Commanche Run was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 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 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, he was out of the mare, Volley. His sire was Run the Gantlet

Run the Gantlet

Run the Gantlet was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and noted sire. He was out of the mare First Feather, whom owner Paul Mellon had purchased as a yearling at a then record price of $90,000 for a filly. He was sired by the 1965 Preakness Stakes winner, Tom Rolfe, a son of the...

, an American multiple Grade I winner and successful sire. He was purchased and raced by Ivan Allan

Ivan Allan

Ivan Allan was a champion race horse trainer and businessman.Allan became the subject of controversy after being romantically involved for over ten years with actress Glory Annen Clibbery. After a domestic violence incident in July 2000 Clibbery ended the relationship...

, an owner and preeminent 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...

 in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n horse racing for many years.

Trained by Luca Cumani

Luca Cumani

Luca M. Cumani is an Italian thoroughbred horse trainer. He has trained at Bedford House Stables in Newmarket, England since 1976...

, Commanche Run made his racing debut on 13 October 1983 with second-place finish at Newmarket Racecourse

Newmarket Racecourse

The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...

. He next started at age three in May 1984 at York Racecourse

York Racecourse

York Racecourse is a horse racing track in the southwest of the city of York in North Yorkshire, England with a spectator capacity of 60,000. The most famous race to be held at York on an annual basis is the Ebor Handicap, which is run during the Ebor Festival meeting in August...

, finishing tenth. He then got his first win twelve days later on 28 May at Doncaster Racecourse

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 :...

. Moving up in company, the colt ran third in the 1984 King Edward VII Stakes

King Edward VII Stakes

The King Edward VII Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....

 and the Princess of Wales's Stakes

Princess of Wales's Stakes

The Princess of Wales's Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.-History:The event is named in...

, then won his next two starts at Goodwood Racecourse

Goodwood Racecourse

Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House...

, taking both the Gordon

Gordon Stakes

The Gordon Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late July or early August....

 and the March Stakes

March Stakes

The March Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late August....

. Under jockey Lester Piggott

Lester Piggott

Lester Keith Piggott is a retired English professional jockey, popularly known as "The Long Fellow". With 4,493 career wins, including nine Epsom Derby victories, he is one of the most well-known English flat racing jockeys of all time....

, Commanche Run went on to win three 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...

 races, capturing the Benson & Hedges Gold Cup

International Stakes

The International Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 88 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August....

, Irish Champion Stakes

Irish Champion Stakes

The Irish Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.-History:The event was established in 1976, and...

 and the Classic 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...

.

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 at Coolmore Stud

Coolmore Stud

Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, South Tipperary in Ireland, is the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. It was established in 1975....

 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...

, Commanche Run met with limited success. In 1999 he was transferred to Astley Grange Stud in Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

 where he died in March 2005. The sire of a number of 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...

 runners, he got fifteen stakes winners in all. His best 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...

 runner was Lord Weinstock's

Arnold Weinstock

Arnold Weinstock, Baron Weinstock was an English businessman whom The Guardian newspaper called "Britain's premier post-second-world-war industrialist."...

 filly Bonny Scot whose wins included the Great Voltigeur Stakes

Great Voltigeur Stakes

The Great Voltigeur Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August....

.