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OWNER · 110th BY BIG-RACE WINS

Sir Michael Sobell

19 wins in the world's richest races between 1972 and 1989, across 18 different races. The biggest is the St Leger Stakes, worth £700,000.

The owner is the one name on a winner's row the prize actually belongs to. Everybody else in the yard takes a percentage of it, set by the country the race is run in.

BIG-RACE WINS 19
BIGGEST WIN £700k
RACES WON 18
FIRST AND LAST 1972 to 1989
COUNTRIES 2

The races Sir Michael Sobell keeps winning

By number of wins

1 won more than once

Prix du Calvados 2 St Leger Stakes 1 St James's Palace Stakes 1 Prix de l'Opéra 1 Prix Ganay 1 Prix Chaudenay 1 Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte 1 Prix d'Harcourt 1 Grand Prix de Chantilly 1 Prix Niel 1 Prix de Sandringham 1 Prix Gontaut-Biron 1

Every big race Sir Michael Sobell has won

19 winners, newest first

18 different races

Year Race Horse Jockey Trainer Country Worth
1989 Prix du Calvados Arousal Willie Carson Dick Hern France £111,111
1989 Prix Gontaut-Biron Emmson Willie Carson Dick Hern France £68,376
1986 Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte Grecian Urn Alain Lequeux David Smaga France £162,393
1986 Prix Chaudenay Family Friend Willie Carson Dick Hern France £170,940
1985 Prix de Flore Gay Hellene Alfred Gibert Dick Hern France £68,376
1985 Prix Yacowlef River Dancer Maurice Philipperon John Cunnington Jr. France £47,009
1984 Prix du Calvados Helen Street Willie Carson Dick Hern France £111,111
1983 Prix Ganay Lancastrian Alain Lequeux David Smaga France £256,410
1983 St Leger Stakes Sun Princess Willie Carson Dick Hern Great Britain £700,000
1982 Prix d'Harcourt Lancastrian Alain Lequeux David Smaga France £111,111
1981 Grand Prix de Chantilly Lancastrian Alain Lequeux David Smaga France £111,111
1981 Prix d'Hédouville Lancastrian Alain Lequeux David Smaga France £68,376
1980 La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte Discretion Maurice Philipperon John Cunnington Jr. France £68,376
1980 Prix de la Porte Maillot Luck of the Draw Willie Carson Dick Hern France £47,863
1980 Prix du Lys Lancastrian Alain Lequeux David Smaga France £68,376
1980 Prix Niel Prince Bee Willie Carson Dick Hern France £111,111
1979 Prix de Sandringham Cenerentola Maurice Philipperon John Cunnington, Jr. France £111,111
1978 Prix de l'Opéra Cistus Willie Carson Dick Hern France £427,350
1972 St James's Palace Stakes Sun Prince Jimmy Lindley Dick Hern Great Britain £650,000

The figure on each row is what that race puts up today, which is the number that says how big a day it was.

What the owner takes out of a purse

The published split in the countries Sir Michael Sobell wins in

19 of 19 wins covered

Every racing authority that publishes a rule publishes it as a split of the race fund rather than of a winner's cheque, so these are figures about the races below and not about one person's bank account.

Country Wins there Code Owner's share Purse of those races Owners' share of it
France 17 One code 75% £2,120,513£2.1m £1,590,385£1.6m
Great Britain 2 Flat 80% / 78.25% £1,350,000£1.4m £1,080,000£1.1m

French racing splits a purse four ways and publishes the place ladder as well, which almost no other country does. The owner's share is the largest single line in every country that publishes one, and it is the line that moves when a country changes its rules: British jump racing gives its riders 1.75 points more of every purse than the Flat does, and those points come out of the owner's share rather than anybody else's.

