octopus is the largest genus of octopuses , comprising more than 100 species .

these species are widespread throughout the world 's oceans .

many species formerly placed in the genus octopus are now assigned to other genera within the family octopodidae .

the word is derived from the greek number eight , " octo " ( οχτώ ) and " pous , podos " ( πούς , ποδός ) which means feet .

octopus ( genus )

genus - the genus octopus is given to all species that fit the description of the above criterion .
synonyms : octopus dofleini , octopus apollyon , octopus hongkongensis , polypus hongkongensis , polypus apollyon , paroctopus sp , octopus punctatus .
application of dna barcoding for controlling of the species from octopus genus . - pubmed - ncbi
at rest , the common octopus ( octopus vulgaris ) blends into its surroundings .
in this study we test the dna barcoding for the identification of some octopus species of greatest commercial interest ( octopus membranaceus , octopus vulgaris , octopus aegina , octopus cyanea ) focusing the attention on the reliability and completeness of the available databases .
…are members of the genus octopus , a large group of widely distributed shallow - water cephalopods . ( see cephalopod . )
genus and the most commonly found species in the italian fish markets . in fact , octopus phylogeny has been subjected to confusion and controversy throughout the past years ( carlini
species octopus dana [ sic ] accepted as octopus defilippi var . dama robson , 1929 accepted as macrotritopus defilippi ( vérany , 1851 ) ( misspelling )
the smallest octopus is the octopus wolfi . it is smaller than an inch ( 2 . 5 cm ) long and weighs less than a gram .
figure 11 . a . known geographic distribution of members of the genus scaeurgus ( unpublished records based on museum material examined by the authors ) . b . distributions of new members of the genus scaeurgus around new caladonia .
formerly classified as octopus dofleini ( wϋlker , 1910 ) the giant pacific octopus was re - classified with other giant octopus species as enteroctopus dofleini ( hochberg , 1998 ) . the species name was given after the german zoologist dr . franz doflein .
the order octopoda includes 289 species , according to the world animal foundation . the word also refers specifically to animals in the genus octopus . the word octopus comes from the greek , októpus , which means
eight foot ,
according to a smithsonian magazine article that summarized facts in katherine harmon courage ' s book ,
octopus ! the most mysterious creature in the sea .
octopus unicirrhus chiaie , 1839–1841 , in férussac & d ' orbigny , 1834–1848 : 70 .
example of variable sites in c oxidase gene from the alignment of ten octopus vulgaris representative sequences .
domain - the domain is quite straight forward . an octopus is not a bacteria and therefore not in the domain
bacteria .
an octopus is also not an archaea and therefore not in that domain either . an octopus is eukaryotic and therefore it belongs to the domain
eukarya .
type species : octopus cocco verany , 1846 [ = scaeurgus unicirrhus ( chiaie , 1839–1841 ) ] .
when an octopus is swimming , the organ that delivers blood to the organs stops beating . this exhausts the octopus , which is likely the reason they prefer to crawl than swim , according to the smithsonian article .
in 1882 , p . fischer introduced the genus pteroctopus for the single species , p . tetracirrhus chiaie , 1830 . unaware of ( or disregarding ) fischer ' s genus , a number of authors over the next 50 years continued to use troschel ' s genus scaeurgus for unicirrhus and tetracirrhus ( summary in naef , 1923 ) . naef ( 1923 ) raised doubts as to the validity of placing these two very different taxa in the same genus , solely on the basis of a left - handed hectocotylized arm . naef suggested affinities between tetracirrhus and a right - handed species , octopus hoylei ( berry , 1909 ) from hawaii . despite these doubts , naef still placed both unicirrhus and tetracirrhus in the tentative subgenus octopus ( ‘ scaeurgus ’ ) . robson ( 1929 ) agreed with naef ' s analysis and returned tetracirrhus to pteroctopus .
, as it comprises more than 200 species . of these , 90 % were inserted just in the above - mentioned genus , for this reason it is called
species octopus lothei chun , 1913 accepted as bathypolypus ergasticus ( p . fischer & h . fischer , 1892 )
kingdom - the kingdom is also pretty obvious . the octopus is an animal not a prokaryote or a protist .
an octopus has three hearts . one pumps blood through its organs ; the two others pump blood through its gills , according to the world animal foundation . octopus blood is blue because it has a copper - based protein called hemocyanin .
octopuses come in many different sizes . the common octopus ( octopus vulgaris ) is 12 to 36 inches ( 30 . 5 to 91 . 4 centimeters ) long and weighs 6 . 6 to 22 lbs . ( 3 to 10 kilograms ) .
if an octopus does get caught — no problem . they can lose arms and regrow them , according to national geographic .
the oldest octopus fossil is from an animal that lived 296 million years ago — millions of years before the dinosaurs lived .
species - octopus vulgaris or
the common octopus
is a smaller animal , 24 - 36 inches in length . it has smooth skins and special pigment cells that allow it to change color to blend in with the environment . this species lacks an internal shell .
michelle marshall added an association between
file : haeckel gamochonia . jpg
and
octopus cordiformis quoy and gaimard , 1832
.
octopuses have short life spans . some species only live for around six months . other species , like the north pacific giant octopus can live as long as five years . typically , the larger the octopus , the longer it lives , according to the world animal foundation .
species octopus ergasticus p . fischer & h . fischer , 1892 accepted as bathypolypus ergasticus ( p . fischer & h . fischer , 1892 )
editor ' s note : this article was originally published in july 2016 and was then updated with new octopus discoveries on june 8 , 2017 .
the dna barcoding proposes the use of a particular sequence from a single genomic region as the base for an identifying system capable to determine all animal species . this methodology comprises the analysis of a 655 base - pair region from the mithocondrial cytochrome c oxidase gene ( coi ) . its application in the species identification of fishery products has been very promising . however , in the last years some doubts about its usage have emerged . in this work , we make use of the dna barcoding for the identification of some of the octopus species with higher commercial interest ( octopus membranaceus , octopus vulgaris , octopus aegina , octopus cyanea ) focusing the attention on the reliability and completeness of the available information on the databases . the study looked over 51 individuals apparently belonging to the octopus genus . for the identification of o . aegina , o . cyanea , o . vulgaris species no particular problems were found . on the other hand , most of the samples of o . membranaceus , though they clearly presented the morphological characteristics of the species , were not identified with the biomolecular analyses .
taxonomic remarks : the taxonomic history of the genus scaeurgus is convoluted . troschel ( 1857 ) defined the genus based on hectocotylization of the third left arm ( vs the more typical right - hand form found in most benthic octopuses ) . troschel placed two species in his new genus , a new species s . titanotus and s . cocco ( verany , 1846 ) ( misspelled coccoi ) . subsequent authors ( naef , 1923 ; robson , 1929 ; mangold , 1998 ) recognized s . titanotus as a junior synonym of pteroctopus tetracirrhus ( chiaie , 1830 ) and cocco as a junior synonym of scaeurgus unicirrhus ( chiaie , 1839–1841 ) .
the hectocotylized arm of octopus bears a deep groove on one side , ending in a spoonlike terminal organ . in argonauta and trem octopus the arm is highly modified and in mating is autotomized ( self - amputated ) and left within the mantle cavity of the female . in the squids a much larger section…
octopuses have an excellent sense of touch , according to the world animal foundation . their suckers have receptors that enable an octopus to taste what it is touching .
some people call their appendages tentacles , but that is incorrect ; they are arms . most octopus species have suction cups on the bottom of each arm . the arms seem to have a mind of their own . in fact , two - thirds of an octopus ' neurons are in its arms rather than its head , according to the article . that means that an octopus can focus on exploring a cave for food with one arm while another arm tries to crack open a shellfish .
members of the genus scaeurgus form an easily recognized group of upper bathyal benthic octopuses . they typically occur on seamounts and continental slopes at depths between 100 and 500 m ( nesis , 1987 ) . this genus has been collected worldwide from tropical and temperate latitudes in all major oceans ( fig . 11 a ) . to date , however , it has been known primarily from two regions : the atlantic ocean ( and mediterranean sea ) and off islands in the hawaiian archipelago .
the genus scaeurgus occurs on seamounts and continental slopes at depths between 50 and 500 m . depth distributions of the new taxa fell between 230 and 530 m ( s . tuber : 230–391 m ; s . jumeau : 378–530 m ; s . nesisi : 295–340 m ; s . sp . 1 : 295–340 m ; s . sp . 2 : 280 m ) . nesis ( 1993b ) suggests that this genus is more typically found on seamounts than on continental slopes .
confusion exists , however , over the type species of scaeurgus , its resolution having significant taxonomic implications . in his list of cephalopod generic names , hoyle ( 1910 ) used page priority ( ‘sp . first named’ ) to designate s . titanotus ( = pteroctopus tetracirrhus ) as the type species of scaeurgus . under the international code of zoological nomenclature ( iczn , 1999 : art . 24 . 2 . 1 ) , hoyle constitutes the first reviser and thus his type determination is considered valid . as a result , tetracirrhus chiaie , 1830 ( the type species of the genus pteroctopus ) becomes the type species for the older generic name , scaeurgus . if we follow strict convention , there are three implications : ( 1 ) the genus pteroctopus should be placed in the synonymy of the genus scaeurgus , ( 2 ) tetracirrhus should be treated as a species of scaeurgus , and ( 3 ) a new genus should be coined for unicirrhus , patagiatus and the new taxa reported here .
the giant pacific octopus ( enteroctopus dofleini ) is the largest octopus . they typically grow to 16 feet ( 5 meters ) long and weight around 110 lbs . ( 50 kg ) , but one was recorded to weigh more than 600 lbs . ( 272 kg ) and measure 30 feet ( 9 . 1 m ) across , according to national geographic .
not all octopuses have long arms . the opisthoteuthis adorabilis’ arms are very short and have webbing in between each one . this gives the tiny octopus the look of an orange ghost .
deep - water trawl surveys on seamounts around new caledonia yielded 62 specimens of the little - known genus , scaeurgus . members of this genus of octopuses typically occur at depths of 200–500 m in temperate and tropical latitudes worldwide . prior to this study , scaeurgus was considered to contain one to two species . the new material from new caledonia contained a surprising diversity of scaeurgus species from a small area : three distinct new species are described and limited material of a further two taxa is reported . a pygmy member of this genus is reported for the first time . distributions of these new taxa are consistent with reports of high endemism on the seamount systems in this region . fifty - eight of the 62 specimens were collected from seamounts , with four of the five taxa unique to a single seamount .
