Fortina

Fortina
Sire	Formor
Grandsire	Ksar
Dam	Bertina
Damsire	La Farina
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1941[1]
Country	France
Colour	Chestnut
Owner	Ralph Beckett, 3rd Baron Grimthorpe
Trainer	Hector Christie
Major wins
	Lancashire Chase (1946); Cheltenham Gold Cup (1947)

Fortina (1941–1968) was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1946 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was and remains the only entire horse to win the race. After establishing himself as a top-class steeplechaser in France he was sent to England and won the Gold Cup on his second British start. He was then retired to become a breeding stallion and became a very successful sire of National Hunt horses.

Background

Fortina was a chestnut horse bred in France. He was the best horse sired by Formor, a French bred stallion and a representative of the Byerley Turk sire line. Fortina's dam Bertina was a daughter of the leading French stallion La Farina and a female-line descendant of the influential Hungarian broodmare Kunst.[2]

Racing career

Fortina began his racing career in France. He won four steeplechases and finished second to Lindor as a five-year-old in the 1946 Grand Steeplechase de Paris. In the autumn of 1946 he was bought by Lord Grimthorpe and brought to England to be trained by Hector Christie in Wiltshire and made a successful British debut in the Lancashire Chase.[3]

The winter of 1946/47 was exceptionally severe and many National Hunt fixtures, including the Cheltenham Festival, were either cancelled or postponed. The 20th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was eventually staged on 12 April with Fortina starting at odds of 8/1[4] in a twelve-runner field. The 3/1 favourite was Dorothy Paget's eight-year-old Happy Home whilst the other leading contenders appeared to be Coloured Schoolboy (ridden by Fred Rimell) and Prince Blackthorn. Ridden by the amateur Richard Black, Fortina raced in second place behind Chaka before taking the lead on the second circuit. He quickly went clear and was never in any danger of defeat, winning by ten lengths from Happy Home, with six lengths back to Prince Blackthorn in third.[3]

In the 1947/1948 National Hunt season Fortina was beaten by Silver Fame in the Emblem Chase and then finished unplaced behind Rowland Roy in the King George VI Chase. He was then retired to stud.[5]

Stud record

At the end of his racing career Fortina became a breeding stallion at the Grange Stud at Fermoy, County Cork. He proved to be a very successful National Hunt sire, with his offspring including Fortria, Fort Leney (Cheltenham Gold Cup), Glencaraig Lady (Cheltenham Gold Cup), Brasher (Scottish Grand National), Flying Cottage (Carolina Cup), Olympia (Irish Grand National) Splash (Irish Grand National) and Fort Devon (Maryland Hunt Cup).[6] He was also the only Cheltenham Gold Cup winning horse to sire another Cheltenham Gold Cup winning horse. Fortina died in May 1968[7]

Assessment and honours

In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Fortina an "average" Gold Cup winner.[8] Fortina's name is remembered in Fortina Close, a residential street in Cheltenham.[9]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Fortina (FR), chestnut stallion, 1941[1]
Sire Formor (FR) 1934	Ksar (FR) 1918	Bruleur	Chouberski
		Bruleur	Basse Terre
		Kizil Kourgan	Omnium
		Kizil Kourgan	Kasbah
	Formose (FR) 1923	Clarissimus	Radium
		Clarissimus	Quintessence
		Terre Neuve	Nimbus
		Terre Neuve	Basse Terre
Dam Bertina (FR) 1924	La Farina (FR) 1911	Sans Souci	Le Roi Soleil
		Sans Souci	Sanctimony
		Malatesta	Isinglass
		Malatesta	Parasina
	Thea (AUT) 1910	Gouvernant	Flying Fox
		Gouvernant	Gouvernante
		Theorie	Kisber Ocscse
		Theorie	Kunst (Family: 4-e)[2]

References

"Fortina pedigree". Equineline. 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
"Fair Helen - Family 4-e". Thoroughbred Bloodlines.
Harman, Bob (2000). The Ultimate Dream: The History of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-381-0.
Abelson, Edward; Tyrrel, John (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN 978-1-873626-15-3.
"Fortina". Thoroughbred Heritage.
"National Hunt Studs". Coolmore Ireland.
Arkle The Life and Legacy of Himself. Highdown. 2005. p. 167. ISBN 1-905156-16-2.
Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press. ISBN 9781901570151.
"Cheltenham Areas: History of Swindon Village and Wyman's Brook". cheltenham4u.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2016-04-03.

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[pedigree-1] "Fortina pedigree". Equineline. 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-03-19.

[tbl-2] "Fair Helen - Family 4-e". Thoroughbred Bloodlines.

[Harman-3] Harman, Bob (2000). The Ultimate Dream: The History of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-381-0.

[Breedon-4] Abelson, Edward; Tyrrel, John (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN 978-1-873626-15-3.

[5] "Fortina". Thoroughbred Heritage.

[6] "National Hunt Studs". Coolmore Ireland.

[7] Arkle The Life and Legacy of Himself. Highdown. 2005. p. 167. ISBN 1-905156-16-2.

[century-8] Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press. ISBN 9781901570151.

[9] "Cheltenham Areas: History of Swindon Village and Wyman's Brook". cheltenham4u.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2016-04-03.