Brace made several unsuccessful attempts to sell the colt for as little as £100, before putting him into training with Robert Sherwood at his Exeter House[2] stable at Newmarket, Suffolk.

[3] At the end of 1883, Brace succeeded in selling St. Gatien for £1,400 to Jack Hammond, a former stable-boy who had made his fortune as a professional gambler.

St. Gatien's pedigree was obscure and controversial as his dam, a former carriage-horse[5] called Saint Editha, may have been covered by two stallions in the year of his conception.

His death was the subject of a court case the following year in which his bankrupt owner was accused of the "malicious destruction" of the stallion to prevent him falling into the hands of his creditors.

[13] St. Gatien was not a popular choice with the public but was reportedly backed by the "sharps"[13] (those with inside knowledge) and started at odds of 100/8 in a field of fifteen runners, the filly Queen Adelaide going off the 5/2 favourite.

[14] The common practice at the time was for dead heats to be settled by the two horses immediately running again over the same course, although the prize could be shared if both owners agreed.

Hammond, who stood to take £30,000 in winning bets,[4] offered to divide the stakes and Harvester's owners accepted,[15] Shortly after the race a protest was lodged against St. Gatien on the grounds of "insufficient entry"-[16] apparently a reference to his uncertain paternity- but this was quickly withdrawn.

The Derby winner quickly took control of the race and pulled away to win easily by four lengths from Corrie Roy, with Tristan a remote third.

[21] St. Gatien, who looked "magnificent"[22] before the race, was restrained by Wood towards the back of the twenty runner field before being moved into contention two furlongs out.

[30] In spring however, all of Hammond's plans were placed in jeopardy when St. Gatien fell seriously ill with what was described as "pleuro-pneumonia",[29] putting his future as a racehorse in considerable doubt.

St. Simon did not appear, but St. Gatien's opponents for the race included Eole, the outstanding older horse in America in 1883, and the 1884 2000 Guineas winner Scot Free.

St. Gatien, who started the 1/3 favourite was always going easily and overtook Eole a furlong out before pulling clear to win "in a canter"[31] by three lengths.

The challenge was declined, as St. Gatien had already been heavily backed for the Cambridgeshire Handicap, a race in which he had been assigned 136 pounds and Hammond did not want to disrupt the horse's preparation.

[36] Two days after losing his unbeaten record, St. Gatien returned to his favoured staying distance in the Jockey Club Cup.

[38] Much of the interest in the 1886 season concerned the newly inaugurated Eclipse Stakes at Sandown in July, which offered a then record prize of £10,000.

He raced in third before taking the lead in the straight and in a well-contested finish, he held off the three-year-old St. Michael, to whom he was conceding twenty-four pounds, to win by a head.

[42] The Eclipse Stakes took place on July 23 over ten furlongs, at weight-for-age, with the winners of major races carrying extra weight "penalties".

This race was at level weights and St. Gatien had no difficulty justifying his position as 4/9 favourite, taking the lead a furlong from the finish and winning very easily by three lengths.

[45] St. Gatien's last race came in the Jockey Club Cup on October 29 when he finally met Melton in an official contest.

After taking the lead just after half way he "polished off"[46] Melton in the easiest fashion and won unchallenged by eight lengths to record his third successive victory in the race.

[49] At least one English writer considered him the "Horse of the Century" and believed that on the day he won his third Jockey Club Cup, he would have beaten Ormonde.

[54] He returned to England to stand at the Cobham stud until 1898 when he was exported to the United States and sold privately to James Ben Ali Haggin.