…restrictions in their distribution , but octopus vulgaris and o . macropus , both species with planktonic larvae , have gained worldwide distribution . in general , the pelagic and planktonic cephalopods conform in their distribution to other pelagic animals .
earth is home to gobs of species , from tiny to gargantuan , and ordinary to downright weird . take this whimsical octopus spotted by noaa ship okeanos explorer ' s remotely operated vehicle near shallop in the atlantic ocean .
we recognize that there are at least four species in the genus scaeurgus : our three new species ( s . tuber , s . jumeau and s . nesisi ) and at least one species from the unresolved unicirrhus / patagiatus issue . scaeurgus species 1 and 2 also appear distinct and are likely to constitute additional new species .
iczn 1997 . opinion 1861 . octopus vulgaris cuvier [ 1797 ] and loligo vulgaris lamarck , 1798 ( mollusca , cephalopoda ) : specific names conserved . bulletin of zoological nomenclature , 54 : 59 - 60 , available online at urltoken [ details ]
the standard plural in english of octopus is octopuses , according to the oxford english dictionary . as a word that comes from greek , it follows greek rules for plurals . the word
octopi ,
which follows latin rules for plurals , is incorrect .
obtaining material of deep - water benthic octopuses such as scaeurgus is extremely difficult . most species described to date from depths of greater than 200 m are based on few or single specimens . this is due to limited research trawling at these depths , use of commercial fisheries gear that is inappropriate for collecting benthic invertebrates , and poor retention and preservation of the rare octopus captures . in recent years , octopus material has typically been frozen on board ( often crushed under other catches ) , resulting in distorted or damaged specimens of limited value .
like all cephalopods , the common octopus is an intelligent active predator ( 4 ) . they have modified salivary glands that produce venom used to incapacitate prey . it is often easy to identify what a common octopus has been feeding on , as they leave piles of debris known as ' middens ' around the entrance of the protective lair in which they live . these middens consist of debris from a range of species and often include mollusc shells and the carapaces of crabs and other crustaceans ( 5 ) . all cephalopods are good swimmers , and are able to move rapidly by jet propulsion when threatened ; water is rapidly expelled through a funnel which causes the octopus to be propelled away rapidly ( 3 ) . cephalopods are also able to mask themselves as they escape with a cloud of ink released into the water ( 2 ) .
octopuses can also change color to hide and match their surroundings . they can turn blue , gray , pink , brown or green . the mimic octopus can also flex its body to resemble more dangerous animals , such as eels and lionfish , according to the world animal foundation .
octopuses are fast swimmers but they prefer to slowly crawl along the sea bottom . to swim , octopuses suck water into their bodies and shoot it out a tube called a siphon , according to the world animal foundation . this lets the octopus blast off , away from attackers .
remarks : scaeurgus tuber clearly belongs in this genus on the basis of its left - hand hectocotylized arm , mantle black spots , braided spermatophores , large stylets and remnants of a lateral ridge . the attributes of this pygmy species lead to revision of the characters seen as defining this genus . it differs from the other member species in that it has fewer gill lamellae ( 8–10 vs 12–13 ) , a broken lateral ridge , a reduced calamus , enlarged distal suckers on the hectocotylized arm and reduced posterior mantle black spots . egg size relative to mantle length further separates s . tuber from the other species : s . tuber : 9 . 1–10 . 9 % ; s . jumeau : 6 . 0–6 . 2 % ; s . nesisi : 3 . 0–3 . 6 % ; s . unicirrhus : 3 . 1 % .
according to the international union for conservation of nature ' s red list of threatened species , most octopus species are not endangered . most are either listed as least concern or as data deficient , which means there isn’t enough data about the species to make a determination on their endangered status .
the original diagnostic character proposed for scaeurgus by troschel was left - handed hectocotylization . several authors have added additional diagnostic characters to the genus . robson ( 1921 ) described the fleshy and thickened distal oviducts . robson ( 1929 ) expanded the definition to include : a large ligula with inrolled sides and prominent calamus ; a penis with a long diverticulum ; and subequal arm and web formulae . sasaki ( 1929 ) defined the genus as follows . ‘a pair of subtile ( sic ) horny stylets present internally . left third arm hectocotylized . first part of spermatophoric gland marked off from the remaining by a strong constriction at least in the japanese specimen examined by me . ’ hochberg , nixon & toll ( 1992 ) further expanded the diagnosis to include the lateral mantle ridge and a body densely covered in rounded papillae , as well as providing general body and arm proportions .
the large number of distinct taxa encountered in the present study from a small area of the southwest pacific ocean raises the likelihood that considerably more species exist in this genus than had been previously suspected . as such , many of the published records listed require detailed re - examination to resolve their identifications . in addition to toll ' s western atlantic material , sasaki ' s ( 1929 ) patagiatus from japan seems different from both patagiatus and unicirrhus in sucker counts , enlarged sucker size , ligula size , calamus size and spermatophore size ( see table 4 ) . similarly , specimens reported from valdivia bank off namibia as s . unicirrhus by sanchez & alvarez ( 1988 ) differed in size and arm length from both the northern atlantic and hawaiian material . additional material from throughout the range of this genus ( fig . 11 a ) is the subject of ongoing studies .
four new species of shallow water pygmy octopus from tonga are described . morphologic descriptions and illustrations are given of internal and external anatomy . octopus gorgonus n . sp . bears enlarged suckers on arms iii and iv of males . normal arms have 105 ? 35 suckers . preserved specimens are reddish - orange with large , regularly spaced , cream - colored spots on the dorsal mantle , head and arms , and ocelli are absent . octopus humilis n . sp . bears slightly enlarged suckers on pairs ii , iii , and iv of the single male specimen . normal arms which have up to 144 suckers . the dorsal surface is grey - brown . a pair of ocelli is present , without iridescence . octopus mariles n . sp . has no distinctly enlarged suckers . sucker counts range from 125 ? 60 on normal arms . preserved specimens are uniform dark - red to black , and ocelli are absent . abdopus undulatus n . sp . bears enlarged suckers on arms ii and iii of males , but diameter is variable . sucker counts range from 130 ? 78 on normal arms . preserved specimens are peach to orange - brown , with faint tan smudges spaced evenly on arm crown and webs . no ocelli are present .
when scared , octopuses will shoot a dark liquid , sometimes called ink , at the thing that scared them . this will temporarily blind and confuse a potential attacker , giving the octopus time to swim away . the ink can also dull the attacker’s smelling and tasting abilities , according to the smithsonian article .
a bulbous sack - like body , or mantle , is perched on top of an octopus ' head . the only hard part of their bodies is a sharp , parrot - like beak that is on the underside , where the arms converge . octopuses have powerful jaws and venomous saliva , according to national geographic .
none of the scaeurgus material collected by the musorstom campaigns belongs to either of the previously described species . the collection contains three distinct new species , described here , with limited material of two additional species . scaeurgus unicirrhus and s . patagiatus are compared to each other and the new taxa . based on this extensive collection , the genus is redefined . the high diversity of scaeurgus species around new caledonia is discussed in relation to endemism on seamounts in the region .
class - octopuses are in the class cephalopoda because they have a prominant head . cephalization is the term for having an anterior mouth and literally means
head foot
. the octopus has a completely merged head and foot with a ring of arms surrounding the head . this group has the most complex brain of any invertebrate .
the dna barcoding applied in the control of octopus spp . highlights the need to enlarge information in the database by increasing the number of species and the number of sequences available for each one . in addition , from this study a complexity in the interpretation of the data emerges , pointing out the importance of the training and experience of the operator to avoid mistakes .
due to the long usage of the two names pteroctopus and scaeurgus and their component species , particularly in the mediterranean sea , we believe disruption of these generic names will only cause unnecessary confusion . we propose that page priority be suppressed in the interest of prevailing usage , and to maintain the historical conventions since robson ( 1929 ) that unicirrhus remain the type species for scaeurgus . as a result , tetracirrhus would be retained as the type species for the distinct genus pteroctopus . a submission to iczn supporting this proposal is pending .
suborder - there are two suborders ; incirrata and cirrata . the octopus is in the suborder incirrata which contains 85 % of the octopodan species . the main distinction is that the incirrata have no cirri which are large motor organelles of hypotrich cilliates form from fused cilia . there are also no fins present and they have one or two rows of suckers on their arms .
if we read between the lines , it appears that robson ( 1929 ) was aware of this name priority issue and chose to disregard it : ‘as i think it is quite clear that troschel ' s titanotus is delle chiaje ' s [ sic ] tetracirrhus , and as it is proposed to maintain fischer ' s genus [ pteroctopus ] , it follows that unicirrhus must be regarded as the genotype of scaeurgus ’ ( p . 191–192 ) . robson and subsequent authors followed this convention through to the present day ( sweeney & roper , 1998 ) .
the sampling involved the collection of 51 specimens belonging to the genus octopus : 1 o . dollfusi , 2 o . aegina , 2 o . cyanea , 24 o . vulgaris and 22 o . membranaceus . all samples , collected in 2012 and 2013 from different suppliers , were morphologically identified and kept at - 20°c . the dna extraction was done using the dneasy tissue and blood kit ( qiagen , valencia , ca , usa ) according to the manufacturer’s instructions for animal tissue . the extracted dna was quantified with nanodrop 1000 ( thermo scientific , waltham , ma , usa ) . for all samples , segments of the coi genes were amplified following the protocol proposed by folmer et al . ( 1994 ) . since there were no available reference sequences for o . membranaceus in fish - bol , a second sequencing protocol was introduced . it contemplated the usage of cytochrome b ( cytb ) , a historical target used for species identification ( espineira et al . , 2010 ) .
