Leroidesanimaux

At age two, Leroidesanimaux had a first and a second in three starts.

At three, he raced at Gávea Racetrack in Rio de Janeiro before being brought to the United States by owners T N T Stud (Goncalo Borges Torrealba and Regina Torrealba).

Racing in California for trainer Bobby Frankel, as a four-year-old Leroidesanimaux finished fourth in his American debut. He then won five consecutive races during which he set a track record for the 1 1/16-mile distance on turf in the Grade III Inglewood Handicap at Hollywood Park Racetrack. Among his other 2004 wins, Leroidesanimaux won the Grade I Citation Handicap.

In 2005, Leroidesanimaux had another highly successful year. He won the Grade I Frank E. Kilroe Mile Handicap at California's Santa Anita Park and followed this with a win in the Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga Race Course in New York in which he set another track record for the 1 1/16-mile distance on turf. Shipped north to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Leroidesanimaux set the Woodbine Mile race record for the largest margin of victory at seven and three-quarter lengths while carrying the highest weight of any winner in the race's history.

Considered by many racing experts and fans as one of the best turf milers in years, Leroidesanimaux was sent off as the heavy betting favorite in the 2005 Breeders' Cup Mile. The morning of the race his handlers discovered the horse's feet were too sore to remove his training bar shoes and would have to compete without racing plates. In addition to sore feet and improper shoes, he drew the difficult outside post position eleven. Despite these obstacles, Leroidesanimaux still ran a strong race and finished second to Artie Schiller.