Sagaro


Sagaro was an Irish-bred, French-trained thoroughbred racehorse.

Background

Sagaro was a chestnut horse bred by his owner Gerald Oldham, the Geneva-based financier. He was trained at Lamorlaye in France by François Boutin.

Racing career

Sagaro won in every season from 1974 to 1977. His first major success came in the Grand Prix de Paris in 1974, which he won by two lengths from Bustino.
In 1975 he won his first Ascot Gold Cup beating Le Bavard by four lengths. The Ascot Gold Cup is a Group 1 race for horses four years old and older. It is run over a distance of two and a half miles at Ascot Racecourse in England. First run in 1807, the Gold Cup is traditionally held on Ladies' Day at the Royal meeting in June and is the feature event of this five-day racing festival. It is a true test of a “stayer”, a horse that races and wins over distances of two miles and above.
The following season, 1976, was Sagaro's best. In France he won the Prix de Barbeville and the Prix du Cadran before returning to Ascot to display a notable turn of foot to win his second Ascot Gold Cup by a length from Crash Course. In 1977 he won his third consecutive Ascot Gold Cup, which at that time was a record. The achievement was surpassed by Yeats in 2009. The famous English champion jockey Lester Piggott rode Sagaro in all his major races.

Stud record

Sagaro retired to The National Stud in England in 1977 and died in 1986.
Gerald Oldham said of him "He was a marvellous racehorse and one of the greatest stayers. It was just as much of a thrill to have bred him as to have raced him. Champions like him don't come along often."