base colour orange - brown dorsally and lighter cream ventrally , irregular darker brown markings scattered across dorsal mantle and arm crown in some specimens . pair of large well - defined dark brown to black round spots present on mantle , one each on anterior lateral mantle adjacent to mantle aperture ( fig . 1 b ) . small faint pair of black spots visible on posterior dorsal mantle in some specimens , not as pronounced as in other members of genus ( fig . 1 b ) . pair of dorsal white spots ( sensu packard & sanders , 1971 ) visible on dorsal mantle of well - preserved specimens .
family - the octopodidae are all benthic . this family unfortunatly is very diverse . there are 24 generaly accepted genera . species in this family range from pygmy octopuses to the giant pacific octopus . a few main traits include : the internal shell is reduced or lost , the stomach is posterior to the digestive gland , and on of the third arm in males is modified to have an open sperm groove and a modified terminal tip .
most octopuses — those in the suborder incirrata ( or incirrina ) — have no internal skeletons or protective shells . their bodies are soft , enabling them to squeeze into small cracks and crevices , according to national geographic . in april 2016 , an octopus at the national aquarium of new zealand squeezed out of its tank and made an eight - armed dash for a drainpipe that — luckily for him — led directly to the sea .
some octopuses even have warts . two deep - sea octopuses in the graneledone genus — g . pacifica and g . verrucosa — have skin bumps dotting their pink - hued mantles . these warty protrusions , it turns out , can be used to distinguish the two species , which have been incredibly difficult to tell apart . scientists reporting june 7 , 2017 in the journal marine biology research catalogued the distribution of warts on both species , pinpointing two variables that were consistent across the individuals within a given species : distance between the warts and the tip of the mantle and the extent to which the skin bumps spread down the creature ' s arms .
octopuses weren ' t always squishy creatures . the ancestors of octopuses and squid sported hard shells . a study published online march 1 , 2017 in the journal proceedings of the royal society b : biological sciences revealed these marine animals lost their hard
mobile homes
in the jurassic and cretaceous periods . this shell loss likely helped the ancient relatives of today ' s octopus , squid and cuttlefish become more agile to evade predators and nab prey , the researchers said .
however , in the past years , some doubts regarding the use of dna barcoding have emerged because of the difficulties to discriminate recently spread species , or species with a wide spatial differentiation ; as well as the inability to differentiate new and hybrid species ( moritz and cicero , 2004 ; hickerson et al . , 2006 ; rubinoff , 2006 ) . furthermore , this technique has been extensively evaluated for the identification of fish species , still there are few data supporting the applicability in the identification of the most common species of cephalopods and octopus .
this genus occurs at tropical and subtropical latitudes worldwide , except in the east pacific region ( fig . 11 a ) . nesis ( 1990 ) provides the most easterly report of scaeurgus in the pacific ocean , from the nazca and sala y gómez submarine ridges in the southeast pacific ocean ( ∼25° s , 85–100° w ) . parin , mionov & nesis ( 1997 ) discussed a potential biogeographic barrier midway along this 1600 km long submarine mountain range , at around 83–84° w . these authors proposed that this may represent the eastern limit of the indo - west pacific influence on the seamount fauna , the fauna further east showing east pacific and south american affinities . the six scaeurgus specimens captured in the surveys reported by nesis ( 1990 ) were all collected west of this break .
the extensive bathyal surveys conducted in the pacific ocean over the past two decades by the muséum national d ' histoire naturelle in paris ( mnhn ) and l ' institute de recherche pour le developpement ( ird , formerly orstom ) are exceptional , as they surveyed thousands of deep water sites using gear that sampled benthic organisms from a wide range of habitats . all cephalopod material was retained and preserved appropriately . as a result , these campaigns have generated the world ' s largest collection of well - preserved deeper water benthic cephalopods . amongst material collected around new caledonia and in the coral sea is the best collection to date of scaeurgus . over the past 18 years , 62 specimens of this genus were collected in 11 of the 29 musorstom campaigns in this region . these campaigns sampled at depths between 15 and 1000 m , collecting specimens from depths of 230–530 m .
this study would not have been possible without the financial and moral support of both the muséum national d ' histoire naturelle , paris and the australian biological resources study , environment australia . in paris , we warmly thank guy boucher , bernard metivier , dominique doumenc , marie - paule bruneaux , delphine pichon , nadia ameziane , marc eleaume . in banyuls , jean - yves bodiou and marie therese panouse , and in basel , katharina mangold . the authors wish to thank janet voight and an anonymous reviewer for constructive comments on the manuscript . many thanks to mike sweeney for alerting us to the nomenclatural problems of the genus ; claude massin of the institut royal des sciences naturelles de belgique , brussels for loan material ; joan clarke for assistance with electron microscopy ; daniel geiger , natural history museum of los angeles county for translation of troschel ' s original descriptions ; julian finn for comments on the manuscript ; and karen zipkas for assistance with morphological descriptions .
these species names ( or combinations of both ) have been applied to reports of this genus elsewhere . scaeurgus unicirrhus has been reported from western and southern atlantic ocean : florida ( voss , 1951 ) ; off cuba ( voss , 1955 ) ; brazil ( voss , 1964 ; palacio , 1977 ) ; and namibia ( sanchez & alvarez , 1988 ) . robson ( 1921 ) , ( 1929 ) and nesis ( 1993a ) reported s . unicirrhus from the saya de malha bank in the indian ocean ( approximately 11° s , 62° e ) at depths of 225 and 175–250 m , respectively . nesis ( 1993a ) referred to his material as transitional in form between s . unicirrhus and s . patagiatus . oommen ( 1967 ) provided limited descriptions of four additional specimens ( two of each sex ) under the name s . unicirrhus , from off the malabar coast of southern india captured at depths of 250–300 m . outside hawaii , scaeurgus patagiatus has been reported from japan ( sasaki , 1920 , 1929 ; okutani , tagawa & horikawa , 1987 ) and the east china seas ( okutani et al . , 1987 ) . kubodera & yamada ( 1998 ) reported ‘ s . cf . patagiatus ’ from the south and east china seas . kubodera & lu ( 2002 ) added records of scaeurgus sp . from taiwan .
cuvier g . l . ( 1798 ) . tableau élementaire de l ' histoire naturelle des animaux . paris , baudouin . xvi + 710 pp . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 380 [ details ]
norman m . d . , finn j . k . & hochberg f . g . ( 2014 ) . family octopodidae . pp . 36 - 215 , in p . jereb , c . f . e . roper , m . d . norman & j . k . finn eds . cephalopods of the world . an annotated and illustrated catalogue of cephalopod species known to date . volume 3 . octopods and vampire squids . fao species catalogue for fishery purposes [ rome , fao ] . 4 ( 3 ) : 353 pp . 11 pls . [ details ]
christine l . huffard monterey bay aquarium research institute , 7700 sandholdt road , moss landing , ca 95039 - 9644 usa . email : chuffard @ urltoken
confused by a class within a class or an order within an order ? please see our brief essay .
to cite this page : myers , p . , r . espinosa , c . s . parr , t . jones , g . s . hammond , and t . a . dewey . 2018 . the animal diversity web ( online ) . accessed at https : / / animaldiversity . org .
disclaimer : the animal diversity web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students . adw doesn ' t cover all species in the world , nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe . though we edit our accounts for accuracy , we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts . while adw staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable , we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control .
this material is based upon work supported by the national science foundation grants drl 0089283 , drl 0628151 , due 0633095 , drl 0918590 , and due 1122742 . additional support has come from the marisla foundation , um college of literature , science , and the arts , museum of zoology , and information and technology services .
this is a directory page . britannica does not currently have an article on this topic .
horse , ( equus caballus ) , a hoofed , herbivorous mammal of the family equidae . it comprises a single species , …
dog , ( canis lupus familiaris ) , domestic mammal of the family canidae ( order carnivora ) . it is a subspecies…
sorry , there are no images or audio / video clips available for this taxon .
we use cookies to enhance your experience on our website . by continuing to use our website , you are agreeing to our use of cookies . you can change your cookie settings at any time .
prior to the present study , two species had been named , scaeurgus unicirrhus chiaie , 1839–1841 in férussac & d ' orbigny , 1838–1848 and s . patagiatus berry , 1913 . scaeurgus unicirrhus was described by chiaie while he was based in naples , italy , and the type locality is presumed to be near naples . scaeurgus unicirrhus occurs in at least the mediterranean sea and northeast atlantic ocean ( mangold , 1998 ) . in the mediterranean sea it typically occurs at depths of around 100–400 m , but is also recorded from 50–500 m . scaeurgus patagiatus was described from hawaii at depths of around 200–300 m .
nesis ( 1990 ) demoted the name patagiatus to a subspecies ranking , reporting six specimens of s . unicirrhus patagiatus from five seamounts in the nazca and sala y gómez ridges in the southeast pacific ocean ( approximately 25° s , 85–100° w ) . this material was collected from depths between 162 and 440 m .
the majority of the records listed above provide insufficient morphological data to compare with our material and the previously named species .
robson ( 1929 ) proposed that s . unicirrhus and s . patagiatus were synonyms and that there was only a single circum - global species , s . unicirrhus : a decision supported by subsequent authors ( voss , 1951 ; roper , sweeney & nauen , 1984 ; nesis , 1987 ; sanchez & alvarez , 1988 ) . this decision was based on limited material using few diagnostic characters ( size , mantle and head width , and arm length ) . toll ( 1988 ) examined sucker counts of specimens attributed to these two species and found consistent differences on both normal and hectocotylized arms , independent of animal size . as a consequence toll recognized these taxa as distinct species . toll ' s graphs show that hectocotylized arm sucker counts were : s . unicirrhus 60–70 , s . patagiatus 80 + .
our examination of material of s . unicirrhus and s . patagiatus from the regions of their original description ( mediterranean sea and hawaii , respectively ; see supplementary data ) found no obvious distinguishing characters and only slight differences in two characters : hectocotylized arm sucker counts ( 82–87 vs 85–93 , respectively ) and number of sperm cord whorls ( 38–44 vs 26–28 ) ( table 4 ) . we did not find the marked difference in sucker counts between these species reported by toll ( 1988 ) . both species had hectocotylized arm sucker counts in excess of 80 ( 82–87 and 85–93 , respectively ) . the discrepancy between our sucker counts and toll ' s may relate to his source for unicirrhus material , listed as ‘florida , caribbean and mediterranean’ ( p . 210 ) . the senior author of the present study examined voss ' s cephalopod collection in miami in 1993 and noted 15 lots of scaeurgus from the western atlantic ocean . we believe that toll ' s counts are based solely on this material , which differs from the eastern atlantic and mediterranean taxon and may constitute a distinct species .
a lack of mature material in good condition for the two previously named taxa prevents further resolution of the unicirrhus / patagiatus problem , as is the case for many of the published reports of scaeurgus from elsewhere around the world ( fig . 11 a ) . to aid resolution of the identity of material in the atlantic ocean currently being treated under the name s . unicirrhus , we designate a neotype for this species , a mature male from off banyuls , france , in the western mediterranean sea .
