In the 19th century the parish had repute for its racing stables, at which the 1875 Derby winner Galopin was bred.
Galopin |
His name has been given to a street; avenue Alexandre Galopin, in Etterbeek, Brussels.
Galopin also wrote a number of science fiction novels in the Jules Verne and H.G. Wells style, including the remarkable Doctor Omega (1906), La Révolution de Demain (Tomorrow’s Revolution) (1909) and Le Bacille (1928), an uncannily prophetic tale of a mad scientist who uses biological warfare for revenge.
Bred and raced by Canada's preeminent owner/breeder, distilling magnate Joseph E. Seagram, Belle Mahone was sired by Ypsilanti, an American grandson of the British runner Galopin, winner of the 1875 Epsom Derby and a three-time Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland.