as well as the Ascot Gold Cup) in 1924.^[9]

Racing at age four, Parth's wins included the Great Jubilee Handicap at Kempton Park Racecourse in May in which he defeated Verdict (winner of the Cambridgeshire Handicap and the Coronation Cup) by a short head.^[10][11] In Autumn he ran second to Pharos in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket and third behind the filly Teresina and Papyrus in the Jockey Club Stakes.^[12] Parth injured a tendon during the running for the City and Suburban Handicap and was retired in May 1925 to Macomber's stud farm in Normandy.^[13]

Stud record

Kingsley Macomber purchased Haras du Quesnay breeding farm in Lower Normandy from William Kissam Vanderbilt and for the 1925 breeding season Parth was retired to stand at stud. As a sire, he met with limited success but did produce Davout, a winner of the 1936 Poule d'Essai des Poulains.^[14]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Parth (GB), bay stallion, 1920^[15]

Sire Polymelus (GB) 1902	Cyllene 1895	Bona Vista	Bend Or
			Vista
		Arcadia	Isonomy
			Distant Shore
	Maid Marian 1886	Hampton*	Lord Clifden
			Lady Langden
		Quiver	Toxophilite
			Young Melbourne mare
Dam Willia (GB) 1908	William the Third 1898	St. Simon	Galopin
			St. Angela
		Gravity	Wisdom
			Enigma
	Gadfly 1896	Hampton*	Lord Clifden
			Lady Langden
		Merry Duchess	Speculum
			Grand Duchess (Family:22)[1]

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

References

1. "Grand Duchess - Family 22-d". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
2. "TURF NOTES". Auckland Star. 8 September 1923. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
3. "A Macomber". Horseracing History Online. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
4. Mortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane’s. ISBN 0-354-08536-0.
5. Sue Montgomery (1998-10-04). "The French classic and the English connection". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
6. "A. C. Walker, the Australian jockey, riding Parth". Western Mail. 14 Jun 1923. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
7. "SPORTING". Hawera & Normanby Star. 8 June 1923. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
8. "RACING IN FRANCE". Hawera & Normanby Star. 9 October 1923. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
9. Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press. ISBN 1-90157015-0.
10. "- CABLED SPORT. BRITISH TURF.JUBILEE HANDICAP". Advocate. 19 May 1924. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
11. "THE ENGLISH TURF". Hawera & Normanby Star. 19 May 1924. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
12. "FIXTURES". Evening Post. 4 October 1924. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
13. Staff (2 May 1925). "Parth out of training". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
14. "All Progeny for Parth - IDSHS(AUS) Online Stud Book". IDSHS. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
15. Hugh McMahon. "The Sport Horse Show and Breed Database". Sporthorse-data.com. Retrieved 2012-06-11.