. three gear types captured octopods : waren dredge ( drague waren , station code : dw ) , beam trawl ( chalut à perche : cp ) and otter trawl for fish ( chalut à panneaux : ch ) .
type material for the new species described here is lodged in the muséum national d ' histoire naturelle ( mnhn ) , paris . additional comparative material was examined from the natural history museum , london ( bmnh ) , santa barbara museum of natural history ( sbmnh ) , californian academy of sciences ( casiz ) , national museum of natural history , smithsonian institution ( usnm ) and the institut royal des sciences naturelles de belgique ( irsnb ) .
morphological characters and measurements used in the descriptions below follow norman & sweeney ( 1997 ) and norman , hochberg & lu ( 1997 ) . state of maturity is classified as immature , submature or mature . in immature specimens , reproductive organs are not visible or are tiny . submature specimens have developed reproductive ducts ( visible as distinct terminal organ or oviducts ) , but lack spermatophores or a swollen ovary . mature males possess functional spermatophores . mature females possess a large ovary , which occupies a third or more of the mantle cavity and contains distinct individual eggs . diagnoses and descriptions presented here are based on submature and mature specimens . data for juvenile and immature material are not included as counts and relative measurements ( such as sucker counts and arm lengths versus mantle length ) undergo considerable ontogenetic change in the early growth stages and can cause overlap in otherwise valid diagnostic characters . abbreviations in descriptions : f , female ; m , male ; ml , mantle length .
titanotus troschel ( manuscript name in troschel , 1857 : 53 ; unavailable ) .
distribution : atlantic , indian and pacific oceans , generally at tropical and subtropical latitudes ( fig . 11 a ) . typically on seamounts and continental / oceanic slopes at depths of 200–500 m . shallowest depth record 50 m ( mangold , 1998 ) .
today , the names scaeurgus unicirrhus and pteroctopus tetracirrhus are in common usage and are widely recognized as valid and distinct taxa . the genera ( and species ) are clearly distinguished by numerous morphological characters ( see roper et al . , 1984 ) .
we consider diagnostic characters of scaeurgus to be : hectocotylization of the third left arm ; a lateral skin ridge around the mantle ; a fleshy ligula with thick - rimmed ligula groove , often peanut - shaped ; spermatophores that contain a double strand of sperm cord , forming a braided appearance ; muscular fleshy openings to the distal oviducts located approximately midway along the length of the pallial septum ; large stylets ( approximately 30–40 % mantle length ) ; a skin sculpture of regular rounded papillae over dorsal surfaces ; two pairs of large black spots on the dorsal mantle ; rachidian tooth of radula with one to two cusps on either side ( typically two ) , in asymmetrical seriation .
scaeurgus unicirrhus — robson , 1929 : 192 . mangold - wirz , 1963 : 45 . roper et al . , 1984 : 215 . mangold , 1998 : 526 .
neotype : 1m : 40 . 4 mm ml , mnhn 3819 , off banyuls , catalane sea , france , ‘s . u . 94 / 1’ , from private collection of katharina mangold , laboratoire arago , banyuls , 1994 .
remarks : as the original type of unicirrhus does not exist ( sweeney & roper , 1998 , and examination of relevant museum collections by the senior authors ) , we designate a mature male collected from the catalane sea as the neotype .
holotype : m : 19 . 1 mm ml , mnhn 2135 , jumeau ouest , norfolk ridge , south of new caledonia , southwest pacific ocean , n / o alis , beryx 2 campagne , stn cp 44 , 23°41′ s , 168°01′ e , 230–250 m , 20 oct 1992 .
paratypes : norfolk ridge , south of new caledonia : 3m : 13 . 3–19 . 3 + 1f : 15 . 5 mm ml , mnhn 2137 , aztec ( = antigonia ) bank , n / o alis , smib 8 , stn dw184 , 23°18′ s , 168°05′ e , 305–320 m , 31 jan 1993 . 1m : 18 . 0 mm ml , mnhn 2124 , jumeau ouest , n / o alis , campagne bathus 3 , cp 805 , 23°41′ s , 168°01′ e , 278–310 m , 27 nov 1993 . 1m : 16 . 9 mm ml , mnhn 3811 , banc azteque ( = antigonia ) , n / o alis , smib 8 , stn dw 184 , 23°18′ s , 168°05′ e , 305–320 m , 31 jan 1993 . 2m : 15 . 1 , 15 . 7 mm ml , mnhn 2129 , banc jumeau ouest , n / o alis , campagne smib 8 , stn dw174 , 23°40′ s , 168°01′ e , 235–240 m , 29 jan 1993 . 1f : 23 . 8 mm ml , mnhn 3792 , banc jumeau ouest , n / o alis , lithist , stn cp16 , 23°43 . 2′ s , 168°16 . 2′ e , 379–391 m , 12 aug 1999 . 1f : 18 . 7 mm ml , mnhn 3804 , small mount just north of stylaster , n / o alis , campagne norfolk 1 , stn dw1658 , 23°26′ s , 167°50′ e , 320–336 m , 19 june 2001 .
etymology : tuber ( latin ) referring to the swollen tubular suckers on distal tip of male hectocotylized arm .
diagnosis : small , muscular ( ml to 24 mm ) with short arms ( 2 . 1–2 . 8×ml ) of approximately equal length . deepest web 24–35 % longest arm . lateral webs slightly deeper than dorsal and ventral web sectors . normal arms with 100–130 suckers ( male : 107–115 ; female : 113–128 ) . hectocotylized arm with 54–63 suckers . three to four enlarged suckers present in males on all arms ( at level of 8–12th proximal suckers ) , diameter to 16 % mantle length ( 10 . 7–15 . 7 % ) . gills with 8–10 lamellae per demibranch . third left arm hectocotylized . ligula large ( 10–14 % arm length ) with thick - rimmed groove ; calamus small ( 20 . 7–43 . 6 % length of ligula ) . distal one to three suckers on hectocotylized arm significantly enlarged as tall and swollen cylinders . spermatophores small ( 9–12 mm ) , approximately 60 % mantle length ( 55–68 % ) . distal oviducts long and convoluted . eggs 1 . 7–2 . 6 mm , around 10 % mantle length ( 9–11 % ) . remnants of lateral mantle ridge present as short ridge under anterior black spot followed by a line of larger papillae through to the posterior mantle papilla . formalin - fixed specimens with orange - brown to cream base colour with pronounced pair of anterior mantle black spots . posterior black spot pair present on mantle , but fainter and smaller than anterior pair . visceral mass membrane with founder chromatophores on dorsal surfaces only .
description : the following description is based on five mature males and five females ( two mature and three submature ) . small species ( fig . 1 a , b ) ; mantle length ( ml ) to at least 24 mm , total length to at least 95 mm ; weight to at least 9 g ( table 1 ) . mantle ovoid to round , longer than wide ( width 66 . 7–79 . 9 % ml , 85 . 7 in gravid female ) . head wide ( 60 . 8–74 . 5 % ml ; 82 . 7–102 . 4 % mantle width ) . skin firm . eyes moderate in size . stylets present , typically clear but mineralized in several animals ( fig . 1 c ) , length around 35 % ml ( 30 . 6–36 . 4 % ) . mantle opening wide , around 50 % circumference of body at level of opening . funnel of moderate length , approximately 40 % mantle length ( 37 . 9–46 . 7 % ml ) , free portion moderate to long , 25 . 3–54 . 1 % funnel length . funnel organ w - shaped ( fig . 1 d ) , outer limbs shorter than median ones ( outer limbs 73 . 2–91 . 9 % median limbs ) . funnel organ occupies approximately 60 % ( 47 . 6–66 . 2 % ) funnel length . arms moderate length , 2 . 1–2 . 8 times ml . arms of moderate width , sub - cylindrical along length , taper gradually to thin tips . arms approximately equal in length . suckers in two rows , moderate sized in females , around 8–10 % mantle length ; three to four enlarged suckers present in males on all arms ( at level of 8–12th proximal suckers ) , up to 16 % mantle length ( 10 . 7–15 . 7 % ) . around 100–130 suckers on intact arms ( males 107–115 , females 113–128 ) . webs deep ( deepest webs 24 . 2–35 . 3 % longest arm ) . webs approximately equal in depth , ventral and dorsal web sectors often shallower . webs extend as narrow membranous margins for at least half of arm length , not developed at arm tips .
third left arm of males hectocotylized . modified arm short , approximately twice mantle length ( 1 . 8–2 . 1 ml ) and around 80 % length of opposite arm ( 78 . 4–85 . 0 ) . ligula large ( 10 . 0–13 . 5 % arm length ) ; elongate spoon - shaped with thick - rimmed deep ligular groove ( fig . 1 e ) . distal one to three suckers on hectocotylized arm significantly enlarged as tall , swollen cylinders ( fig . 1 e ) . calamus small , sharp , around 30 % ligula length ( 20 . 7–43 . 6 % ) . hectocotylized arm with 54–63 suckers . gills with 8–10 , typically 9 , lamellae on both inner and outer demibranchs , plus terminal lamella .
