View source for Match II

{{Short description|French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse}}

{{Infobox racehorse
| horsename = Match
| image = 
| caption = 
| sire = [[Tantieme]]
| grandsire = [[Deux Pour Cent]]
| dam = Relance
| damsire =  [[Relic (horse)|Relic]]
| sex = [[Stallion]]
| foaled = 1958
| country = France
| colour = [[Bay (horse)|Dark Bay]]
| breeder = [[François Dupré]]
| owner = [[Haras d'Ouilly]]
| trainer = [[François Mathet]]
| record =  14: 7-3-0
| earnings =  1,746,836 FF
| race =  [[Prix Noailles]] (1961)<br>[[Prix Royal-Oak]] (1961)<br>[[King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes|K. George VI & Q. Elizabeth Stakes]] (1962)<br>[[Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud]] (1962)<br>[[Prix Exbury|Prix Boiard]] (1962)<br>[[Washington, D.C. International Stakes|Washington, D.C. International]] (1962)
| awards =  
| honours =  Champion Older Horse – France (1962)<br>Champion Older Horse – England (1962)<br> Horse of the Year – England (1962)<br>[[Timeform|Timeform rating: 135]]
| updated= 19 July 2009
}}
'''Match''' (also known as '''Match II''' and '''Match III''')<ref name="Add">Turf Newspapers Ltd, "Addendum to Register of Thoroughbred Stallions, Vol. XXV, 1963", London</ref> (1958–1965) was a French [[Thoroughbred]] [[horse racing|racehorse]] who won major races in [[United Kingdom|England]], France and the United States and who was voted [[British Horse of the Year]]. Like many French-bred horses, he carried the numerical suffix "II" when racing in Britain. Because another horse with the name Match was born registered in the United States that same year, he is sometimes recorded as "Match III."

Match was bred by French hotelier [[François Dupré]] at his [[Haras d'Ouilly]] in [[Pont-d'Ouilly]], France. The son of the champion [[Tantieme]], he won important races in France at age two then at age three won in France and England before capping off an outstanding 1962 season with a win in the prestigious [[Washington, D.C. International Stakes|Washington, D.C. International]] at the [[Laurel Park Racecourse|Laurel Park]] racecourse in [[Laurel, Maryland]]. Ridden by [[Yves Saint-Martin]], Match earned the "Best in the World" title, defeating the best [[turf]] horses from Europe, Russia, as well as the American entries, [[Carry Back]], [[Beau Purple]], and the great [[Kelso (horse)|Kelso]].

Match retired to stand at [[horse breeding|stud]] in England but died on 26 September 1965 after only three seasons, at age seven. Among his limited offspring was the colt World Cup (b. 1965) who won the 1968 [[Queen Elizabeth II Stakes]]. A son, Ovaltine, was exported to Australia where he stood at stud.<ref name="Ahnert">Ahnert, Rainer L. (editor in chief), "Thoroughbred Breeding of the World", Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://www.fasigtipton.com/catalogs/2003/1020/499.pdf Fasig-Tipton catalog with information of Match]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081007051826/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829489,00.html November 23, 1962 TIME magazine article on Match II titled ''Best in the World'']

==External links==
* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/match2 Match's pedigree and racing stats]
{{King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes Winners}}

[[Category:1958 racehorse births]]
[[Category:1965 racehorse deaths]]
[[Category:Racehorses bred in France]]
[[Category:Racehorses trained in France]]
[[Category:Thoroughbred family 16-h]]
[[Category:King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winners]]