Rheingold 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...

 best known as the winner of France's

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...

 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...

. A descendant of the extremely important sire

Father

A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...

 Nearco

Nearco

Nearco was an Italian bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by Thoroughbred Heritage as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He was not only unbeaten, winning 14 races at distances from 5 furlongs to 1 mile 7 furlongs ,...

 through both his sire and his dam, Rheingold showed promise racing at age two when he finished second in the 1971 Champagne and Dewhurst Stakes

Dewhurst Stakes

The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.The event was established in 1875, and it...

. He was bred by Dr. James Russell at Bansha

Bansha

Bansha is a village in the barony of Clanwilliam, South Tipperary in Ireland. The village is part of the parish of "Bansha and Kilmoyler" in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Bansha is co-extensive with the pre-Reformation parish of Templeneiry of which the townland name of...

 Castle, County Tipperary

County Tipperary

County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...

 in Ireland.

In 1972, Rheingold was second by less than a head to Roberto

Roberto (horse)

Roberto was an American-bred Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who competed in Ireland and England.-Background:Roberto was bred by Galbreath at his Darby Dan Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. The son of the successful sire Hail To Reason out of the dam Bramalea, Roberto's grandsire was Turn-To, a...

 in the Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby

The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

 then after winning the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud

Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud

The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June.-History:...

 against older horses, finished off the board in the famous 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....

 in which Roberto handed the great Brigadier Gerard his only defeat. The following year, Rheingold finished second in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes to the great French filly

Filly

A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....

, Dahlia

Dahlia (horse)

Dahlia was an American-bred Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racemare who won major races in France, England, Ireland, Canada, and the United States...

. He won his second straight Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud under jockey Yves Saint-Martin

Yves Saint-Martin

Yves Saint-Martin is a retired champion jockey in French Thoroughbred horse racing. He is widely considered one of the greatest riders in French racing history....

 then in the fall defeated the future French Horse Racing Hall of Fame

French Horse Racing Hall of Fame

The French Horse Racing Hall of Fame as established by France Galop, the governing authority for Thoroughbred horse races in France. French Horse Racing is a nationally honored sport, as each year thousands gather to observe the races...

 filly Allez France

Allez France

Allez France was a French Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who was the first filly in Thoroughbred horse racing history to earn $1 million....

 to capture the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe under the English 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....

.

Rheingold was retired after the 1973 racing season and stood at stud

Horse breeding

Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

 in Ireland from 1974 to 1979. Among his progeny, he was the sire of two-time 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....

 winner, Gildoran and Noir et Or whose wins included the Grade I Grand Prix Prince Rose and Prix du Conseil de Paris

Prix du Conseil de Paris

The Prix du Conseil de Paris is a Group 2 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 in October....

.

In 1980 Rheingold was sold to a 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...

ese breeding operation where he died in 1990.