Faugh-a-Ballagh was a 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. A brother to Birdcatcher

Birdcatcher

Birdcatcher , or Irish Birdcatcher, was a good Thoroughbred racehorse and a leading sire.-Breeding:Foaled in 1833 at the Brownstown Stud, in Ireland, Birdcatcher was by the Irish Thoroughbred stallion Sir Hercules, who lost only once at St. Leger in 1829. Birdcatcher's dam, Guiccioli, who had a...

, Faugh-a-Ballagh was sold to E. J. Erwin in 1842. He ran once as a two-year-old at the Doncaster

Doncaster Racecourse

Doncaster Racecourse is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 31 Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy.- History :...

's Champagne Stakes, finishing third to The Cure and Sorella. He then began his three-year-old season as the first Irish-bred horse to win the St. Leger Stakes

St. Leger Stakes

The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...

, then beat Corranna in a match race. He won the Grand Duke Michael Stakes, then the Cesarewitch, and came second to Evenus at the Cambridgeshire. As a four-year-old, he finished second to The Emperor in the Emperor of Russia's Plate.

In 1855, Faugh-a-Ballagh was exported to France

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...

. There he sired Fille de l'air, the Epsom Oaks

Epsom Oaks

The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June....

 and French Oaks winner. He also sired the great stallion Leamington

Leamington (horse)

Leamington was a Thoroughbred racehorse, and an influential sire in the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century. He was not only a fast horse, but also showed great staying ability....

 who sired the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 racehorse and leading sire Longfellow

Longfellow (horse)

Longfellow was one of America's first great Thoroughbred racehorses and the sire of great racehorses. A legend in his own time, he was out of the first crop of the outstanding imported English stallion Leamington....

 as well as Iroquois

Iroquois (horse)

Iroquois , was the first American-bred Thoroughbred race horse to win the prestigious Epsom Derby at Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom, Surrey, England. He then went on to win the St...

, the first American bred to win the Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby

The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

.