Turgeon
Encyclopedia
Turgeon is a French
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. He was owned and bred by American George W. Strawbridge, Jr.
, an avid ice hockey
fan and a shareholder
and Director
of the National Hockey League's
Buffalo Sabres
. Strawbridge named the foal for the Canadian
player Pierre Turgeon
who was the team's 1st overall pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft
. From a family involved in steeplechase
and flat racing
, George Strawbridge, Jr. maintained racing stables in France and the United States.
Prepared for racing by Chantilly-based
trainer
Jonathan Pease
, at age three Turgeon's best 1989 performances in conditions races
was a win in the Group 2
Prix de l'Esperance
and a second in both the Prix Royal-Oak
and the Prix Kergorlay
. At age four in France he showed endurance with a win in the Group 2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier
over a distance of 3,100 meters (approximately 1.92 miles), and a second in the 3,100 meters Prix de Barbeville
, and third in both the 4,000 meter Prix du Cadran
and in the 3,100 Prix Royal-Oak
. Sent to Weidenpesch Racecourse in Cologne
, Germany
, he ran second in the Group I Preis von Europa
.
Racing as a five-year old, 1991 would be Turgeon's best year on the racetrack. He repeated as runner-up in the French Prix de Barbeville and in Rome
, Italy
was third in the then Group 3 Premio Roma Vecchia. Turgeon's wins in France came in the Group 2 Prix Kergorlay
and a second consecutive victory in the Group 2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier. The colt earned his first Group One
win in September at the Curragh Racecourse
in Ireland
, capturing the Irish St. Leger. Back in France he won another Group One race in October, the Prix Royal-Oak
.
After his very successful 1991 campaign, Turgeon continued to race for another two years. His best major race results was a third-place finish in the 2½ mile (approximately 4,000 meter) 1992 Ascot Gold Cup
in England and a similar effort in that same race in 1993. In France he was third in the 1993 Prix de Barbeville and in Germany, finished second in the 3,200 meter Oleander-Rennen in Baden-Baden
.
Retired to stud
duty in 1994, Turgeon has sired a number of European stakes race winners particularly in steeplechase
racing and in 2006 was the leading sire in France of jump racing horses. As of 2011, Turgeon is standing at Haras du Mesnil in Savigné-l'Évêque
, Sarthe
and his stud fee is €
3,000.
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...
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...
. He was owned and bred by American George W. Strawbridge, Jr.
George W. Strawbridge, Jr.
George W. Strawbridge, Jr. is an American educator, historian, investor, sportsman, and philanthropist.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania he was the son of Margaret Dorrance and stockbroker George W. Strawbridge, Sr.. He studied at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut where he...
, an avid ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
fan and a shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
and Director
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the National Hockey League's
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
. Strawbridge named the foal for the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
player Pierre Turgeon
Pierre Turgeon
Pierre Turgeon is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche...
who was the team's 1st overall pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft
1987 NHL Entry Draft
The 1987 NHL Entry Draft was held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The National Hockey League teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1986–87 NHL season and playoff standings. This is the list of those players selected.-Selections...
. From a family involved in steeplechase
Steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...
and flat racing
Flat racing
Flat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles...
, George Strawbridge, Jr. maintained racing stables in France and the United States.
Prepared for racing by Chantilly-based
Chantilly Racecourse
Chantilly Racecourse is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris....
trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
Jonathan Pease
Jonathan E. Pease
Jonathan Edward Pease is a member of the area's prominent Pease family and a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer....
, at age three Turgeon's best 1989 performances in conditions races
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...
was a win in 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...
Prix de l'Esperance
Prix Chaudenay
The Prix Chaudenay is a Group 2 flat horse race in France which is open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September or early October....
and a second in both the Prix Royal-Oak
Prix Royal-Oak
The Prix Royal-Oak 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 3,100 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October.-History:The event was established in 1861, and it was initially...
and the Prix Kergorlay
Prix Kergorlay
The Prix Kergorlay is a Group 2 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 3,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.-History:...
. At age four in France he showed endurance with a win in the Group 2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier
Prix Vicomtesse Vigier
The Prix Vicomtesse Vigier is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,100 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May....
over a distance of 3,100 meters (approximately 1.92 miles), and a second in the 3,100 meters Prix de Barbeville
Prix de Barbeville
The Prix de Barbeville is a Group 3 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,100 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late April or early May.-History:The event is named after the stud farm...
, and third in both the 4,000 meter Prix du Cadran
Prix du Cadran
The Prix du Cadran is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 4,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early October....
and in the 3,100 Prix Royal-Oak
Prix Royal-Oak
The Prix Royal-Oak 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 3,100 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October.-History:The event was established in 1861, and it was initially...
. Sent to Weidenpesch Racecourse in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, 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 ran second in the Group I Preis von Europa
Preis von Europa
The Preis von Europa is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Cologne-Weidenpesch Racecourse, Cologne over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September.The event was established...
.
Racing as a five-year old, 1991 would be Turgeon's best year on the racetrack. He repeated as runner-up in the French Prix de Barbeville and in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
was third in the then Group 3 Premio Roma Vecchia. Turgeon's wins in France came in the Group 2 Prix Kergorlay
Prix Kergorlay
The Prix Kergorlay is a Group 2 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 3,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.-History:...
and a second consecutive victory in the Group 2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier. The colt earned his first Group One
Group One
Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...
win in September at the Curragh Racecourse
Curragh Racecourse
The Curragh Racecourse, usually abbreviated to The Curragh, is Ireland's most important Thoroughbred race track. It is situated on the Curragh plain near Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland.- History :...
in Ireland
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...
, capturing the Irish St. Leger. Back in France he won another Group One race in October, the Prix Royal-Oak
Prix Royal-Oak
The Prix Royal-Oak 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 3,100 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October.-History:The event was established in 1861, and it was initially...
.
After his very successful 1991 campaign, Turgeon continued to race for another two years. His best major race results was a third-place finish in the 2½ mile (approximately 4,000 meter) 1992 Ascot Gold Cup
Ascot Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
in England and a similar effort in that same race in 1993. In France he was third in the 1993 Prix de Barbeville and in Germany, finished second in the 3,200 meter Oleander-Rennen in Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
.
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 in 1994, Turgeon has sired a number of European stakes race winners particularly in steeplechase
Steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...
racing and in 2006 was the leading sire in France of jump racing horses. As of 2011, Turgeon is standing at Haras du Mesnil in Savigné-l'Évêque
Savigné-l'Évêque
Savigné-l'Évêque is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...
, Sarthe
Sarthe
Sarthe is a French department, named after the Sarthe River.- History :The department was created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790, pursuant to the law of December 22, 1789, starting from a part of the province of Maine which was divided into two departments, Sarthe to the east and...
and his stud fee is €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
3,000.