St. Simon (horse)

Infobox last modified on: November 30, 2011.

St. Simon (* 1881 in England; † April 2, 1908 ) was an English Thoroughbred and one of the most successful stallions in the history of thoroughbred breeding. In the ranking of the greatest English racehorses of the 19th century, it is located at No. 4 St. Simon was a horse, which remained unbeaten in the race nine times and led the stallion list.

Early years

St. Simon was a black bay colt with white Stichelhaaren to the hocks. His father was galopin (from Vedette ) and his mother St. Angela ( King Tom), which brought the colt on April 2, 1881, William Barrow 's Paddock near Newmarket to the world. St. Simon was the sixth foal of the 16 -year-old mare who had failed up to this point as a broodmare. Therefore, its owners and breeders Gusztáv Batthyány reported to the young stallion to any of that classic race, with the exception of " Two Thousand Guineas ".

In July of the same year, all his horses were sold at the " Tattersalls July sale" in Newmarket. Among them were the racehorses that were under the care of trainer John Dawson. Dawson of the qualities of the two-year St. Simon will have been aware of, although potential buyers rather the former star of the barn, " Fulmen " (from galopin - Lightning), had the attention. But two of the interested parties, the young William Cavendish Bentinck - and his coach Matt Dawson, a brother of John Dawson, also looked at St. Simon's ankles and one reached on the testimony of his brother to the view that everything would be fine.

Cavendish Bentinck and Dawson were outbid at the auction of " Fulmen " which was sold for 5000 guineas, but they received the contract for St. Simon at low 1600 Guineas. At the same auction, his father " galopin " for 8000 guineas to Henry Chaplin's Stud after Blankney and his mother were " St. Angela " sold for 320 guineas to Leopold de Rothschild in France. St. Simon came into Mat Dawson's training stable Heath House near Newmarket.

Cavendish Bentinck (1857-1943), at that time just 25 years old, inherited in 1879 the title of Duke of Portland, and therefore also the stud Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire, where already the winner of the Derby of 1819 " Tiresias " was bred. Cavendish Bentinck pursued the plan to run the stud to its former reputation, but in 1883 in the construction phase of the breeding program is the two -year-old St. Simon was to be the only stallion at his stud farm establishment. This showed his new owners that he could be a decisive forming, bucking and wild horse in early training, which shone with hoppel footsteps and uncoordinated behavior and thus any future connection would negate with a mare.

Successes on the racetrack

"As long as I live, I will never again touch this animal with spores; this is not a horse but a devilish steam engine "

Because his breeder had died, all mentions of St. Simon had become invalid and it was difficult to find a race for St. Simon. His class he exhibited for the first time at Halnaker Stakes at Goodwood on 31 July 1883 evidence. Under his jockey Fred Archer, he won six lengths ahead of the second " Richelieu " and " Cerva " as a third party. The next day he went to the Maiden Plate Stakes and hung all counterparties except " Balfe ," but he easily beat by a length with a weight of 133 pounds. The result was that he einhandelte another 8 pounds more than a handicap. In the next race, he won strong pullend with his chin to his chest against " Clochette" and " Fleta ".

Due to this success was left to St. Simon compete in Epsom, where he won the Devonshire Nursery Plate on August 31 with two lengths ahead, "light Kanter " in one, against 19 rivals with " trionfi " and " Archer " as the Second and Third that had 19 pound weight advantage. St. Simon was 124 pounds.

It was followed by another effortless victory on 13 September in Doncaster at the Princess of Wales 's Nursery Plate, in which he, with eight lengths outclassed his opponents 21, 126 pounds wearing lead. The next challenge was on 24 October during the Houghton Race race at Newmarket over a horse of Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster, called " Duke of Richmond " (a son of " Hampton " previous name " Bushey "). Both jockeys were riding order, " right from the start, the other knacker 's throats pinch off ". But it was St. Simon, with a three-quarter length gained prominence the 1200 - meter race. He finished his youth career unbeaten in five races, where he had taken part in any major race for 2 -year-old to date. Nevertheless, he was considered as the currently best horse of his age.

