Greatest Racehorses: Ribot 281t4w

Pedigree Details

Sire: Tenerani

Dam: Romanella

Dam's Sire: El Greco

Breeder: Federico Tesio/Razza Dormello-Olgiata

Foaled: 27 February 1952

Race Record & Factfile

Races: 16

Wins: 16

Owner: Lydia Tesio/Marchese Incisa della Rocchetta

Trainer: Ugo Penco

Profile

The only time racegoers in England got to see the Italian-trained Ribot in the flesh was when he contested the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot as a four-year-old. Timeform’s paddock description noted him to be tough, powerful, extremely muscular and well built. While nobody would have called him a handsome horse, he was a long way from being a plain one". However, as a yearling a lack of size meant that it had not been considered worthwhile giving him any entries for the Italian classics.

Ribot was the best horse bred by legendary owner-breeder Federico Tesio whose stud produced 22 Italian Derby winners. One of those was Ribot’s sire Tenerani, whose wins also included the Goodwood Cup, while Ribot’s dam Romanella had been champion two-year-old filly in Italy. However, Tesio died aged 85 just months before Ribot made his winning debut, meaning that Ribot ran in the name of Tesio’s widow Lydia. Ribot was to remain unbeaten in his 16-race career. While it is true that most of his victories came at Milan where he routinely outclassed inferior opponents in small fields, Ribot proved himself to be much more than just a big fish in a small pond. His three victories outside Italy, with two wins in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe to his name as well as a King George, established him as Italy’s horse of the century.

"What can be said without fear of contradiction is that after his [second] triumph in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Ribot is entitled to a place among the great horses of history", said Racehorses of 1956. "There have no doubt been horses as good, and some of them have kept records unblemished by defeat, but perhaps Ribot’s outstanding achievement was to gain his victories in three different countries under vastly different conditions, and all distances and going came alike to him."

Two-year-old season (1954)

Ribot made his debut over five furlongs before going on to win the Criterium Nazionale, a race his dam had won, and ended his first season by winning Italy’s top two-year-old race, the Gran Criterium. His head win in the Gran Criterium proved to be the narrowest victory of his career after he was held up, though otherwise Ribot was ridden more prominently. The form was franked, though, as the runner-up Gail subsequently beat older horses in the Premio Chiusura.

Major races won

• Criterium Nazionale, Milan
• Gran Criterium, Milan

Three-year-old season (1955)

Ribot’s three-year-old season began in March with a win at Pisa, the only time he raced in Italy away from Milan. He then faced Gail again in the Premio Emanuele Filiberto, this time beating him by ten lengths, and had only one rival on his next start, before his first try over a mile and a half, in the Premio Besana in September, brought him another ten-length success. Ribot was therefore unbeaten in seven races at home when lining up as a largely unknown quantity in the 1955 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe which was much his biggest test to date.

Sent off at 9/1 in a field of 23, Ribot ran out an easy three-length winner from the French three-year-old Beau Prince, winner of the previous season’s Grand Criterium. Back at Milan, Ribot rounded off the campaign with a 15-length win on heavy ground from the French horse Norman (winner of the two previous renewals) in the Gran Premio del Jockey Club, Italy’s own equivalent of the Arc. Ribot thus ended his three-year-old season with a rating of 133 but was to go on to even better things as a four-year-old. 

Major races won                                       

• Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Longchamp
• Gran Premio del Jockey Club, Milan

Four-year-old season (1956)

Ribot won his first three races at Milan in 1956 by distances of four, 12 and eight lengths and on each occasion he was considered such a certainty that his backers merely had their stake-money refunded. There had been some doubt about whether his trip to Ascot in the summer would be for the Gold Cup or the King George, and even though the latter race was chosen, he was given a staying race in preparation, the Gran Premio di Milano over 15 furlongs. This also meant taking on some of the best Italian three-year-olds and, at 10/1-on this time, Ribot’s backers at least got some sort of return. Ribot made all to win by an official distance of eight lengths, though that was considered a conservative estimate.

"Ribot had so far done everything asked of him, and done it in exemplary style," said Racehorses of 1956. "His stamina was established beyond dispute, he had demonstrated that he had at his command a fine turn of speed, he was at the peak of his fitness and there was unlimited confidence behind him. All going apparently came alike to him, and there was every justification for his starting at a shorter price than the odds of 5/2-on which were eventually returned about him." Even so, the previous season’s Arc remained the one piece of evidence that he had the ability to deal with his King George rivals.

Racehorses described the King George as "the hardest race of Ribot’s career". Looking ill at ease on the very sticky ground and needing to be pushed along from some way out, Ribot appeared to have a race on his hands when challenged in the straight by the Queen’s horse High Veldt. "Battle in earnest now began between Ribot and High Veldt, and enthusiasm mounted to a crescendo when it was seen that there was a possibility of a royal victory. Once Ribot reached better going in the last two furlongs, any such hopes evaporated. Lengthening his stride, he quickly wore down High Veldt, and as soon as he was in top gear, showed his true mettle by sprinting clear to the post an easy winner by five lengths."

Rather than being retired to stud straight away, Ribot was kept in training for another attempt at the Arc, taking in a nine-furlong contest back at Milan along the way. Ribot was sent off odds-on to become the fifth dual winner of the Arc and, in the first three throughout, was always going well. When asked to quicken clear, Ribot pulled away to win unchallenged by an official six lengths, though the photograph of the finish in Racehorses suggests that the actual margin was more like eight. In what was a stronger race than the year before and a very international one, Ribot was chased home by the Irish Derby winner Talgo, third was one of the top French three-year-olds Tanerko and fourth was the American colt Career Boy who had been beaten a neck in the Belmont Stakes.

Before he retired, Ribot had two exhibition gallops back home, one at Milan and the other at Rome where, after ing the post, he unseated his jockey Enrico Camici who had ridden him in all his races.

Major races won

• Gran Premio di Milan, Milan
• King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Ascot
• Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Longchamp

Ribot at stud

Ribot didn’t have a fashionable pedigree but that didn’t stop him becoming hugely successful as a stallion on both sides of the Atlantic. His stud career began with a year in Newmarket, followed by three seasons back in Italy and then a transfer to Kentucky. His move to the States was not supposed to be a permanent one, but when it was time for him to return to Italy at the end of his five-year lease, it was argued that his temperament made it too much of a risk for him to travel.

Ribot gave Italy another Arc winner when Molvedo, from his first crop, won the race in 1961, and three years later Prince Royal, who had begun his career in Italy but was by then trained in , became his second Arc winner. Ribot was champion sire three times in Britain and Ireland where, besides the Oaks winner Long Look, he was represented by Ragusa (also successful, like his sire, in the King George), the American-bred brothers Ribocco and Ribero, and Boucher who were all winners of the St Leger. Ribot was also the great grandsire of Alleged who matched his feat of winning the Arc twice.

In America, Ribot’s notable performers included champion three-year-old Tom Rolfe (who contested Sea-Bird’s Arc), Horse of the Year Arts And Letters, and the brothers Graustark and His Majesty who both enjoyed successful stallion careers themselves.

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