Marienbard was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 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

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 bred by Saif Ali and raced by Godolphin Racing. Out of the mare Marienbad, he was sired by the French Champion Three-Year-Old Colt, Caerleon

Caerleon II

Caerleon was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who was a Champion runner in France and a two-time Champion sire in Great Britain & Ireland. Bred by Seth Hancock at his famous Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, he was out of the mare Foreseer, a daughter of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Round Table...

, a son of the 1971 British Triple Crown champion, Nijinsky

Nijinsky II

The racehorse Nijinsky was one of the greatest horses in Thoroughbred horse-racing history. He won the U.K. Triple Crown of racing. Retired to stud he became the Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland and the Leading broodmare sire in North America.He was bred at E. P...

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Trained by Saeed bin Suroor

Saeed bin Suroor

Saeed bin Suroor , is a horse racing trainer. Formerly a policeman, he took out his training license in 1994 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation....

, Marienbard was late to develop. In 2000 the colt won an English Listed race, the July Trophy Stakes at Haydock Park Racecourse

Haydock Park Racecourse

Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Haydock, Merseyside, England. The track is a mostly flat left-handed oval of around 1 mile 5 furlongs with a very slight rise on the run-in. There are courses for flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 then in 2001 captured his first important race, the Group 2

Conditions races

Conditions races are horse races where the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to; the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the age of the runners, with younger horses receiving...

 Yorkshire Cup

Yorkshire Cup (horse race)

The Yorkshire Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May....

 plus he finished third to winner Vinnie Roe

Vinnie Roe

Vinnie Roe is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He won the Irish St. Leger for four years in succession and was named European Champion Stayer in the Cartier Racing Awards for 2002. He also became known internationally for his three attempts to win the Melbourne Cup in which...

 in the Group I Irish St. Leger. At the end of 2001, Marienbard was a well beaten seventh behind Ethereal

Ethereal

Ethereal means pertaining to ether, the air or the sky. It may also refer to:*Essential oil, also called ethereal oil, a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants*Ethereal being, a mystical being...

 in the Melbourne Cup

Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...

. The following year, the then five-year-old horse blossomed into a Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an standout, winning four of six starts including three consecutive Group 1 races. In Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 he won the Grosser Preis von Baden

Grosser Preis von Baden

The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early September.-History:The event was established in 1858, and it...

 and the Deutschland-Preis

Deutschland-Preis

The Grosser Preis von Berlin, formerly known as the Deutschland-Preis, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older...

 then capped off his racing career with a three-quarter length victory over Sulamani

Sulamani

Sulamani is an Irish-bred Thoroughbred race horse who competed and won in Dubai, Europe and North America.A great-grandson of English Triple Crown champion, Nijinsky, he made his racing debut in April 2002 at age three and finished seventh. Racing in France, he went on to win the prestigious Prix...

 and High Chaparral

High Chaparral

High Chaparral is a racehorse, winner of the Epsom Derby in 2002, and the winner of the Breeders' Cup Turf in 2002 and 2003 .-2001: Two-year-old season:...

 in France's most prestigious race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...

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Following his Arc win in October 2002, Marienbard was retired to stud

Stud (animal)

A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...

 duty and was sent to stand at East Stud on the island of Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

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