Montaval
| Montaval | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Norseman |
| Grandsire | Umidwar |
| Dam | Ballynash |
| Damsire | Nasrullah |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | April 1953 |
| Country | France |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Ralph B. Strassburger |
| Owner | Ralph B. Strassburger |
| Trainer | George Bridgland |
| Record | 17: 5–3–1 |
| Major wins | |
|
Prix Gontaut-Biron (1956) Prix Dollar (1957) King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (1957) |
|
Montaval (foaled 1953) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Although trained in France throughout his career, his most notable achievements came in Britain: he was narrowly beaten in the 1956 Epsom Derby and won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in the following year. In total he won five times in a career of at least seventeen races which lasted from 1955 until November 1957. He was retired to stand as a stallion in Ireland and was exported to Japan in 1961.
Montaval was a bay horse with a narrow white blaze and three white socks bred in France by this owner, the American businessman Ralph B. Strassburger. Montaval's dam, the British-bred mare Ballynash was bought by Strassburger for £2000 in December 1949. Apart from Montaval, Ballynash produced the successful racehorse and sire Mourne and the filly Petite Sanguenay, the grand-dam of Pawneese. The colt was trained in France by George Bridgland and ridden in most of his races by Freddie Palmer.
Montaval's early career was not particularly notable, as he won one minor race in five starts as a two-year-old in 1955.
In the following spring he was beaten in his first three races, but showed some potential when finishing second to Ambiax in the Prix Daru. He was then sent to Britain to contest the Epsom Derby in which he started a 40/1 outsider in a field of twenty-seven runners. Despite driving rain, the race attracted an estimated crowd of 250,000, including the Queen Mother. Ridden by Freddie Palmer, Montaval was well back in the field for most of the way before making progress in the straight. Still fifth with a hundred yards to run he finished strongly but failed by a neck to catch Lavandin. The fact that the first two horses were trained in France, following on from the victory of Phil Drake in the previous year, led some commentators to state that British racing had “hit rock bottom.”.
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