Lit de Justice
Encyclopedia
Lit de Justice is an American
Champion
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. He was bred by Robert Sangster's
Swettenham Stud, and purchased by the French
racing operation Mise de Moratalla who named him for a famous Parlement of Paris known as the Lit de justice
. The colt was sired by El Gran Senor
who was an outstanding son of Northern Dancer
and who earned Irish
and English
Champion honours at age two in 1983 and at three in 1984. He was out of the mare Kanmary whose sire Kenmare was a French Group One
winner and the Leading sire in France
in 1988 and 1989.
Trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre
to run on European turf
courses, Lit de Justice began racing at age two and on August 1, 1992, finished fourth in his debut at Deauville-La Touques Racecourse. Winless at ages two and three, Lit de Justice only got his first win in his thirteenth start on June 4, 1994 in the Prix Durbar at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse
. He made one more winless start in France before being sold on July 17, 1994 to Carol and Cornelius Ray's Evergreen Farm located near Paris, Kentucky
. The Rays turned Lit de Justice over to California
trainer Jenine Sahadi who conditioned the horse for racing on dirt at Del Mar Racetrack
.
After a second-place finish in his American debut in a minor race on July 30, 1994 at Del Mar Racetrack, on August 27th, Lit de Justice then got his first American win. As a five-year-old, the horse began to blossom. He won the Potrero Grande Handicap and then set a new Del Mar track record for seven furlongs in winning the Pat O'Brien Breeders' Cup Handicap
before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint
behind winner, Desert Stormer.
At age six, Lit de Justice won four of his seven starts to go with his two third-place finishes. Among his wins, he set a new Santa Anita Park
track record for five and a half furlongs in winning the El Conejo Handicap
. His fourth win of 1996, and most important of his career, came in dramatic fashion in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Woodbine Racetrack
in Toronto
, Canada
. Sent off as the betting
favorite under regular jockey Corey Nakatani
, Lit de Justice won by coming from last to first in the fourteen-horse-field, defeating top runners including Honour and Glory
(3rd) and Langfuhr
(8th). His winning time tied a Woodbine track record that had stood for twenty-three years. The win was the first in a Breeders' Cup
race for jockey Nakatani. For trainer Sahadi, it was not just her first Breeders' Cup victory, but the first by a female trainer in Breeders' Cup history.
For his 1996 performances, Lit de Justice was voted the Eclipse Award
for American Champion Sprint Horse.
at the Kentucky division of Frank Stronach's
Adena Springs. While none of his offspring have achieved Lit de Justice's success, he sired a number of very good runners and stakes race winners and is the damsire of 2008 Canadian Classic winner, Harlem Rocker
. In 2003, Lit de Justice was sold to Magali Farms near Santa Ynez, California
where he still stands.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Champion
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
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...
. He was bred by Robert Sangster's
Robert Sangster
Robert Edmund Sangster was a British businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. He was British flat racing Champion Owner five times and his horses won many major races, including two Epsom Derbys, four Irish Derbys, two French Derbys, three Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes and a Melbourne...
Swettenham Stud, and purchased by the French
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...
racing operation Mise de Moratalla who named him for a famous Parlement of Paris known as the Lit de justice
Lit de Justice
Lit de Justice is an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by Robert Sangster's Swettenham Stud, and purchased by the French racing operation Mise de Moratalla who named him for a famous Parlement of Paris known as the Lit de justice...
. The colt was sired by El Gran Senor
El Gran Senor
El Gran Senor was an American-bred Thoroughbred race horse, foaled at Windfields Farm in Maryland.An outstanding two-year-old who went on to win European classics over a mile and over 12 furlongs, El Gran Senor received a Timeform rated 136...
who was an outstanding son of Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....
and who earned Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and English
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...
Champion honours at age two in 1983 and at three in 1984. He was out of the mare Kanmary whose sire Kenmare was a French Group One
Group One
Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...
winner and the Leading sire in France
Leading sire in France
The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in France for each year since 1887. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the season .-----References:* -See also:*...
in 1988 and 1989.
Trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre
Alain de Royer-Dupré
Alain de Royer-Dupré is a leading French thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He grew up at the Haras de Saint Lô, a national stud farm in Normandy of which his father was Assistant Director and later Director, responsible for government-owned stallions based at farms in the local...
to run on European turf
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
courses, Lit de Justice began racing at age two and on August 1, 1992, finished fourth in his debut at Deauville-La Touques Racecourse. Winless at ages two and three, Lit de Justice only got his first win in his thirteenth start on June 4, 1994 in the Prix Durbar at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse
Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse
The Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte at 1 avenue de la Pelouse in the northwestern Parisian suburb of Maisons-Laffitte in France is a turf horse racing facility and track for Thoroughbred flat racing...
. He made one more winless start in France before being sold on July 17, 1994 to Carol and Cornelius Ray's Evergreen Farm located near Paris, Kentucky
Paris, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...
. The Rays turned Lit de Justice over to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
trainer Jenine Sahadi who conditioned the horse for racing on dirt at Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...
.
After a second-place finish in his American debut in a minor race on July 30, 1994 at Del Mar Racetrack, on August 27th, Lit de Justice then got his first American win. As a five-year-old, the horse began to blossom. He won the Potrero Grande Handicap and then set a new Del Mar track record for seven furlongs in winning the Pat O'Brien Breeders' Cup Handicap
Pat O'Brien Handicap
The Pat O'Brien Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. In 2009, this race will become a Grade I event..The race was named in honor of actor and Del Mar Racetrack co-founder, Pat O'Brien...
before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint
Breeders' Cup Sprint
The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs , the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World...
behind winner, Desert Stormer.
At age six, Lit de Justice won four of his seven starts to go with his two third-place finishes. Among his wins, he set a new Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
track record for five and a half furlongs in winning the El Conejo Handicap
El Conejo Handicap
The El Conejo Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually on January 1 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Grade III sprint race open to horses age four and older, it is contested on Pro-Ride synthetic dirt over a distance of five and a half furlongs.In 2000, the El...
. His fourth win of 1996, and most important of his career, came in dramatic fashion in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Sent off as the betting
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
favorite under regular jockey Corey Nakatani
Corey Nakatani
Corey S. Nakatani is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He got his big break in 1990 when he rode Itsallgreektome to win big stakes races.Nakatani currently resides at Belmont Park...
, Lit de Justice won by coming from last to first in the fourteen-horse-field, defeating top runners including Honour and Glory
Honour and Glory
Honour and Glory is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won important races during his career. He was bred by William T...
(3rd) and Langfuhr
Langfuhr (horse)
Langfuhr is a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse.-Background:Owned and bred by noted German-born Canadian horseman Gus Schickedanz, he was named for Langfuhr the former German name for one of the boroughs of the Northern Polish city of Danzig...
(8th). His winning time tied a Woodbine track record that had stood for twenty-three years. The win was the first in a Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
race for jockey Nakatani. For trainer Sahadi, it was not just her first Breeders' Cup victory, but the first by a female trainer in Breeders' Cup history.
For his 1996 performances, Lit de Justice was voted the Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
for American Champion Sprint Horse.
As a sire
Retired after his Breeders' Cup win, Lit de Justice stood at studStud (animal)
A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...
at the Kentucky division of Frank Stronach's
Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach, CM is an Austrian-Canadian businessman. He is the founder of Magna International, an international automotive parts company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, and Magna Entertainment Corp., which specializes in horse-racing entertainment...
Adena Springs. While none of his offspring have achieved Lit de Justice's success, he sired a number of very good runners and stakes race winners and is the damsire of 2008 Canadian Classic winner, Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker is a Grade I winning Canadian thoroughbred racehorse owned by Adena Springs Racing Venture, a partnership headed by Frank Stronach. He was bred by Adena Springs at their Aurora, Ontario division...
. In 2003, Lit de Justice was sold to Magali Farms near Santa Ynez, California
Santa Ynez, California
Santa Ynez is a census-designated place in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The town of Santa Ynez is one of the communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley, and features the Santa Ynez Airport for general aviation with a paved 2804 x 75 foot runway. The population was 4,418...
where he still stands.