Dominus

A steeplechase horse that Marie watches at Auteuil on the afternoon of the first Grand National de France (the future Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris), run on 25 May 1874 and won by the English mare Miss Hungerford (en.wikipedia «Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris»; tbheritage.com race chart).

In her account of the race (019.0358, 1874-05-26): twenty-one horses, three times round the course, twenty-one obstacles and four rivers; at the end «Miss Hungerford était en avant d'une longueur et demie mais tout à coup Dominus fait un effort surhumain, sublime ... devancer d'une longueur Miss Hungerford mais dans cet élan sublime ... Dominus saute la dernière rivière qu'il ne devait plus sauter. Et à cause de cet héroïsme il fut compté deuxième ayant devancé Hungerford mais hélas ! trop tard.» The sources found do not mention Dominus, who finished second on Marie's account; his owner and jockey are not named. The paragraph before notes the president of the Republic and the duchess de Magenta in their tribunes.