Medoc II

{{Infobox racehorse | horsename = Medoc II | image_name = | caption = | sire = Van | grandsire = Alcantara | dam = Menthe Poivree | damsire = Pot au Feu | sex = [[Gelding]] | foaled = 1934<ref name="pedigree">{{cite web|url=http://www.pedigreequery.com/medoc2|title=Medoc pedigree |publisher=Pedigree Online |date=2016-03-19 |accessdate=2016-03-19}}</ref> | country = France | colour = [[Bay (horse)|Bay]] | breeder = | owner = [[Hugh Molyneux, 7th Earl of Sefton]] | trainer = [[Reg Hobbs]] | record = | earnings = | race = National Hunt Juvenile Stakes (1938) Seven Springs Handicap Chase (1940, 1941) [[Cheltenham Gold Cup]] (1942) |awards= |honours = |updated= }}

'''Medoc II''' (also known simply as '''Medoc''', foaled 1934) was a French-bred, British-trained [[Thoroughbred]] racehorse who won the 1942 [[Cheltenham Gold Cup]]. He won races at the [[Cheltenham Festival]] in 1938, 1940 and 1941 before defeating a strong field in the Gold Cup but his later career was severely limited by [[World War II|wartime]] restrictions.

==Background== Medoc was a bay gelding bred in France. He was sired by the French stallion Van, a high class [[flat racing|flat racer]] who finished second in the [[Prix Dollar]]. Medoc's dam Menthe Poivree also produced Roi d'Egypte (sired by Van) whose wins included the [[Cathcart Challenge Cup]] at Cheltenham in 1942. She was a great-granddaughter of Sand Blast, whose other descendants have included [[Madam Gay]].<ref name="tbl">{{cite web |url=http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Families/Family7a.htm |title=Vicissitude - Family 7-a |publisher=Thoroughbred Bloodlines |date= |accessdate=2013-11-11 |archive-date=2020-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216142836/http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Families/Family7a.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Medoc was bought by [[Hugh Molyneux, 7th Earl of Sefton]] and sent into training with Reg Hobbs at his Rhonehurst Stable in [[Upper Lambourn]]. Hobbs came to widespread public attention when he trained the American stallion [[Battleship (horse)|Battleship]] to win the [[1938 Grand National]], ridden by his son [[Bruce Hobbs|Bruce]].<ref name="Green">{{cite book|last=Green|first=Reg | title=The History of the Grand National: A Race Apart| publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=1993|isbn = 0-340-58515-3}}</ref>

==Racing career== Medoc showed promising early form as a steeplechaser winning the National Hunt Juvenile Chase as a four-year-old in 1938. He won the Seven Springs Handicap Chase in the 1940 Cheltenham Festival. He won at [[Plumpton Racecourse]] in March 1941<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sPzMBAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Medoc+II%22+%22Cheltenham%22&pg=PT41|title=Calling The Horses|author=Peter O'Sullevan|author-link=Peter O'Sullevan|year=1989|publisher=Stanley Thomas|isbn=9781473606852}}</ref> and went on to win the Seven Springs Handicap Chase for a second time. In November 1941 he finished second to Mixed Foursome in a chase at Cheltenham.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/61487262?searchTerm=Medoc%20Cheltenham&searchLimits=l-decade=194|title=Home Front: Week-end Racing|date=24 Jan 1941|work=[[Townsville Bulletin]]}}</ref>

Wartime restrictions meant that major sporting events were confined to the weekend and the 1942 Cheltenham Festival was run over successive Saturdays rather than consecutive days. On 14 March, Medoc contested the [[Grand Annual Chase]] and finished second by a head to [[Red Rower]] with Broken Promise a [[Horse length|length]] back in third.<ref name="insane">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PH6cPa-SwycC&dq=%22Poet+Prince%22+%22Cheltenham%22&pg=PA190|title=Insane and Unseemly: British Racing in World War II|year=2009|author=John Saville|publisher=Matador|isbn=9781848760349}}</ref> Medoc's more highly regarded stablemate Savon (runner-up in the 1941 Gold Cup) fell in the race and sustained a fatal injury.<ref name="Harman">{{cite book | last = Harman | first = Bob | title = The Ultimate Dream: The History of the Cheltenham Gold Cup| publisher=Mainstream Publishing | year = 2000| isbn = 1-84018-381-0}}</ref>