digestive tract ( fig . 2 a ) . anterior salivary glands well developed , longest axis 60 % buccal mass length . posterior salivary glands moderate sized , longest axis slightly shorter than buccal mass length ( 84 . 4 % in 21 . 0 mm ml female , mnhn 2126 ) , approximately 40 % digestive gland length ( 41 . 5 % in same female ) . crop with distinct diverticulum . stomach bipartite . caecum with 1–1 . 5 whorls , distinctly striated . digestive gland ovoid to lobed . ink sac embedded in digestive gland . anal flaps present . dorsal surface of visceral mass membrane with an even scatter of numerous large dark founder chromatophores . ventral surface of membrane lacks chromatophores . upper beak ( fig . 2 b ) with short , slightly hooked rostrum and moderate hood , hood length 38 . 2 % total upper beak length in 21 . 0 mm ml female ( mnhn 2126 ) . lower beak ( fig . 2 c , d ) with rounded rostrum and relatively parallel lateral walls . rear border moderately concave , medial length 83 . 5 % total length in same specimen . radula with seven teeth and two marginal plates in each transverse row ( fig . 10 g , h ) . rhachidian tooth with one to two lateral cusps , typically two , on each side of large medial cone ; lateral cusps in asymmetrical seriation , migrating from lateral to medial position over approximately five to six transverse rows .
male genitalia ( fig . 3 a ) . terminal organ ( ‘penis’ ) in mature males small , around one quarter ml ( 16 . 7–25 . 7 % ) ; curved with small diverticulum . spermatophores ( fig . 3 b ) small ( 9–12 mm , 54 . 8–68 % ml ) , produced in low numbers ( 1–7 in spermatophore storage sac ) . sperm reservoir less than half spermatophore length ( 35 . 7–41 . 9 % ) , double strand of sperm cord coiled in around 20 whorls ; forms braided effect . ejaculatory apparatus of linear large core with numerous transverse creases , lacking inward - pointing teeth ( unarmed ) . oral tip with internal ovoid swelling with distinct internal ridges .
genitalia of submature female ( fig . 3 c ) . distal oviducts convoluted , swollen . oviduct openings broad , fleshy suggesting that this is the location of sperm storage . oviducts of gravid female ( mnhn 3792 ) distorted but swelling and convolutions of distal oviducts still evident . oviducal glands with distinct radial chambers . eggs small , mature ovarian eggs 1 . 7–2 . 6 mm long in material examined . egg length around 10 % mantle length based on available material ( 10 . 9 , 9 . 1 % ) .
skin sculptured in numerous rounded papillae in regular texture over entire dorsal surfaces and along aboral surfaces of arms 1–3 , present on ventral mantle but less dense and less pronounced ( figs 1 b , 10 a , b ) . diamond of four small primary papillae present on dorsal mantle ( fig . 1 a ) . longitudinal row of three larger papillae down aboral midline of arms 1–3 ( fig . 1 a ) . single large branched papilla over each eye , along with several smaller papillae . large papilla dorsal to each anterior black spot . large posterior mantle papilla present . lateral ridge present , well defined at margin of mantle aperture but continues as line of broken short ridges along lateral mantle to posterior papilla ( fig . 1 b ) . short longitudinal ridge present on lateral head , one under each eye .
distribution : new caledonia and norfolk ridge , trawled between 230 and 391 m ( fig . 11 b ) .
holotype : m : 30 . 7 mm ml , mnhn 2141 , east jumeau bank , norfolk ridge , south new caledonia , n / o alis , bathus 3 , stn . cp814 , 23°48′ s , 168°17′ e , 444–530 m , 28 nov 1993 .


cirrus des aigles ( foaled 8 may 2006 ) is a retired french thoroughbred racehorse .

in a career which lasted from october 2008 until december 2015 he has raced france , the united kingdom , hong kong , japan and the united arab emirates .

after racing successfully at three and four years of age he improved to become one of the world 's leading racehorses as a five-year-old in 2011 .

his achievements were recognised when he was awarded the title of european champion older horse at the cartier racing awards .

cirrus des aigles ' group one wins have included the champion stakes in 2011 , the dubai sheema classic in 2012 , the prix d'ispahan and the coronation cup in 2014 and a record three wins in prix ganay .

other major successes have included three wins in the prix dollar as well as victories in the prix du prince d'orange , prix du conseil de paris , grand prix de vichy , prix gontaut-biron , grand prix de deauville and la coupe de maisons-laffitte .

on 28 march , 2016 , it was announced that cirrus des aigles had been retired .

cirrus des aigles

yet certain horses receive unanimous approval . cirrus des aigles is one of them .
notable horses that cirrus des aigles finished 2nd to . he never gave up .
cirrus des aigles , pictured last december , courtesy of hong kong jockey club .
cirrus des aigles began his journey back to france on sunday morning as planned .
however , soumillon had his move covered and cirrus des aigles responded willingly for pressure .
photo 1 : cirrus des aigles ran 5th in the g1 hong kong cup last year .
frankel gets the better of cirrus des aigles in the champion stakes at ascot . ©lulu kyricaou
cirrus des aigles will compete in the champion stakes for a fourth time . yoshua arias / epa
cirrus des aigles is expected to be a contender at the king george vi and queen elizabeth stakes .
last season , cirrus des aigles chased home frankel in the champion stakes and won the race the year before .
cirrus des aigles began his journey back to france on sunday morning as planned . | racing news | sky sports
cirrus des aigles will do the bulk of his racing in the second half of the season after recovering from injury .
cirrus des aigles did not win a race as a juvenile and took 19 attempts before he won his first group contest .
if cirrus des aigles wins tonight , that owners ' dream will prove to be a nightmare that reverberates around the world .
cirrus des aigles , rated the best horse in the world , returned to form when successful at maisons - laffitte yesterday .
cirrus des aigles remained under observation at epsom last night after pulling up lame following his victory in the investec coronation cup .
the evergreen cirrus des aigles has begun his latest campaign with a third win in the group one prix ganay at longchamp .
andrea wohler trained horse to challenge cirrus des aigles and st nicholas abbey in the king george vi and queen elizabeth stakes .
corine barande - barbe ' s globetrotting superstar cirrus des aigles began his journey back to france on sunday morning as planned .
olivier peslier enjoying his ride on cirrus des aigles on his way to win the dubai sheema classic race of the dubai world cup at the meydan racecourse in dubai this march . cirrus des aigles will hed to hong kong in december . yoshua arias / epa
“he has been getting better and better from race to race this season and i think the real cirrus des aigles is back .
now aged 10 , cirrus des aigles won seven group 1 races earning his connections more than €7 . 5 million in prize money .
however , once mongan spotted him he raced bullet train upsides cirrus des aigles while another of the main dangers nathaniel sat in third .
the 39 year old will ride cirrus des aigles in the champion stakes against a tide of international fervour that has assembled behind frankel .
cirrus des aigles is 13 - 8 favourite for saturday’s king george at ascot in the absence of previous market leader st nicholas abbey .
cirrus des aigles won the 2011 champion stakes at ascot and finished second to frankel in the same 10 - furlong race last year .
rain will not keep cirrus des aigles from making a run at leopardstown racecourse in the irish champion stakes . vince caligiuri / getty images
defending champion cirrus des aigles stands between the magnificent frankel and a perfect end to his unbeaten career at star - studded ascot on saturday .
charlie appleby is happy to take on cirrus des aigles with french navy , who is set to retire at the end of the campaign .
last year , cirrus des aigles travelled to hong kong , but picked up an injury in training that lingered for much of the season .
but the remarkable story of cirrus des aigles is not about money , for all he has proved quite a money - spinner for his connections .
he demonstrated he is not just talented , but tough too as cirrus des aigles and ruler of the world charged home in a pulsating conclusion .
cirrus des aigles followed up his victory in last year’s inaugural british showpiece at ascot by winning the dubai sheema classic at meydan racecourse in march .
“cirrus des aigles has come out of ascot very well and is likely to go for the hong kong cup , ” said barande - barbe .
but he showed impressive stamina and courage to hold off 2011 winner cirrus des aigles by a neck , with another half a length away in third .
cirrus des aigles ' jockey hopes to ruin frankel ' s farewell at royal ascot in the champions stakes . geoffrey riddle speaks with the optimistic frenchman .
cirrus des aigles , right , will miss wednesday ' s clash with so you think , left , at royal ascot . photograph : eddie keogh / reuters
trainer corine barande - barbe insists she has not formulated a masterplan in which cirrus des aigles inflicts a first career defeat upon frankel at ascot on saturday .
following the retirement of frankel , cirrus des aigles took the crown as official the ‘best horse’ in training but his recent efforts had not supported that tag .
flintshire , cirrus des aigles , buffering and snow dragon are among the group 1 stars from seven nations and jurisdictions heading to sha tin on 14 december .
the highly - anticipated meeting between olympic glory and cirrus des aigles will go ahead in sunday ' s prix d ' ispahan at longchamp . the aga khan ' s kokaltash was one of two defectors from the race on friday , leaving retained jockey christophe soumillon free to continue his partnership with cirrus des aigles .
“most of the horses yvon sent me were not very good but i did train mesnil des aigles , cirrus’ half - brother , who was a decent handicapper .
cirrus des aigles , left , ridden by christophe soumillon , beats treve and frankie dettori in the prix ganay this spring . photograph : alan crowhurst / getty images
cirrus des aigles , right , winning the champion stakes last year , could take on frankel in this season ' s renewal . photograph : eddie keogh / reuters
cirrus des aigles gallops on the turf track during a hong kong international trackwork session at sha tin racecourse on saturday in hong kong . vince caligiuri / getty images
the eccentric trainer has enjoyed a magic carpet ride with her horse cirrus des aigles . now , she tells chris mcgrath , they are ready to take on the best
share of the prize money for using his stick six times inside the furlong . at the cartier racing awards , cirrus des aigles was named european champion older horse .
