A year later he was returned to the sales and was bought for 1,200 guineas by the Irish division of the British Bloodstock Agency acting on behalf of John Ismay and Mrs Darby Rogers.

Santa Claus was reported to have arrived at the course under tight security as there were fears of a plot to interfere with the heavily backed colt to prevent him from winning.

[3] A crowd estimated at over 200,000, including the Queen and other members of the British royal family, was in attendance to view the most valuable race ever run in Britain.

Santa Claus took the lead inside the final furlong and won by a length from the future St Leger winner Indiana.

In one of British racing's biggest upsets[8] he failed to catch the front-running French colt Nasram and was beaten two lengths,[9] having been unsuited by the unusually firm ground.

His highest Timeform rating was 133+[11] Santa Claus's second place in the Arc took his total earnings to £153,646, enabling him to overtake Ballymoss as the biggest prize-money winner in the history of British and Irish racing.