He reached his peak as a five-year-old when he won six races including the Prix des Sablons in France and the Coronation Cup in Britain.
At the end of his racing career he was retired to stand as a breeding stallion in Britain, where he had considerable success as a sire of winners.
Chanteur was a brown horse with a broad white blaze[2] bred by François Dupré at the Haras d'Ouilly stud farm in Pont-d'Ouilly, Calvados.
At exercise he refused to exert himself for an ordinarily-dressed stable lad, only showing interest when he was mounted by a jockey in racing silks.
He proved too good for the British opposition in the two and a half mile Ascot Gold Cup, but finished second, two lengths behind his compatriot Caracalla.
The price was reportedly £70,000, the biggest sum paid for a racehorse in Britain, with Hill explaining that he was buying the horse primarily for his stud potential.
[9] At Epsom Downs Racecourse in June he recorded his most significant international success when he won the Coronation Cup, beating Marcel Boussac's Coaraze.