“australia and taghrooda impressed in the two investec - sponsored classics , while cirrus des aigles dominated the investec coronation cup despite an injury which i hope is only minor .
cirrus des aigles returns to sha tin for a seventh time , but this time tackles the hong kong vase for the first time since 2009 . photo : kenneth chan
cirrus des aigles has also had more than 40 starts , over a variety of different distances and conditions , and will certainly not be inconvenienced by potentially testing ground .
corine barande - barbe is confident of a big show from cirrus des aigles when he makes his sixth successive appearance in the qatar prix dollar at longchamp on saturday .
that may leave the indefatigable cirrus des aigles to form the backbone of the cast that will definitely turn up for the group 1 race over 2 , 400 metres .
cirrus des aigles’ career total is more impressive still when taking into account that , as a gelding , he is barred from running in the prix de l’arc de triomphe .
cirrus des aigles , the 2011 champion stakes winner who gave the mighty frankel something to think about in the race 12 months ago , was held up and travelled powerfully .
all riding tactics will be left to olivier peslier , who has taken over from christophe soumillon , cirrus des aigles ' partner when he took last year ' s race .
cirrus des aigles leads a stellar international party in hong kong on sunday morning when the evergreen globe - trotter attempts to finally put the record straight at sha tin racecourse .
as in dubai , the french challengers have trained together in the mornings , led by dunaden , who starts in the vase , but cirrus des aigles has worked alone .
now a seven - year - old , cirrus des aigles was having his 50th race and was winning for the 17th time , three of those in group one company .
france galop has published a lovely video tribute to fench star cirrus des aigles who was recently retired by trainer corine barande - barbe because of a ligament problem in a leg .
six years ago , unheralded cirrus des aigles first came to attention on the world stage with an unlucky fifth to the aga khan’s filly daryakana in the 2009 hong kong vase .
the injury - plagued five - year - old edged out cirrus des aigles and ruler of the world on britain ' s richest raceday ( £3 . 4m prize money ) .
cirrus des aigles ran an amazing race for a seven - year - old and ruler of the world ran his best ever race after disappointing in the arc two weeks ago .
the terrific 2014 renewal of the investec coronation cup saw cirrus des aigles ( corine barande - barbe fr ) justify favouritism by coming home two lengths clear of flintshire ( andre fabre fr ) . now a nine - year - old , the remarkable cirrus des aigles has won six group one races around the world and over £6 million in prize money .
even top , the one hit wonder , died in 2009 . his offspring may be few in number but his name is recalled every time cirrus des aigles appears on the track .
cirrus des aigles is the undoubted star of the trio as the six - year - old gelding attempts the seemingly impossible task of defending his title against frankel in the champion stakes .
while cirrus des aigles is possibly his strongest opponent to date , barande - barbe does not want to subscribe to one popular notion that frankel has been campaigned too cautiously by connections .
no one will ever know how cirrus des aigles would have fared in a big yard but in putting him together with corine barande - barbe the fates ensured soulmates found each other .
barande - barbe has a glass - half - full approach to life , and should golden horn and gleneagles turn up cirrus des aigles may well have too much on his plate .
barande - barbe also trained mesnil des aigles , cirrus des aigles’ oldest brother , a handy horse who won about $ 275 , 000 . during his career , she sold half of her share to jean - claude - alain dupouy , then a new owner introduced by friends . dupouy and barande - barbe were partners on several other horses , including a young cirrus des aigles , until dupouy persuaded his longtime friend xavier niel into racing . niel is the billionaire entrepreneur behind the telecom operator free .
a few days before the prix de l’arc de triomphe in october , the french racing newspaper jour de galop ran a story with the headline : “cirrus des aigles étalon de l’arc . ”
all of them are group one winners and none of them more intriguing than the french - trained cirrus des aigles , who brings significant adult experiences to what is essentially a children’s party .
as a two - year - old , cirrus des aigles failed to win in four starts , although he was placed in minor events at maisons - laffitte , saint - cloud and deauville .
the win was the second in three outings this season for cirrus des aigles and first group 1 win in his home country for the corine barande - barbe trained six - year - old .
cirrus des aigles , who last ran when second to godolphin’s farhh in the champion stakes at ascot racecourse in october , is being aimed at a repeat bid in the sheema classic in march .
“cirrus des aigles has come out of ascot very well and is likely to go for the hong kong cup , ” said barande - barbe , who also entered her charge for the vase .
not many horses trained in france have been as popular as cirrus des aigles and the globetrotting eight - year - old claimed his sixth group one success in the investec coronation cup at epsom .
cirrus des aigles is the leading european - trained money - earner . he has won 20 of his 60 career races , finished second in 21 others and worse than fifth on only three occasions .
caught napping at the start , frankel appeared to stumble out of the blocks , losing lengths on cirrus des aigles and natheniel , who took up the early lead in the rain - softened ground .
classic winners , kingman ( 64 points ) and australia ( 60 ) , are second and third behind cirrus des aigles in the race for the cartier horse of the year at this early stage .
“i’m sure we can come back at him [ cirrus des aigles ] , there is plenty of time . that’s racing , they are not unbeatable . it was actually a very good run . ”
peslier ' s first ride aboard cirrus des aigles was in the uae , when the pair teamed up to win the us $ 5 million ( dh18 . 3m ) dubai sheema classic in march .
ryan moore , successful on novellist in the grand prix de saint - cloud last month when cirrus des aigles was fifth , is needed for sir michael stoute’s supplemented king edward vii stakes winner hillstar .
epsom clerk of the course andrew cooper tweeted :
cirrus des aigles left @ epsomracecourse at 3am this morning as planned to return to chantilly . will be reassessed by own vets when home .
with cirrus des aigles , the client was his breeder , yvon lelimouzin , now 74 . lelimouzin was a jockey until a serious accident ended his career at 24 . he joined france galop’s maintenance crew overseeing the chantilly gallops known as les aigles , or the eagles .
relaxed as cirrus des aigles chewed off various parts of her coat from through his stable door , barande - barbe is relishing the opportunity against the colt now regarded as possibly the greatest of all time .
cirrus des aigles clearly rules the roost at his place , a charming throwback to another age with several fine oaks and a browning horse chestnut tree marking the centre , and heritage roses climbing the walls .
cirrus des aigles ran seven times as a four - year - old . he won twice , including the prix dollar . after missing much of the summer , he secured his first win at group two level in october when he won the prix dollar
comfortably
by two lengths from budai . cirrus des aigles again ended his year in asia , finishing unplaced in the japan cup and the hong kong cup .
the remarkable eight - year - old cirrus des aigles is in a clear lead for the cartier older horse and cartier horse of the year awards as the first points are revealed for 24th cartier racing awards .
unfortunately for cirrus des aigles ( 12 - 1 ) , the soumillon ban took most of the gloss off a tremendous training performance from a relatively small trainer who has just 32 horses at her chantilly base .
when cirrus des aigles crossed the line two lengths clear of flintshire in this year’s coronation cup at epsom for career victory number 21 , it carried the eight - year - old’s earnings past £5 . 8 million .
in the cartier older horse category , frankel holds an even more commanding advantage on points . he is well clear of cirrus des aigles , who is up to 112 following his gallant ascot second at the weekend .
bookmakers have frankel as short as 10 - 1 on for the champions’ day highlight , but those odds are a bit of an insult to cirrus des aigles , who is a remarkable horse in his own right .
since he made his breakthrough at the top level in the 2011 champion stakes , cirrus des aigles has mixed it with the best around across the globe , sometimes winning , sometimes losing , but always giving his best .
asked to speculate about a clash with frankel , the jockey said :
he ' s different . frankel is a real champion and has more speed . he [ cirrus des aigles ] just keeps on going .
ascot , england / / cirrus des aigles has endured his share of troughs but everything is in place here for the eight - year - old warrior to reach the latest peak in his extraordinary career on saturday night .
cirrus des aigles was disappointing when last seen bidding for a fourth win in the prix dollar on arc weekend at longchamp , but barande - barbe feels the time is right for her stable star to tackle longer distances .
farhh hasn’t run for godolphin trainer saeed bin suroor since winning the lockinge stakes over a mile at newbury in may but he can sink hot favourite and 2011 winner cirrus des aigles in the £1 . 3m qipco champion stakes .
absent since an impressive success in the lockinge in may , farhh showed no signs of rustiness when denying cirrus des aigles and derby winner ruler of the world in a thrilling finish to the feature race on british champions day .
asked whether retirement could be on the cards should cirrus des aigles fail to fire this weekend , barande - barbe said : ” we will let him tell us . i don’t think like this could be his last race .
cirrus des aigles set sail for home but queally , having dispensed with nathaniel , came upsides the gallant french six - year - old and went past him with ease to justify his odds of 2 / 11 odds on favourite .
plans are not definite for cirrus des aigles , who defeated st nicholas abbey in winning the dubai sheema classic . he is entered in the singapore airlines international cup in may and the coronation cup at epsom in england this june .
barande - barbe has already outlined that cirrus des aigles is an intended runner in dubai next season , while master of hounds , who lines up in sheikh mohammed bin khalifa’s colours today , is also a likely runner at meydan .
the freaky gelding cirrus des aigles has an extraordinary record in ascot ' s champion stakes but this evergreen eight - year - old is threatened by a three - year - old who hardly anyone had heard of six weeks ago .
and the racing chatter and the betting suggests that the one who could thwart him this year is free eagle , having just the fourth race of his life compared to cirrus des aigles who will be on his 60th racing mission .
began with a bang with victory in the dubai sheema classic at meydan . in the process , corine barande - barbe became the first female trainer to saddle a winner on dubai world cup night . the gelding tracked the leaders before taking the lead in the straight and holding off the late challenge of st nicholas abbey by a neck . he returned to france and won the prix ganay by eight lengths from giofra and reliable man . in may , cirrus des aigles was beaten three quarters of a length by golden lilac . several weeks later it was revealed that cirrus des aigles had tested positive for a banned anti - inflammatory drug . barande - barbe denied any wrongdoing . a minor injury in summer took longer than expected to heal , and cirrus des aigles was forced to miss planned engagements in the king george and juddmonte international stakes . the gelding finally reappeared for the prix dollar at longchamp in october . cirrus des aigles stormed home by nine lengths . two weeks later , cirrus des aigles crossed swords with frankel in the qipco champion stakes at ascot . the gelding made much of the running before being overtaken by frankel in the straight . he finished one and three quarter lengths behind the wonder horse , and two and a half lengths clear of the third placed nathaniel . in december , cirrus des aigles was sent to hong kong to contest the hong kong cup but was withdrawn after sustaining an injury .
