Pearl Diver
| Pearl Diver | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Vatellor |
| Grandsire | Vatout |
| Dam | Pearl Cap |
| Damsire | Le Capucin |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1944 |
| Country | France |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Edward Esmond |
| Owner | Geoffroy de Waldner |
| Trainer |
Percy Carter Claude Halsey |
| Record | 14: 4-1-1 |
| Earnings | £ |
| Major wins | |
|
Prix Matchem (1947) Epsom Derby (1947) Prix d'Harcourt (1948) |
|
Pearl Diver (1944–1971) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from 1946 and 1948 he ran thirteen times and won four races. His most notable achievement came in 1947, when he became the first French-trained horse to win the Epsom Derby since Durbar in 1914.
Pearl Diver was bred in occupied France at Edward Esmond's Mortefontaine Stud in 1944. Esmond himself had fled the country for the United States in 1940 and the stud was being run by his son-in-law Baron Geoffroy de Waldner who faked the stud records to conceal the new foal's illustrious pedigree from the German authorities, giving him the pseudonym "Monsieur de Boscz". On Esmond's death in 1945, the yearling colt was inherited by de Waldner. As a two-year-old, Pearl Diver was sent into training at the Chantilly stable of Percy Carter, an Englishman who had been based in France for many years. Pearl Diver grew to be a big, powerful bay standing 16.2 hands high. Carter was responsible for the colt for all but a brief period in 1947, when he was stabled with Claude Halsey at Newmarket, Suffolk.
Pearl Diver’s sire, Vatellor was a high class racehorse who won eight races in France including the race now called the Prix Jean Prat. He later became a successful stallion being Champion sire in France in 1956 and getting such notable performers as My Love, Nikellora (Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe) and Vattel (Grand Prix de Paris). Pearl Cap had produced no notable horses before she gave birth to Pearl Diver in 1944. She had, however, been an outstanding racemare, with her victories including the 1931 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Pearl Diver was not highly tried as a two-year-old, running twice. He showed some promise in winning the Prix Saint Patrick over 1400m.
On his three-year-old debut Pearl Diver was beaten in a race at Le Tremblay by a filly called Imprudence. The form of the race looked better in retrospect as Imprudence went on to win the 1000 Guineas, the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and the Epsom Oaks. Pearl Diver then finished third to L’Imperial in the Prix Jean Prat over 2000m at Longchamp. In May he recorded his first significant victory when he was awarded the Prix Matchem on the disqualification of Timor. His form suggested that he was a useful stayer (the Prix Matchem was run over 2700m), but below top class. In order to acclimatise the colt to English conditions, Pearl Diver was transferred to Newmarket three weeks before the Derby. Claude Halsey took charge of the colt’s final preparation at his Somerville Lodge Stable, and briefly became his official trainer. Despite this technicality, Carter is usually listed by most sources as Pearl Diver’s trainer for his run in the Derby
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