Phaéton (or Phaëton, born 1871, died 1896) was an Anglo-Norman trotting horse, son of the Thoroughbred The Heir of Linne, considered a founding stallion of the French Trotter breed.

An average competitor, Phaéton, a cross between a Thoroughbred and a Norfolk Trotter, made his name thanks to the excellent performances of his offspring during his stallion career at the Haras National du Pin.

Phaéton was a 1.61 m chestnut stallion, strongly marked with white and renowned for his good looks, despite a hereditary defect in the conformation of his hocks.

[4] Phaéton was born in 1871 in Saint-André-de-Bohon, near Carentan, at the home of breeder Jules Lécuyer, in the Manche department of Normandy, France.

[6] Phaéton made his debut at the Rouen derby, completing the 4,000 m in 7 min 44 s to finish second, behind a son of the stallion Conquérant, Plaisir des Dames.

[4] His second race was the Prix du Conseil Général de la Manche at Cherbourg, in which he was beaten by Oak, a horse owned by the Duke of Vicenza, and his half-brother Pactole.

[4] He won his first race at Le Pin, beating Pactole, Pique Hardy, Plaisir des Dames, Pourquoi Pas and several other competitors.

[10] His 4-year-old season ended with 7,100 francs in earnings and a kilometer reduction improved to 1 min 45 s.[10] Statistically, Phaéton was not the best trotter of his generation, having proved roughly equal to Plaisir des Dames and Pourquoi Pas, and less good than his half-brother Pactole.

Jean-Pierre Reynaldo classified him as Anglo-Norman, while the Infochevaux database of the Institut français du cheval et de l'équitation listed Phaéton as a French Trotter.

The stallion was described in Le Sport universel illustré of 23 March 1901 as a "handsome horse" with a golden chestnut coat, two barnacles on the hind legs and a broad head list, and measuring 1.61 m at the withers.

Édouard Nicard believed that the combination of Thoroughbred and Norfolk Trotter was the key to Phaéton's success as a sire, the former conferring speed, the latter trotting ability.

[24] Phaéton's paternal grandmother, originally named Louisa Newell, then renamed Mistress Walkers, had a racing career in England and France, where she was sold due to poor results.

[31] Genealogical information about him can be found in various databases, including HorseTelex, Infochevaux, as well as in period books by Nicard[32][33] and Gast.

[4] His sons and daughters inherited his distinction and great lines, fine fabrics and beautiful manes "softer than silk", the only morphological faults passed down and noted being a too-short thigh, a too-flat kidney, and, most damaging of all, jardon.

[43] Among Phaéton's best sons, Guillerot listed the stallions Harley, James Watt, Kachemyr (or Kaschmyr), Napoléon, Galba and Levraut.

[10] A handwritten note in Guillerot's book, taken up by Albert Viel, stated that the mare Ergoline (dam of the famous Bémécourt) was a daughter of Phaéton, and not of Écho, considered a mediocre stallion:[2][50] the Haras staff were short of covering cards for Phaéton, so an Écho card was given for the covering of Ergoline's dam, Camélia.

[52] Phaéton's daughters, crossed with the breed leader Fuschia, have produced excellent trotters such as Messagère, Nitouche, Hérode, Hetman and Osmonde.

[55] Phaéton's grandsons in the maternal lineage included Intérim (by Acquila);[56] Soubrette (by Arcole);[57] Hermine II, Hirondelle II, Ilote, Jaquar, Jaseuse and Kerisper (all out of the Beaugé stallion);[58] Aurore, Iéna, Jongleuse II,[59] Kagoula, Kaviar, Kyrielle, Laura, Marcelet, Mimosa, Miracle,[60] Myosotis, Nabucho, Narcisse (by Fauvette II, winner of 26,662 francs at 3), Nemea, Nevada, Offembach, Orfa, Pastourelle, Pénéloppe, Pensez Y, Perfica, Perle Fine and Petite Chance[61] (by Cherbourg); Gallia, Héroïne and Œil de Bœuf (by Dictateur);[62] La France, Mina and Quenotte (by Don Quichotte);[63] Marie Louise (by Écho);[50] Gavotte, Icarie, Jéricho, Jitomir, Jonquille, Jouvence, Kalmie, Kermes, Kiffis, Laïs, Lancelot, Lavardin, Léopard, Limier, Mancelie, Mancini, Marengo,[64] Mignarde, Minerve, Nageur, Nitouche, Ochosias, Ostende, Ouvreuse, Pembroke, Perette, Picolo, Qu'y Met On, Rose Noire, Soubrette, Tirelire and Tubéreuse;[65] Herman, Kadéja, Kerman, Kina, Koléah, Lavoisier, Liancourt, Louveteau, Mamertin, Mandarine, Mica, Montrésor, Nautilus, Nonantaise, Normandelle, Ohio, Orangère, Pétillante and Quotiant (by Élan);[66] Lanleff, Luron, Ma Cousine, Nicotine, Novice (by Étendard);[67] La Fresnaye, Léonidas and Lina (by Fier à Bras).

[68] When establishing the pedigree of French Trotters for his 1896 study, Paul Guillerot classified Phaéton as "the most glorious offspring" from the stock of Thoroughbred The Heir of Linne.

[69] Phaéton's male lineage survived only thanks to his son James Watt, who produced a single good stallion, Uranus, sire of the remarkable Enoch.

In his 2015 book, Jean-Pierre Reynaldo cited the "Phaëton lineage" to which he assigned the number "3", and which he divided into three branches: that of Enfant de Troupe (3a); that of Javari (3b), which was propagated thanks to the stallions Quioco and Jiosco; and that of Janus (3c).