Arctique Royale
Arctique Royale (22 April 1978 – 2000) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and later a successful broodmare. Bred in Ireland by Paddy Prendergast, she was a bay mare sired by Royal and Regal and out of Arctic Melody. Trained by Kevin Prendergast, she was owned by Paddy Prendergast until his death in 1980, after which the ownership passed to the executors of his estate; before the 1982 season she was bought privately by Jean-Pierre Binet.
As a two-year-old in 1980, Arctique Royale won a Curragh maiden on her debut and then the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh. She was rated 102p by Timeform in 1980. In 1981 she continued to race and Timeform rated her 113, with her best Irish Free Handicap placing behind the top fillies.
In 1982, after finishing fourth in the Athasi Stakes, she won her biggest race, the Irish 1000 Guineas at the Curragh, beating Blue Wind by a short head on heavy ground. She ran four more times that year without recapturing her Classic form, finishing second in the Pretty Polly Stakes, sixth in the Irish Oaks, sixth in the Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes, and unplaced in the Prix de l'Opéra before retiring at the end of the season.
As a broodmare, Arctique Royale produced fifteen foals and eight winners between 1983 and 1998. Notable descendants include Racquette (third in the Irish Oaks) and Le Melody, the dam of Ardross and an ancestor in the female line of Electrocutionist and Scorpion.
She left a lasting impact through her offspring and their subsequent achievements.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:09 (CET).