Bago (horse)

Bago (born February 3, 2001 in France) was the European Three-Year-Old Champion Thoroughbred race horse in 2004. Bred by the Niarchos family, Bago is best known for winning the 2004 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe amongst his five Group One successes.

Bago's dam Moonlight's Box, a daughter of the Champion Sire Nureyev, who also sired Miesque the dual Breeders' Cup winner, she in turn is out of Group 1 winning Coup de Genie a full sister to Machiavellian. Bago's sire Nashwan a horse who in 1989 achieved that which no other horse has yet achieved, winning the 2,000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby, the Eclipse and the King George VI in one season.

Trained by Chantilly based Englishman Jonathan Pease, also renowned for being the mentor of many top class horses including Tikkanen, Spinning World, Act One etc, Bago was ridden during his entire career by top French jockey Thierry Gillet. Bago won all four starts as a two-year-old, including the Critérium International by six lengths.

Sadly for Bago, in 2004 he was hit by a virus that kept him off the track all spring and took him out of contention for the spring classics, however his return to Chantilly saw him win the Prix Jean Prat over nine...
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