Where Sir Michael Sobell wins

2 countries

Country Wins Share Biggest race won there
France 17 89% Prix de l'Opéra
Great Britain 2 11% St Leger Stakes

The owners either side

Ranked 110th of 288 on big-race wins

# Owner Wins Races Span Biggest win
90 Haras d'Etreham 21 16 1981 to 2024 £341,880
91 Glen Riddle Farm 20 9 1919 to 1941 £1,503,759£1.5m
92 Cornelius V. Whitney 20 10 1933 to 1977 £1,503,759£1.5m
93 Stonestreet Stables 20 18 2007 to 2026 £1,503,759£1.5m
94 Gestüt Ammerland 20 18 1997 to 2017 £2,280,000£2.3m
95 Darley Stable 20 19 2003 to 2012 £1,503,759£1.5m
96 Cheveley Park Stud 20 17 1990 to 2023 £1,503,759£1.5m
97 Gestüt Zoppenbroich 20 9 1965 to 1985 £555,556
98 Georg von Ullmann 20 15 1993 to 2009 £854,701
99 Jean-Louis Levesque 20 12 1965 to 1983 £488,722
100 Marcel Boussac 19 9 1936 to 1978 £4,273,504£4.3m
101 Aga Khan III 19 5 1924 to 1952 £1,500,000£1.5m
102 Magnier / Tabor 19 15 1998 to 2008 £4,273,504£4.3m
103 Lael Stables 19 16 2006 to 2025 £3,759,399£3.8m
104 Joseph E. Widener 19 9 1918 to 1940 £1,503,759£1.5m
105 John A. Franks 19 16 1984 to 2003 £1,503,759£1.5m
106 William S. Farish III 19 18 1970 to 2019 £1,503,759£1.5m
107 Hobeau Farm 19 17 1969 to 2007 £751,880
108 Henryk de Kwiatkowski 19 14 1981 to 1995 £1,503,759£1.5m
109 Jaber Abdullah 19 16 1994 to 2026 £650,000
111 Thierry van Zuylen 19 18 1963 to 2004 £341,880
112 Bob & Beverly Lewis 18 15 1994 to 2005 £9,022,556£9.0m
113 Rancocas Stable 18 10 1885 to 1929 £3,759,399£3.8m
114 Paul Mellon 18 13 1965 to 1985 £4,273,504£4.3m
115 W. Cal Partee 18 13 1974 to 1997 £939,850
116 J. P. McManus 18 4 1998 to 2026 £1,000,000£1.0m
117 Bohemia Stable 18 10 1960 to 2002 £751,880
118 Team Valor 18 18 1993 to 2013 £2,850,000£2.9m
119 Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum 18 13 2007 to 2018 £2,850,000£2.9m
120 Gary & Mary West 18 16 1993 to 2024 £1,503,759£1.5m
121 Phipps Stable 18 16 2005 to 2019 £751,880
122 Gary Barber 18 15 2010 to 2024 £1,503,759£1.5m
123 Paraneck Stable 18 14 1995 to 2008 £1,503,759£1.5m
124 Earle I. Mack 18 18 1980 to 2015 £751,880
125 Gus Schickedanz 18 14 1995 to 2008 £751,880
126 Ecurie I. M. Fares 18 17 1986 to 2016 £256,410
127 Michael E. Pegram 17 15 1998 to 2020 £9,022,556£9.0m
128 Magnier / Tabor / Smith 17 11 2006 to 2025 £1,500,000£1.5m
129 James R. Keene 17 7 1879 to 1910 £1,503,759£1.5m
130 Gary A. Tanaka 17 16 1995 to 2007 £3,040,000£3.0m

Frequently asked questions

How many big races has Sir Michael Sobell won?

19, across 18 different races between 1972 and 1989. That is 110th of the 288 owners on this site.

What is the biggest race Sir Michael Sobell has won?

the St Leger Stakes, worth £700,000 and run in Great Britain. Sir Michael Sobell won it in 1983.

Which race has Sir Michael Sobell won most often?

Prix du Calvados, 2 times at Deauville Racecourse. 1 of these races have gone to Sir Michael Sobell more than once.

How much of the prize does an owner keep?

France gives the owner 75% of the fund, and Great Britain gives the owner 80% on the Flat and 78.25% on the Jumps of the fund. The rest is split between the trainer, the riders and the sport itself, and the owner is the only party paid the prize rather than a percentage of it.

When did Sir Michael Sobell win these races?

Between 1972 and 1989. The busiest decade was the 1980s, with 16 of them.

Who rides for Sir Michael Sobell?

5 different riders have won one of these races in the colours, across 19 wins. The horses number 15.

Where to next

The races Sir Michael Sobell has won, and the owners around them

The races Sir Michael Sobell has won

The owners either side

Elsewhere in racing