Purchased by French perfume magnate Pierre Wertheimer, head of the House of Chanel, the colt raced under the colors of his wife, Germaine.
Trained by Alec Head, Riverman was sent to the track in 1971 where he won the Prix Yacowlef and finished second in the Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte.
The leading sire in France in 1980 and 1981, Riverman sired Group One winners All At Sea, Loup Sauvage, Latin American, Pilaster, River Flyer, River Special, Rousillon plus other important Group One winners and Champions such as: Riverman was the damsire of Spinning World, the Champion Three-Year-Old in Ireland (1996) and Champion Older Horse in France (1997) and of Six Perfections, the 2002 European Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.
As well, Riverman sired the mare Tugela who produced the great Australian Racing Hall of Fame superstar Makybe Diva, the only horse to ever win three consecutive Melbourne Cups and who is Australasia's all-time leading money earner.
Through his sons, Riverman is the grandsire of the great filly Hatoof who was a Champion in France in 1991 and 1993 and was voted the 1994 United States Eclipse Award for Outstanding Female Turf Horse.