A star in the 1920's, Rampion took on a few champions and won the rich features

Rampion was bred by Cecil Brien in 1924 from the English sire Rossendale via the mare, Royal Pet. Cecil had an affinity for the brown colt and when the bid only reached 1350 Guineas at the 1925 Easter Yearling Sale, the studmaster withdrew him from the ring. Despite being of average stature, he possessed remarkable intellectual depth and impressive physical attributes, complemented by a gentle and amiable disposition. The father and son team of Kingsfield Stud placed him in the Randwick stables of Fred Williams. The trainer had established much success after WWI in his Kagal stables with young stars, Salitros, Glenacre, Victrola and Waitea.

Rampion was a sensational early two-year-old.  He won the Breeders’ Plate by five lengths on debut and was then taken to Melbourne for the Maribyrnong Plate where he clashed with the Gimcrack Stakes winner, Kanooka (the future dam of Winooka). Both Rampion and Kanooka were saddled with penalties taking their weights to 9st 6lb (60kg). Rampion won with two lengths to spare over the filly and in race record time. Returning in the autumn for the VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes at Flemington, Rampion posted both a hat trick of wins, smashing the race record by quarter of a second. The colt then decided he wouldn't make any kind of effort to gallop in the AJC Sires Produce Stakes, however four days later he convincingly won the Champagne Stakes. His two-year-old earnings totalled £10,185 and he was duly turned out and aimed for the 1926 Derby's.

Perfect weather saw 89,000 patrons drawn to Randwick Racecourse on Derby Day in 1926. The favourite for the race at 5/4 was the New Zealand gelding, Limerick, (by Limond) having debuted in Australia by winning the Carlington Mile at Rosehill. Limerick went under to Rampion in the Hobartville Stakes at his second run, but went on to upset the favourite Windbag in the Chelmsford Stakes. Rampion had gone down to Cromwell in the Rosehill Guineas, leaving many to suggest that the flashy colt couldn't stay at all. The Derby was a two-horse race from start to finish. Sid Cracknell on Rampion participated in the Guineas race with a different strategy, setting out to make the pace from the start. Limerick maintained his position on his girth for the first seven furlongs of the race, with the rest of the field spread out behind them. Approaching the half-mile, McCarten sent Limerick past Rampion who drifted to third, and the Kiwi held the advantage until into the straight when Cracknell gave the Rossendale colt his head. He quickly raced past Limerick to win by a length and a half, with Raron 6L behind in third place. 

Rampion continued his dominance in the three-year-old classics in Melbourne, winning the Caulfield Guineas easily, and at Flemington he led all the way in the Victoria Derby, running the second-fastest time in the history of the race. The conquering duo of Rampion and Limerick were then both declared for the 1926 Melbourne Cup. Joe and Cecil Brien also had the favourite Pathenon based on his close 2nd to the classy Manfred in the Melbourne Stakes. Spearfelt won the 1926 Cup in a time that equalled the race record, with Pathenon a half length away in 3rd. Rampion maintained a good position in the race until about the mile and a half when a clod of earth struck his eye, causing him to fall back through the field. Sadly, Rampion and Limerick never matched strides again after the 1926 Melbourne Cup and Rampion only appeared twice more on a racecourse.

Rampion’s only appearance next autumn came at Caulfield in the VATC Bond Cup (2400m), which he won easily. That victory took Rampion’s earnings to £26,484, an Australasian record for any two or three-year-old, eclipsing the previous record amount won by Heroic at the same age. A 5th placing on New Year’s Eve at Randwick in the Tattersall’s Club Carrington Stakes would be Rampion's last race after a suspensory ligament of the near foreleg gave out. In Rampion’s absence, Limerick dominated the 1927 AJC Autumn Meeting, scoring easy wins in the St. Leger, Cumberland Stakes and AJC Plate  besides running a very good second in the Sydney Cup. As a four-year-old, Limerick was to be beaten only twice in sixteen starts, winning the richest weight-for-age races in Australia. Limerick’s last win in Sydney, and indeed the last win of his career, came as a six-year-old in the 1929 Warwick Stakes, in which a young horse named Phar Lap finished a close fourth.

RACE RECORD  - 13: 9-1-0
EARNINGS  - £26,484

Maribyrnong Plate
VRC Sires Produce Stakes
Champagne Stakes
Hobartville Stakes
1926 AJC Derby
Caulfield Guineas
VRC Derby
VATC Bond Cup