| Bering | |
|---|---|
 Racing silks of Mrs Alec Head | |
| Sire | Arctic Tern |
| Grandsire | Sea-Bird |
| Dam | Beaune |
| Damsire | Lyphard |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 20 March 1983 |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Alec Head |
| Owner | Alec Head |
| Trainer | Criquette Head |
| Jockey | Freddy Head Gary Moore |
| Record | 7: 5-1-1 |
| Earnings | €519.468 |
| Major wins | |
| Prix Noailles (1986) Prix Hocquart (1986) Prix du Jockey Club (1986) Prix Niel (1986) | |
| Awards | |
| Timeform rating: 136 | |
Bering (20 March 1983 – 16 December 2011) was aBritish-bred,French-trainedThoroughbredracehorse. He achieved five victories out of his seven starts, including a win in thePrix du Jockey Club in 1986. In his final race, he finished second toDancing Brave in thePrix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Bering was bred and owned byAlec Head and trained by his daughter,Criquette Head. Following his retirement from racing, Bering had success as astallion, siring notable progeny such asPennekamp, the winner of the2000 Guineas Stakes, andAmerican Post, the victor of thePoule d'Essai des Poulains.
Bering was achestnutcolt bred byAlec Head and foaled in 1983.[1] He was sired byArctic Tern, the winner of thePrix Ganay in 1977.[2] Hisdam, Beaune, was a stakes-winning daughter ofLyphard.[3]
In his first Bering finished third in a 1,600 metre race atLongchamp on 5 October 1985. He followed this up a month later by winning a 1,700 metre race atMaisons-Laffitte. He was ridden byFreddy Head on both of his races as a two-year-old.[4]
Bering started the 1986 season by winning thePrix Noailles by eight lengths from Point D'Artois in April.[5] In May he then took thePrix Hocquart, again beating Point D'Artois, this timeby two lengths.[6] After these two victories he was sent off as the odds-on favourite for thePrix du Jockey Club over 2,400 metres atChantilly. Art Francais set off in the lead at a fast past, at one point being tenlengths clear of the rest of the field. As they entered the finishing straight, Pradier took the lead, whilst Bering was moving through into third position. Bering took the lead with about 400 metres left to run and was never caught, winning by one and a half lengths from Altayan. Bering ran the race in a time of 2 minutes and 24.10 seconds, which beat the race record set byTop Ville in 1979 by 1.2 seconds. Gary Moore said after the race "I knew we were going to win 400m-600m out and all he needed was a couple of smacks."[7]
As preparation for thePrix de l'Arc de Triomphe Bering raced in thePrix Niel at Longchamp, which he won by two and a half lengths from Malakim.[8] In his final race Bering took on a strong field in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He was ridden by Gary Moore, as he had been throughout his three-year-old career. Bering was leading the race well into the closing stages until he was overtaken byDancing Brave with about 100 metres left to run. Dancing Brave won the race by one and a half lengths from Bering.[9] Bering finished one and a half lengths ahead ofTriptych, who just beatShahrastani for third place.[10]
Timeform rated Bering at 136, making him the second highest rated three-year-old of 1986, behind only Dancing Brave (rated 140).[11]
After the 1986 season Bering was retired to stud. He initially stood at Walmac International for a fee of $75,000. In 1992 he moved back to France to stand atHaras du Quesnay nearDeauville. Bering retired from stud duty in 2009 and died on 16 December 2011, aged 28. At the time of his death he had sired 77 winners of stakes races.[3] His most notable progeny are listed below.
s =stallion, m =mare, g =gelding
| Foaled | Name | Sex | Major Wins | Ref. |
| 1988 | Peter Davies | s | Racing Post Trophy | [12] |
| 1988 | Serrant | g | Grand Prix d'Évry,Prix Maurice de Nieuil | [13] |
| 1988 | Steamer Duck | s | Gran Criterium | [14] |
| 1991 | Signe Divin | s | Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte | [15] |
| 1992 | Matiara | m | Poule d'Essai des Pouliches,Ramona Handicap | [16] |
| 1992 | Pennekamp | s | Prix de la Salamandre,Dewhurst Stakes,2000 Guineas Stakes | [17] |
| 1994 | Vertical Speed | s | Prix Hubert de Chaudenay | [18] |
| 1995 | Glorosia | m | Fillies' Mile | [19] |
| 1995 | Miss Berbere | m | Prix d'Astarte | [20] |
| 1996 | Moiava | m | Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte | [21] |
| 1996 | Puntal | g | Dovecote Novices' Hurdle,Betfred Gold Cup | [22] |
| 2001 | American Post | s | Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère,Racing Post Trophy,Poule d'Essai des Poulains | [23] |
| 2003 | French Opera | g | Future Champion Novices' Chase,Game Spirit Chase,Celebration Chase | [24] |
Bering was also the damsire ofHarbinger,[3] who in 2010 was rated as the best horse in the world in theWorld Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings.[25]
| Sire Arctic Tern ch. 1973 | Sea-Bird ch. 1962 | Dan Cupid ch. 1956 | Native Dancer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vixenette | |||
| Sicalade b. 1956 | Sicambre | ||
| Marmelade | |||
| Bubbling Beauty ch. 1961 | Hasty Road b. 1951 | Roman | |
| Traffic Court | |||
| Almahmoud ch. 1947 | Mahmoud | ||
| Arbitrator | |||
| Dam Beaune (FR) ch. 1974 | Lyphard b. 1969 | Northern Dancer b. 1961 | Nearctic |
| Natalma | |||
| Goofed ch. 1960 | Court Martial | ||
| Barra II | |||
| Barbra br. 1969 | Le Fabuleux ch. 1961 | Wild Risk | |
| Anguar | |||
| Biobelle b. 1960 | Cernobbio | ||
| La Beloli |
Note: b. =Bay, br. =Brown, ch. =Chestnut