on entering the final furlong ( 200m ) it looked like race fitness was going to tell as al kazeem closed to within a length , but the incredible cirrus des aigles found plenty for pressure and eventually ran out a cosy winner .
despite a 21 - win career that includes six group 1s , perhaps cirrus des aigles’ best performance came in defeat , against the mighty frankel in the 2012 champion stakes , when the testing ground looked certain to play to the gelding’s strengths .
cirrus des aigles was disqualified two weeks ago in the prix dollar at longchamp , having passed the post first , but bids to make good that loss by returning to this corner of berkshire to contest the champion stakes for the fourth time .
trainer corine barande - barbe believes the booking of frankie dettori will be a “nice surprise” for cirrus des aigles as the french superstar tackles almost two miles for the first time in the prix royal - oak at saint - cloud on sunday .
having won in 2011 and finished second to frankel last year , cirrus des aigles , trained in france by corinne barande - barbe and ridden by christophe soumillon , deserves to be favourite , especially as he seems to have bounced back to form .
french trainer corine barande - barbe was delighted with cirrus des aigles ' comeback at chantilly on tuesday . the 18 - times winner is now likely to follow the same path as when successful in the dubai sheema classic at meydan two years ago .
cirrus des aigles is europe’s highest - rated older horse . official handicappers around the world rated the even top gelding at 123 on may 4 in the longines world’s best racehorse rankings and his latest rating will be revealed on thursday ( june 12 ) .
in defeating the great australian so you think and the crack racemares snow fairy and midday , cirrus des aigles set a new record for the ascot mile and a quarter and raised his status to third behind frankel in the official world thoroughbred rankings - up from 95th in 2010 . good though that fast ground performance might have been , all the evidence of cirrus des aigles’ career is that he is signifigantly better on soft or heavy ground . in such conditions he won consecutive races at deauville last year by eight lengths and then by ten . this april he took the group one prix ganay by eight lengths and only last saturday had a full ten to spare over toiling rivals at longchamp . in heavy conditions cirrus des aigles has something extra . does frankel ?
it wasn ' t his flashiest performance , but frankel made sure his final race was also his most dramatic as he overhauled french rival cirrus des aigles to maintain his unbeaten record and cap a remarkable three - year career at the summit of his sport .
the henry cecil - trained colt - - winning his 10th group one race - - had stumbled out of the barrier but recovered his poise to power home to beat last year & apos ; s winner cirrus des aigles by 1 3 / 4 lengths .
cirrus des aigles and st nicholas abbey may well be headed for a mouth - watering set - to in the king george vi and queen elizabeth stakes at ascot a week on saturday but the field that is set to join them is becoming much clearer .
a top - five finish in the champion stakes would take cirrus des aigles to the head of the table and a place in the first three would nudge his career earnings past £6m , an astonishing achievement for a trainer with only 24 horses in her yard .
“he was very well after the race at ascot and when he went to the vets he was bucking and singing . as usual , he has been getting better and better from race to race this season and i think the real cirrus des aigles is back .
the red - hot favorite powered through the field to close the gap on cirrus des aigles , officially the second - best horse in the world , with nathaniel already beaten . frankel then blazed towards the winning post with a length and three - quarters to spare .
although olivier peslier was able to conjure up a second burst from cirrus des aigles , frankel was not to be denied and he strode out under the whip of queally to breach the line , clear of his nearest pursuer who finished at odds of 9 / 2 .
in an epic showdown that will rank alongside the grundy - bustino or sunday silence - easy goer clashes three decades ago , treve , last year’s brilliant arc winner , suffered her first defeat when outgunned by the battle - hardened cirrus des aigles in sunday’s prix ganay .
since the champion stakes in ascot , barande - barbe describes how cirrus des aigles had some time to relax before a resumption of cantering . there remains a possibility , though an unlikely one according to the trainer , that cirrus des aigles will go to japan before hong kong . that decision will determine when he resumes fast work on the grass . as to precisely when this equine hero will land at chek lap kok airport , the trainer says that it will be around 30 november or ‘whenever the hong kong jockey club tells us . ’
in the cartier horse of the year category , frankel saw off competition from qipco champion stakes winner cirrus des aigles , coral - eclipse and irish champion stakes scorer so you think , prix de l’arc de triomphe heroine danedream and the 2010 cartier horse of the year goldikova .
cirrus des aigles has not had the best experiences in hong kong on his past three visits . but after proving age is just a number at ascot on british champions day earlier this month , trainer corine barande - barbe is hopeful of a more successful raid in december .
australia , now a three - year - old and this year’s derby winner , is expected to be the latest leader of a generation to be tested against cirrus des aigles when the two horses line up for the qipco champion stakes at ascot on saturday week . it will be cirrus des aigles’ fourth trip to a race he won when it made its debut at the track in 2011 , before finishing second to the brilliant frankel in 2012 and then farhh in 2013 . if there is any weakness in australia , he is the horse to find it .
sent off at odds of 7 - 10 , cirrus des aigles was in front after half a furlong and gradually edged into a clear lead . turning for home , olivier peslier urged him to lengthen and the response was impressive , in light of the rain - saturated turf .
“cirrus des aigles is just an extraordinary horse . running is not a drama for him . it is his job and he enjoys it . i know he’s eight but he doesn’t know that ; every season he thinks he’s six months younger ! he knows more than i ever will .
cirrus des aigles has improved this year as a five - year - old , and age is no barrier to success in the race – triptych , pilsudski and twice over have all won it at five in the last 20 years , while pride was six when she won it .
of course , the banned substance found in a urine sample alleged to be from cirrus des aigles may have forced a layoff during the summer , but al zarooni has not raced opinion poll since the six year old was second to colour vision in the ascot gold cup in june .
advertising the skills of his handler , farhh needed to have stamina and courage in equal fashion but his brazilian jockey silvestre de sousa kept him up to his work to hold off the 2011 winner cirrus des aigles by a neck as he bookended the season with another group one win .
cirrus des aigles heads a field of nine for saturday ' s prix dollar at longchamp . corine barande - barbe ' s pride and joy claimed the group two prize in 2010 , was narrowly denied by byword in 2011 , and has been victorious again in the last two renewals .
sure enough , she decorously rejects the obvious contrast between her campaigning of cirrus des aigles – who has raced in japan and hong kong , as well as england and dubai – with the highly conservative approach of frankel ' s connections , in retiring him without once risking a race overseas .
but it is the qipco champion stakes that will define the weekend and if you can’t get excited by a race containing golden horn , gleneagles , free eagle , cirrus des aigles , pleascach , and the grey gatsby amongst others , then perhaps it’s time to find another sport to follow .
while the prospect of rain terrifies the connections of his main opponents , cirrus des aigles stands solid like a craggy old lighthouse , well able withstand anything the irish weather can throw at him . if he can prevail the loving glow of his besotted trainer will brightly light up the leopardstown .
cirrus des aigles’ fifth dam , run honey , features as the fourth dam of septimus , a high - class stayer on the level and winner of the 2008 irish st leger . further back in the family is lady peregrine , whose son flamingo won the 2 , 000 guineas in 1928 .
veterans of the previous two editions of the group 1 dubai sheema classic , presented by longines , demonstrated their impressive abilities on two separate continents over the weekend as this year’s winner cirrus des aigles ( fr ) was an impressive eight - length winner in the group 1 prix ganay in france .
peslier has never won the champion stakes , but plenty of his compatriots have . the french have won the 10 - furlong contest 22 times since the second world war and with all the hullabaloo surrounding frankel it is easy to forget the devotion which is heaped on cirrus des aigles in france .
the thing with cirrus des aigles is he never lets the pressmen down . the french running machine is a bit like those collection automobiles , the ones that enthusiastic owners keep on fixing , oiling , driving ; all smiles as the old classic competes with newer , more “perfect” , modern cars .
french star cirrus des aigles was already close to the top of the european tree when he won this huge prize back in 2011 , but it was to be his first g1 triumph . many top notch wins have followed , though in 2012 and 2013 he finished second in this great clash .
christophe soumillon rides cirrus des aigles to victory in the 2014 investec coronation cup at epsom downs on day two of the derby festival meeting . urltoken racing uk is the uk ' s leading horse racing tv channel , broadcasting over 4 , 000 live races every year . racing uk - pure racing entertainment
looking back , barande - barbe amiably resigns herself to living with a champion . she has not missed a day with cirrus des aigles since he arrived at her yard in november 2007 . “it is just as if he is mine — except for the money , ” she said with a laugh .
cirrus des aigles has always been the stable favourite at barande - barbe’s chantilly base in france , but the seven year old appears to be becoming wiser with age . although the horse is well - versed in the surrounds of sha tin , he has not been completely compliant with his training regimen .
cirrus des aigles has only been beaten a total of around 5 ½ lengths in those three hong kong adventures , first in the vase in 2009 and in the cup of 2010 and 2011 . he finished just 2 lengths behind california memory last year , but never had a chance to shine that day as barande - barbe recalls succinctly : “he was boxed in almost all the way . ” what about the issue of the ground with cirrus des aigles having for so long been associated with soft surfaces . not an issue according to his trainer who points to his terrific victory in the dubai sheema classic in dubai back in march . and when reminded that cirrus des aigles has had a much lighter season this year ( 6 races ) rather than in 2011 ( 10 races ) suggesting that this super horse may be fresher this time , the trainer adds to the buoyant assessment by responding : ‘exactly . ’
for cirrus des aigles , whose 16 victories have already won prize money of £3 . 8 m compared to his rival’s £2 . 2m , will certainly be the toughest scrapper that frankel has ever faced and about as complete a contrast of circumstances as the thoroughbred world can give . while saturday’s qipco champion stakes will be the four year old frankel’s 14th and last race before retiring to the 150 - mare seasons at stud , the six year old cirrus des aigles will be running for the 45th time and as a gelding has to eschew the covering shed for the racecourse challenge . what’s more , even at the end of this fifth season , there is every sign that “cirrus” is better than ever .
