Providential 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...

-born 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 competed successfully 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 won the most important race on turf

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 ...

 in the United States

United States

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

. Bred and raced by Bertram R. Firestone, he was sired by 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...

, the 1971 American Champion Male Turf Horse and a son of Tom Rolfe

Tom Rolfe

The racehorse Tom Rolfe was one of the best American sons of the great racehorse and sire Ribot. His dam was Pocahontas, from whom he takes his name...

, the 1965 Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 winner and American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse. His dam was Prudent Girl, a daughter of Primera who raced 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...

 where he won back-to-back editions of 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...

 in 1959-1960.

Trained 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...

, Providential made two starts at age two. After making a winning debut on October 29, 1979 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...

, he came back on November 11 to win 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...

  Critérium de Saint-Cloud

Critérium de Saint-Cloud

The Critérium de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in November....

. In January of 1980, Providential was sold to Serge Fradkoff, a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 businessman who also campaigned Perrault

Perrault (horse)

Perrault was a British-bred Champion Thoroughbred racehorse who competed successfully in both France and the United States. A grandson of Tanerko, Perrault's great-grandsire was the French champion Tantieme who won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe back-to- back in 1950 and 1951...

 and Kilijaro in France and the United States.

In his first start for his new owner on April 13, 1980, Providential won the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe

Prix Greffulhe

The Prix Greffulhe is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May.-History:...

 at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. On the same racecourse, the colt ran second in the Prix Hocquart

Prix Hocquart

The Prix Hocquart is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,200 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May.-History:...

 and third in France's most important race for three-year-old colts, the Group 1

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...

 Prix du Jockey Club

Prix du Jockey Club

The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

. Fradkoff then entrusted the horse's race conditioning to Olivier Douieb who saddled him to three unsuccessful starts in France, a third-place finish in the Premio Roma

Premio Roma

The Premio Roma is a Group 1 flat horse race in Italy which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Capannelle, Rome, over a distance 2,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in November....

 at Capannelle Racecourse

Capannelle Racecourse

Capannelle Racecourse, also known as Ippodromo Capannelle, is a horse racing venue in Rome, Italy. The course was first constructed in 1881, and it was rebuilt in 1926....

 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...

, and twentieth place in a Group 1 race at Hipódromo de San Isidro

Hipódromo de San Isidro

The Hipódromo de San Isidro is a horse racing track located in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is owned by the Jockey Club. It was inaugurated on 8 December 1935 and is one of the largest in the Americas....

 in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.

In 1981, Serge Fradkoff sent Providential to the care of 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 Charlie Whittingham at Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...

 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...

. For Whittingham, Providential finished second in his October debut and then second in the Grade II Carleton F. Burke Handicap

Carleton F. Burke Handicap

The Carleton F. Burke Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Raced in late October as part of the Oak Tree Racing Association series, it is open to horses age three and older and is contested on turf at a distance of one-and-one-half...

. Ridden by French jockey Alain Lequeux

Alain Lequeux

Alain Lequeux was one of France's leading jockeys in the 1970s and 1980s. He won 33 Group or Grade 1 races, including the 1981 Washington, D.C. International Stakes aboard Providential for trainer Charlie Whittingham. Son of leading French rider Guy Lequeux, he won more than 2,000 races while...

, in November Providential won the most important race of his career against an international field in the Washington, D.C. International Stakes  at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland

Laurel, Maryland

Laurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County, Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Incorporated in 1870, the city maintains a historic district including its Main Street...

. Returning to California, he won the Grade I Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes

Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes

The Hollywood Turf Cup is an American stakes race for thoroughbred horses at Hollywood Park Racetrack. A Grade I event, it is open to horses, age three and up, and run at a distance of one and one-half miles. The Hollywood Turf Cup offers a purse of $250,000....

 at Hollywood Park Racetrack.

Raced in 1982 with limited success, Providential 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...

. His offspring met with limited success in racing.

Providential died of a heart attack at age twenty-one in May of 1998 at Derby Hill Farm in Mount Airy, Maryland

Mount Airy, Maryland

Mount Airy is a town in Carroll, Frederick, Howard, and Montgomery counties in the U.S. state of Maryland.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land.-History:...

.