Greinton is a British-bred

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...

 who won on grass

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

 courses in 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...

 and set two track records on dirt at Hollywood Park Racetrack in the United States. He was named for the village of Greinton

Greinton

Greinton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Somerset Levels and Moors at the foot of the Polden Hills, west southwest of Glastonbury and east of Bridgwater in the Sedgemoor district...

 in Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, 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...

.

Greinton was bred by prominent Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 businessman and major horseracing owner/breeder, Stavros Niarchos

Stavros Niarchos

Stavros Spyros Niarchos was a Greek shipping tycoon, sometimes known as "The Golden Greek." In 1952, Stavros Niarchos built the first supertankers capable of transporting large quantities of oil, and subsequently earned millions of dollars as global demand for his ships increased.- Early life :He...

. He was trained in France by Francois Boutin

François Boutin

François Boutin was a French Thoroughbred horse trainer. The son of a farmer, he was born in the village of Beaunay in the northerly Seine Maritime département. He began riding horses at a young age and competed in show jumping and cross-country equestrianism...

 and made his racing debut on July 10, 1983 at Saint-Cloud Racecourse

Saint-Cloud Racecourse

Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France...

. Ridden by French-based American jockey Cash Asmussen

Cash Asmussen

Cash Asmussen is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born Brian Keith Asmussen, in 1977 he legally changed his name to "Cash". From a Texas horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marilyn "Sis" Asmussen, operate a ranch in Laredo, Texas...

, Geinton earned his first win then, with Asmussen aboard, made four more starts at age two and three, winning three and finishing second twice.

Stavros Niarchos sold Greinton in mid 1984 to American interests led by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

 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...

, Charlie Whittingham. Based in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, his victories there included three Grade I

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 races and he set new track records for 1 mile and 1¼ miles at Hollywood Park Racetrack.

With his victory aboard Greinton in the Hollywood Gold Cup

Hollywood Gold Cup

The Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...

 on June 23, 1985, jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr.

Laffit Pincay, Jr.

Laffit Alejandro Pincay, Jr. is a flat racing's all-time winningest jockey. He competed primarily in the United States.-Career:...

 became the second jockey in history to earn more than $100 million in career purses. Race caller Trevor Denman

Trevor Denman

Trevor Denman is an American sportscaster and public-address announcer specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing.Denman was born in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa...

 said that Greinton's 1986 Santa Anita Handicap victory was one of the most memorable races he has ever called. http://www.calracing.com/stable_notes.php?f=stablenotesforapril212006byedgolden

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...

 in the United States, in 1992 Geinton was purchased by Wolfgang Struebel owner of EPONA stud farm for his breeding operation 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...

. His offspring have met with modest success in racing. Greinton is still the fastest living miler and in 2009 the oldest active stud in Europe.

He died September 2010 at Görlsdorf Stud, Germany, where he stood since 1996.