winless after four runs as a juvenile , cirrus des aigles enjoyed a busier time than any of his contemporaries at three , running 17 times . he showed rapid progress throughout the year , winning the group 2 prix du conseil de paris and finishing off with a close fifth in the hong kong vase .
aidan o’brien’s brilliant colt , who also annexed the investec derby and finished a close third in the qipco 2000 guineas , is now third in the overall points’ standings behind cirrus des aigles ( 124 ) and his principal rival in the cartier three - year - old colt category , kingman ( 112 ) .
the cirrus des aigles - dariyan battle is just one subplot in what shapes as one of the stronger vases in recent years . eleven of the 14 runners have won at the highest level , and this year’s vase provides a true test of mile and a half form from all corners of the globe .
cirrus des aigles , currently the joint second highest rated horse in the world , reproduced the level of form he had shown to take the prix ganay ( g1 ) by eight lengths at longchamp in april and the qatar prix dollar ( g2 ) by nine lengths at the same course early in october .
cirrus des aigles had a lengthy spell on the side - lines in 2013 after being withdrawn on the eve of the 2012 longines hkir - what would have been his fourth race at sha tin - making this year his sixth visit but fifth race . he did not race again until the following june .
thus the possibility of a stallion career was ended before cirrus des aigles had ever set foot on a racecourse . he was bought by his owners as part of a job lot of three horses “for around €50 , 000” , according to the trainer , who sold him on without retaining a share for herself .
twice over won this race in 2009 and 2010 ( albeit at newmarket ) while cirrus des aigles ran frankel to a length and three quarters after winning in 2011 and was just a neck behind farrh in 2013 so there is plenty of recent evidence to support those that have run well in the race before .
cirrus des aigles has been part of the champion stakes furniture since the race moved to ascot in 2011 . he won it in that year , was second to frankel in 2012 – but pushed him harder than any other horse he met in his career – and finished runner - up to farhh last year .
cirrus des aigles and flintshire , who were first and second in last year ' s £375 , 000 group one investec coronation cup , feature among 13 horses going forward for this year ' s renewal . this will be one of the highlights of investec derby day at epsom downs on saturday , june 6 .
“cirrus des aigles arrived with me as an unbroken yearling . we broke him in at the yard and gelded him in the march of his two - year - old season . he had a problem with his testicles – he was a rig – so the vet told us we had to have him gelded . ”
frankel’s victory over cirrus des aigles , winner of the qipco champion stakes the previous year , means he is certain to be the cartier horse of the year again . he will become the first horse ever in the 22 - year history of the cartier racing awards to receive this accolade in successive years next month .
cirrus des aigles put up a bold show in finishing second to godolphin ’s farhh in the champion stakes , and now in rude health , the evergreen seven year old was among a total of 172 international horses entered for the hk $ 72 million ( dh32m ) card held at sha tin racecourse on december 8 .
corine barande - barbe believes the evergreen cirrus des aigles is better than ever after winning the prix ganay for the third time at longchamp . in holding off roger charlton ' s al kazeem by a length and three - quarters , the popular gelding set himself up for a crack at the prix d ' ispahan .
novellist was one of the few three - year - olds to prove himself against older horses worldwide last season . he kicked off this campaign last month in the grand prix de saint - cloud by beating dunaden , the 2012 caufield cup winner , and cirrus des aigles , who was fifth on his seasonal reappearance .
cirrus de aigles was a brave winner of the qipco champion stakes at ascot - but the win was tarnished by jockey christophe soumillon picking up a ban for using his whip six times inside the final furlong .
within four years , she had saddled carling to win the french oaks . this filly , like cirrus des aigles , had unpromising antecedents .
they called her cinderella ,
barande - barbe recalls .
she ended up on the front page of figaro . so you see i only deal in fairy tales .
with frankel retired , cirrus des aigles was the highest rated racehorse in the world in early 2013 but struggled to justify it . he was only fifth in the grand prix de saint - cloud and was then only fourth in the qipco - sponsored king george , won by novellist . cirrus des aigles was dropped in class but failed to win in two races at deauville in august . it seemed he was in decline . in september , cirrus des aigles recorded his first win for almost a year at maisons - laffitte . the following month he became the first horse to win the prix dollar for a third time , winning by one and a half lengths from mandour . two weeks later , he was sent to england to contest his third champion stakes and he started 6 - 4 favourite in a field of ten . he made a strong challenge in the straight but was beaten a neck by farhh . in december he finished third in the hong kong cup .
cirrus des aigles ( fr ) b . g , 2006 { 9 - h } dp = 2 - 0 - 7 - 1 - 2 ( 12 ) di = 0 . 85 cd = - 0 . 08 - 62 starts , 22 wins , 20 places , 6 shows career earnings : 8 , 351 , 422
although she had worked solidly at home in her preparation for this , her first outing of the campaign , treve was vulnerable . the veteran cirrus des aigles , having his 56th start , had run twice this year and was more forward in race fitness , which proved a telling factor in a battle as demanding as this .
cirrus des aigles , never a factor in saturday ' s champion stakes at ascot , will have a fifth attempt to win at hong kong ' s prestigious end - of - year meeting in december . this is after appearing a fresh horse on his return to trainer corine barande - barbe ' s chantilly yard on sunday .
to date , taille de guepe has produced one other winner in the shape of mesnil des aigles , a handicapper by nureyev’s son neverneyev , who raced for the same owner and trainer as his more talented half - brother .
he was made favourite for a repeat win in the prix dollar , but was beaten a short neck by byword , the prince of wales’s stakes winner , who was receiving 4lb . in october , cirrus des aigles was sent to race in britain for the first time when he contested the qipco champion stakes over ten furlongs at ascot
whether or not he should rank higher than any of those names is open to debate but one thing is certain : cirrus des aigles is the horse of a lifetime for his owners , jean - claude - alain dupouy and xavier niel and his trainer , corine barande - barbe , who recalls his route to her chantilly stable .
unfashionable sire who never made it it would be fair to say that even top’s stud career pretty much starts and ends with cirrus des aigles . the fact is that corine barande - barbe’s star is one of only two recorded winners on the flat by the stallion , who enjoyed only marginally more success as a national hunt sire .
the champion stakes itself proved to be a rich seam of equine talent for the meydan executive to mine last season , as cirrus des aigles led home green destiny ( sixth ) , wigmore hall ( ninth ) and dubai prince , who was last . all four of those horses subsequently appeared at the 2012 dubai world cup carnival .
cirrus des aigles won his first group race in september 2009 , on his 15th start of the season . he is now a veteran of 59 starts , and his durability is underlined by his recovery from an injury sustained in the coronation cup in june , when christophe soumillon , his regular jockey , dismounted shortly after crossing the line .
cirrus des aigles will race on this year , said trainer corine barande - barbe . there had been speculation the venerable 10 - year - old would be retired after he struggled in the hong kong vase in december , but barande - barbe has seen enough on her chantilly gallops to suggest he is still in love with the game .
cirrus des aigles could have a first run in ireland next month ahead of his intended outing in the qipco champion stakes at ascot . corine barande - barbe ' s decorated nine - year - old is close to a return from injury , with the group one irish champion stakes at leopardstown on september 12 identified as a comeback date .
corine barande - barbe’s horse takes his racing really well , he has had nine starts already this season , but he had a short break before running a close second to byword in the prix dollar at longchamp on arc weekend . that was a little disappointing on the face of it , but byword is high class on his day , he only beat cirrus des aigles by a short neck , the pair of them clear , and cirrus des aigle’s trainer said afterwards that the runner - up was a fairly stuffy horse who would come on for the run .
at the line , he had eight lengths in hand over the second - placed giofra , prompting one local expert to recall mill reef , who won this race in similarly impressive style 40 years ago . it is a mark of the improvement made by cirrus des aigles that he was only third behind planteur in last year ' s ganay .
there are some who speculate that the whole adventure could well be at an end after saturday night’s race , but barande - barbe has said that if cirrus des aigles arrives in chantilly in good shape late on saturday , whatever the result , a third crack at the dubai sheema classic at meydan racecourse in march might be in the offing .
yet cirrus des aigles returns to ascot not only as the defending champion , having won the inaugural qipco champion stakes last year , but also as winner of a huge prize in dubai in march . moreover he has won his four latest starts in soft ground – something frankel now samples for a first time – by a minimum of eight lengths .
cirrus des aigles is top - priced at 9 - 2 for the champion stakes , behind australia , the 5 - 2 favourite , and dermot weld’s three - year - old free eagle , a 3 - 1 chance . the race promises to be one of the highlights of the season but barande - barbe does not feel under any pressure .
cirrus des aigles had to settle for fifth place in his bid to claim a fourth prix dollar at longchamp . the corine barande - barbe - trained gelding found quickening ground against him as he failed to match the acceleration of winner free port lux , who was giving treve ' s jockey thierry jarnet a confidence - boosting pre - arc success .
cirrus des aigles , trained by corine barande - barbe in france , has already won a cartier racing award , the cartier older horse award in 2011 , when he gained his first group one success , the qipco champion stakes at ascot . he was also a finalist for the same award 12 months later after securing two more group ones in 2012 .
don’t think he only has to turn up and canter past the stands . frankel is the most consistently , extravagantly , brilliant flat racehorse any of us have ever seen . but he is not unbeatable , and if the rains keep coming it would not be a total surprise if the french horse cirrus des aigles turned him over at ascot next saturday .
talking about the seven - year - old cirrus des aigles , who has now won this race and been second twice – last year to frankel – christophe soumillon said : “i thought i’d win but when i went alongside farhh came back easily . i was very happy with his run but its unfortunate for him that he met a champion today . ”