Bering (horse)

Bering (20 March 1983 – 16 December 2011) was a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He won five of his seven starts, including the Prix du Jockey Club in 1986. On his final start he finished second to Dancing Brave in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He was bred and owned by Alec Head, and trained by his daughter Criquette Head. After retiring from racing Bering had some success as a stallion, with his progeny including 2000 Guineas Stakes winner Pennekamp and Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner American Post.

Bering
Racing silks of Mrs Alec Head
Sire	Arctic Tern
Grandsire	Sea-Bird
Dam	Beaune
Damsire	Lyphard
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	20 March 1983
Country	Great Britain
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	Alec Head
Owner	Alec Head
Trainer	Criquette Head
Jockey	Freddy Head Gary Moore
Record	7: 5-1-1
Earnings	€519.468
Major wins
Prix Noailles (1986) Prix Hocquart (1986) Prix du Jockey Club (1986) Prix Niel (1986)
Awards
Timeform rating: 136

Background

Bering was a chestnut colt bred by Alec Head and foaled in 1983.[1] He was sired by Arctic Tern, who won the Prix Ganay in 1977.[2] His dam was Beaune, a stakes winning daughter of Lyphard.[3]

Racing career

1985: Two-year-old season

In his first Bering finished third in a 1,600 metre race at Longchamp on 5 October 1985. He followed this up a month later by winning a 1,700 metre race at Maisons-Laffitte. He was ridden by Freddy Head on both of his races as a two-year-old.[4]

1986: Three-year-old season

Bering started the 1986 season by winning the Prix Noailles by eight lengths from Point D'Artois in April.[5] In May he then took the Prix Hocquart, again beating Point D'Artois, this timeby two lengths.[6] After these two victories he was sent off as the odds-on favourite for the Prix du Jockey Club over 2,400 metres at Chantilly. Art Francais set off in the lead at a fast past, at one point being ten lengths clear of the rest of the field. As they entered the finishing straight, Pradier took the lead, whilst Bering was moving through into third position. Bering took the lead with about 400 metres left to run and was never caught, winning by one and a half lengths from Altayan. Bering ran the race in a time of 2 minutes and 24.10 seconds, which beat the race record set by Top Ville in 1979 by 1.2 seconds. Gary Moore said after the race "I knew we were going to win 400m-600m out and all he needed was a couple of smacks."[7]

As preparation for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Bering raced in the Prix Niel at Longchamp, which he won by two and a half lengths from Malakim.[8] In his final race Bering took on a strong field in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He was ridden by Gary Moore, as he had been throughout his three-year-old career. Bering was leading the race well into the closing stages until he was overtaken by Dancing Brave with about 100 metres left to run. Dancing Brave won the race by one and a half lengths from Bering.[9] Bering finished one and a half lengths ahead of Triptych, who just beat Shahrastani for third place.[10]

Assessment

Timeform rated Bering at 136, making him the second highest rated three-year-old of 1986, behind only Dancing Brave (rated 140).[11]

Stud career

After the 1986 season Bering was retired to stud. He initially stood at Walmac International for a fee of $75,000. In 1992 he moved back to France to stand at Haras du Quesnay near Deauville. Bering retired from stud duty in 2009 and died on 16 December 2011, aged 28. At the time of his death he had sired 77 winners of stakes races.[3] His most notable progeny are listed below.

Notable progeny

s = stallion, m = mare, g = gelding

Foaled	Name	Sex	Major Wins	Ref.
1988	Peter Davies	s	Racing Post Trophy	[12]
1988	Serrant	g	Grand Prix d'Évry, Prix Maurice de Nieuil	[13]
1988	Steamer Duck	s	Gran Criterium	[14]
1991	Signe Divin	s	Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte	[15]
1992	Matiara	m	Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, Ramona Handicap	[16]
1992	Pennekamp	s	Prix de la Salamandre, Dewhurst Stakes, 2000 Guineas Stakes	[17]
1994	Vertical Speed	s	Prix Hubert de Chaudenay	[18]
1995	Glorosia	m	Fillies' Mile	[19]
1995	Miss Berbere	m	Prix d'Astarte	[20]
1996	Moiava	m	Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte	[21]
1996	Puntal	g	Dovecote Novices' Hurdle, Betfred Gold Cup	[22]
2001	American Post	s	Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère, Racing Post Trophy, Poule d'Essai des Poulains	[23]
2003	French Opera	g	Future Champion Novices' Chase, Game Spirit Chase, Celebration Chase	[24]

Bering was also the damsire of Harbinger,[3] who in 2010 was rated as the best horse in the world in the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings.[25]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Bering, chestnut stallion, 1983[1]

Sire Arctic Tern ch. 1973	Sea-Bird ch. 1962	Dan Cupid ch. 1956	Native Dancer
			Vixenette
		Sicalade b. 1956	Sicambre
			Marmelade
	Bubbling Beauty ch. 1961	Hasty Road b. 1951	Roman
			Traffic Court
		Almahmoud ch. 1947	Mahmoud
			Arbitrator
Dam Beaune (FR) ch. 1974	Lyphard b. 1969	Northern Dancer b. 1961	Nearctic
			Natalma
		Goofed ch. 1960	Court Martial
			Barra II
	Barbra br. 1969	Le Fabuleux ch. 1961	Wild Risk
			Anguar
		Biobelle b. 1960	Cernobbio
			La Beloli

Note: b. = Bay, br. = Brown, ch. = Chestnut

References

1. "Bering (GB) pedigree". equineline.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
2. "PRIX GANAY". Galop.courses-france.com. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
3. "Pensioned French Stallion Bering Dies". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
4. "Bering". .france-galop.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
5. "Prix Noailles". .france-galop.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-29. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
6. "Prix Hocquart". .france-galop.com. 2012-05-16. Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
7. "Bering wins French Derby in style". New Straits Times. 1986.
8. "Prix Niel". .france-galop.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
9. "Horse Racing". Bangor Daily News. 1986-10-06.
10. "Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe". .france-galop.com. 2012-05-16. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
11. "Timeform All-time Highweights". Chef-de-race.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
12. "Peter Davies". Racing Post. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
13. "Serrant". Racing Post. 2011-06-02. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
14. "Steamer Duck". Racing Post. 2011-06-02. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
15. "Signe Divin". Racing Post. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
16. "Matiara". Racing Post. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
17. "Pennekamp". Racing Post. 2011-06-02. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
18. "Vertical Speed". Racing Post. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
19. "Glorosia". Racing Post. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
20. "Miss Berbere". Racing Post. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
21. "Moiava". Racing Post. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
22. "Puntal". Racing Post. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
23. "American Post". Racing Post. 2011-06-02. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
24. "French Opera". Racing Post. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
25. "The 2010 World Thoroughbred Rankings". Horseracingintfed.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-19. Retrieved 2013-01-30.