The 1942 Gold Cup was run in front of a sparse crown in cold foggy conditions although any mention of the weather was omitted in the [[BBC Radio]] commentary in case the reports gave information to [[Nazi Germany|the enemy]].<ref name="Harman"/> Despite the conditions, the twelve-runner field was a strong one, containing as it did the previous winners [[Roman Hackle]] and [[Poet Prince]]. Red Rower was made the [[Fractional odds|3/1]] favourite, with Medoc, ridden by [[Frenchie Nicholson]], second choice in the betting on 9/2.<ref name="Breedon">{{cite book|last1=Abelson|first1=Edward|last2=Tyrrel|first2=John| title=The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records|publisher=Breedon Books Publishing |year=1993|isbn=978-1-873626-15-3}}</ref> Medoc was in fourth place when the complexion of the race changed completely at the final ditch: the leader Solarium fell, bringing down Broken Promise and severely hampering Red Rower. Left with a clear lead, Medoc stayed on well to win by eight lengths from Red Rower, who was in turn four lengths clear of Schubert.<ref name="Harman"/>

National Hunt racing was suspended in September 1942 and Medoc was sent to race Ireland. When jump racing resumed in Britain at the end of 1944 Medoc was unable to resume his racing career owing to a decision of the National Hunt Committee not to accept entries on behalf of horses which had left the country after 1 June 1941.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17928771?searchTerm=Medoc%20Cheltenham&searchLimits=l-decade=194|title=English Racing Expands|date=22 Nov 1944|work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref>

==Assessment and honours== In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the [[Timeform]] rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Medoc a "poor" Gold Cup winner.<ref name="century">{{cite book|last1=Morris| first1=Tony|last2=Randall|first2=John|title=A Century of Champions|publisher= Portway Press|year=1999|isbn=9781901570151}}</ref> Medoc is remembered in the name of Medoc Close, a residential street in Cheltenham.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cheltenham4u.co.uk/swindonvillage_history.asp?area=Swindon+Village%2C+Wyman%27s+Brook|title=Cheltenham Areas: History of Swindon Village and Wyman's Brook|publisher=cheltenham4u.co.uk|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218123647/http://www.cheltenham4u.co.uk/swindonvillage_history.asp?area=Swindon+Village%2C+Wyman%27s+Brook|archivedate=2010-02-18}}</ref>

==Pedigree== {{Pedigree |name = Medoc (FR), bay gelding, 1934<ref name="pedigree"/> |f = Van (FR) 1917 |m = Menthe Poivree (FR) 1927 |ff = [[Alcantara (horse)|Alcantara]] (FR) 1908 |fm = Annarella (FR) 1910 |mf = Pot au Feu (FR) 1921 |mm = Minieh (GB) 1914 |fff = [[Perth (horse)|Perth]] |ffm = Toison d'Or |fmf = [[Doricles]] |fmm = Saint Astra |mff = [[Bruleur]] |mfm = Polly Peachum |mmf = [[Minoru (horse)|Minoru]] |mmm = Red Sea |ffff = War Dance |fffm = Primrose Dame |ffmf = [[Le Sancy]] |ffmm = Harfleur |fmff = [[Florizel II]] |fmfm = Rosalie |fmmf = [[Ladas (horse)|Ladas]] |fmmm = Saint Celestra |mfff = Choubesrki |mffm = Basse Terre |mfmf = [[Spearmint (horse)|Spearmint]] |mfmm = '''Lindoiya*''' |mmff = [[Cyllene (horse)|Cyllene]] |mmfm = Mother Siegel |mmmf = '''[[Gallinule (horse)|Gallinule]]*''' |mmmm = Sand Blast (Family: 7-a)<ref name="tbl"/> }}

{{asterisk}} Medoc II is [[inbreeding|inbred]] 5D x 4D to the stallion [[Gallinule (horse)|Gallinule]], meaning that he appears fifth generation (via Lindoiya) and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

== References == {{Reflist}}

[[Category:1934 racehorse births]] [[Category:Racehorses bred in France]] [[Category:Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Thoroughbred family 7-a]] [[Category:Cheltenham Gold Cup winners]] [[Category:Cheltenham Festival winners]] [[Category:National Hunt racehorses]]