Brigadier Gerard and glory, he is always ready with a stirring speech or a gallant remark to a lady. Conan Doyle, in making his hero a vain, and often rather uncomprehending, Frenchman, was able to satirise both the stereotypical English view of the French and – by presenting them from Gerard's baffled point of view – English manners and attitudes. Gerard tells the stories from the point of view of an old man now living in retirement in Paris. We discover that he was born in Gascony in the early 1780s (he is 25 in "How the Brigadier Captured Saragossa"). In "How
Brigadier Gerard (horse) won the Cork and Orrery Stakes at Royal Ascot on soft ground. Ashleigh, highly regarded by his trainer, had also been a Royal Ascot winner winning the Jersey Stakes. Joe Mercer allowed Brigadier Gerard to stroll along at the head of affairs until approaching the furlong maker, where Faraway Son and Joshua threw down their challenges. Brigadier Gerard pulled away to win by 5 lengths from Faraway Son, with the finishing time two seconds outside the record. Faraway Son was not beaten again. He next won the Prix du Rond Point (over French 1000 Guineas winner Bold Fascinator), the Prix