Golden Pheasant (horse)
Encyclopedia
Golden Pheasant is an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
who won races in France
, England
, the United States, and Japan
. He was owned by the then owner of the Los Angeles Kings
NHL ice hockey
team, Bruce McNall
, and superstar Hall of Fame
player, Wayne Gretzky
.
Trained by Jonathan Pease
, Golden Pheasant raced in France and England at age three and four where under jockey
Tony Cruz
his wins included a victory over Nashwan
in the 1989 Prix Niel
at Longchamp Racecourse
near Paris
in the Fall. Earlier in the year he finished second in both the Chester Vase
at Chester Racecourse
in Chester, England
, and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud
at Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud in Saint-Cloud
, France
. Golden Pheasant was then sent to race in the United States
where he was conditioned by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
trainer, Charlie Whittingham
. Under jockey Gary Stevens, Golden Pheasant defeated top horses With Approval
and Steinlen to win the Arlington Million
at Chicago's
Arlington Park
. In 1991 Stevens rode him to victory in the Japan Cup
.
Retired to stud
duty, Golden Pheasant met with good success as a sire
and currently stands at Lex Stud Shizunai-Cho, Shizunai-Gun, Hokkaidō
, Japan
.
To commemorate Golden Pheasant's winning both the Arlington Million and the Japan Cup, the Japan Racing Association
gifted Arlington Park
a Japanese cherry tree
that was planted in the paddock area.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
who won races in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, England
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the United States, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He was owned by the then owner of the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
NHL ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team, Bruce McNall
Bruce McNall
Bruce Patrick McNall is a former Thoroughbred racehorse owner, and a sports executive who once owned the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League .McNall claimed to have made his initial fortune as a coin collector, though...
, and superstar Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
player, Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
.
Trained by Jonathan Pease
Jonathan E. Pease
Jonathan Edward Pease is a member of the area's prominent Pease family and a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer....
, Golden Pheasant raced in France and England at age three and four where under jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
Tony Cruz
Anthony S. Cruz
Anthony S. "Tony" Cruz is a prominent horse trainer and former Champion Thoroughbred horse racing jockey.-Early life:Son of J. M. da Cruz, himself a well-known jockey, Tony Cruz is of Portuguese descent...
his wins included a victory over Nashwan
Nashwan
Nashwan was a thoroughbred racehorse bred and owned by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum.The chestnut colt was sired by the 1977 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Blushing Groom out of Height of Fashion, a daughter of Bustino previously owned by Queen Elizabeth II. He was a thus half-brother to the Group...
in the 1989 Prix Niel
Prix Niel
The Prix Niel is a Group 2 flat horse race in France which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September....
at Longchamp Racecourse
Hippodrome de Longchamp
The Longchamp Racecourse is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes in the Bois de Boulogne at Paris, France. Built on the banks of the Seine River, it is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tracks and a famous hill that provides a real...
near Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the Fall. Earlier in the year he finished second in both the Chester Vase
Chester Vase
The Chester Vase is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Chester over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 66 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May....
at Chester Racecourse
Chester Racecourse
Chester Racecourse, known as the Roodee, is according to official records the oldest racecourse still in use in England. Horse racing at Chester dates back to the early sixteenth century. It is also thought to be the smallest racecourse of significance in England at 1 mile and 1 furlong ...
in Chester, England
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud
Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud
The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June.-History:...
at Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud in Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.Like other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine or Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of the wealthiest cities in France, ranked 22nd out of the 36500 in...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Golden Pheasant was then sent to race in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he was conditioned by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
trainer, Charlie Whittingham
Charlie Whittingham
Charles Edward Whittingham was an American thoroughbred race horse trainer who is one of the most acclaimed trainers in U.S. racing history....
. Under jockey Gary Stevens, Golden Pheasant defeated top horses With Approval
With Approval
With Approval was a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Canadian Triple Crown in 1989 under jockey Don Seymour. He finished second in the 1990 Breeders' Cup Turf and the Arlington Million....
and Steinlen to win the Arlington Million
Arlington Million
The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flathorse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward. It is raced over a distance of 1¼ miles on the turf at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois in August each year...
at Chicago's
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Arlington Park
Arlington Park
Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...
. In 1991 Stevens rode him to victory in the Japan Cup
Japan Cup
The is the most prestigious horse race run in Japan. It is contested at the end of November at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters over the grass. With a purse of ¥476 million , the Japan Cup is one of the richest races in the world.The Japan Cup is an invitational event...
.
Retired to stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
duty, Golden Pheasant met with good success as a sire
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
and currently stands at Lex Stud Shizunai-Cho, Shizunai-Gun, Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
To commemorate Golden Pheasant's winning both the Arlington Million and the Japan Cup, the Japan Racing Association
Japan Racing Association
The Japan Racing Association is a public company established to operate Chūō Keiba and to manage racecourses, betting facilities, and horse-training facilities....
gifted Arlington Park
Arlington Park
Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...
a Japanese cherry tree
Cherry Tree
Cherry Tree may refer to:* A tree that produces cherries* An ornamental cherry tree that produces cherry blossomsPlaces* Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania, a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States* Cherry Tree, Oklahoma...
that was planted in the paddock area.