As a three year old

Since he was not allowed to start in the Derby still in the St. Leger race, taught you highlight some of the other big Cup race. But before he was to have his first official start of the season, they wanted to test it in a few select races on his home Newmarket Racecourse. In the spring, Fred Archer was in the saddle, you worked in the Lot with the highly esteemed three year old stallion " Harvester ", winner of the Derby Stakes and " busybody ", a 1,000 Guineas and Oaks winner. Archer was instructed to give him the spores, and St. Simon went through. He passed his stable companion, swept through the entire Lot of another coach and disappeared in the fog. Archer was not until the end of the gallop track to be able to stop him, which moved him to the famous quote " He's not a horse, he's a blooming steam -engine. "

St. Simon's next masterpiece was a publicly -arranged test against one of the best 6 year old horses in training, the Ascot Gold Cup winner 's "Tristan ". Archer was replaced by Charles Wood, who rode the stallion over 1 1/2 miles to six lengths ahead to Tristan. However, Tristan was wearing under the premise of " weight for age " in this race 135 pounds against 112 pounds of St. Simon.

The first time St. Simon's second season, he confirmed his reputation acquired by a victory on May 30 at the Epsom Gold Cup. Two weeks later, on June 12, he met in the Ascot Gold Cup over two and a half mile on older horses. It first went behind the field, he swept round to the leading with 40 lengths horses and won with 20 lengths, " Tristan " and " Faugh -a- Ballagh " behind him. He was in the finish so strong it was almost another round necessary to stop him.

On June 26, the Newcastle Gold Cup St. Simon beat its competitors ' Chiselhurst " with eight lengths and ran in a light canter across the finish line. On July 20, St. Simon joined at the Goodwood Cup at over 4,200 m, defeating the current St. Leger winner " Ossian " with 20 lengths ahead, again in light Kanter. Although he never denied the St. Leger, he then worked back on track with three first-class candidates and outclassed his opponents. This was about the upcoming St. Leger winner "The Lambkin ", " Scot Free", who won this season's 2000 Guineas and " Harvester ", located in the Derby Stakes, a head - to-head race with the great " St. Gatien " had delivered.

The Goodwood Cup should be St. Simons last start of the season and once again he proved to be unbeatable, this time in just four starts. He remained in training, but it should bring due to leg problems he had suffered at the Newcastle Gold Cup victory, never again to a start. St. Simon retired with a flawless series of victories from active racing. Nine -offs and nine wins in two seasons and although he was never officially competed against the best horses of his age.

Matt Dawson, who trained six Derby winners, said he had only trained a good horse in his life and that was St. Simon.

Career as a breeding stallion

St. Simon is the father of a total of 423 foals, who won 571 races and einliefen a prize money of more than half a million pounds. The stallion won the championship nine times the father of horses in England. His sons " Florizel II ", " Persimmon ", " St. Frusquin "," Desmond "," William The Third "," Petermaritzburg "," Rabelais "and" Chaucer " justified even successful lines such as: " Tulyar " (English Derby winner out of the line of Chaucer ), the American record holder " Round Table " ( line Persimmon ), Tesios unbeaten " Ribot " (twice the Prix de l' Arc de Triomphe winner, line Rabelais). The top three horses in the Derby in 1966 went in a direct line back to St. Simon. In Germany, brought " the hot St. Simon blood " broodmare " Festa " one whose descendants " Festino ", " rock ", " Fabula ", " Faust" and " Fervor " won a total of 75 races, and 1.63 million gold marks.

However, St. Simon inherited also his hot blood and gave his temperament on to his offspring. All his descendants had brown coat color with the exception of one (Brown) mold.

Progeny

Currently, St. Simon is represented in the pedigrees of all living English thoroughbred with a blood content of about 10 percent, in 12 -generation pedigrees of current thoroughbreds he appears over 100 times, such as the German Derby winner Next Desert ( born 1999), 230 times.

Direct descendants

Swell

• Edward Abelson & John Tyrrel: The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. The Breedon Books Publishing Company Ltd, 1993, ISBN 1-873626-15-0.
• John AIScan: Ribot. LB Ahnert Verlag, Echzell, ISBN 3-921-142-00-8.
• Rainer Ahnert, Directory for thoroughbred breeding and racing, Cologne: thoroughbred breeding in the world. Podzun -Verlag, Dorheim.
• Horst Gründel: 175 years horse racing in Bad Doberan - 175 years thoroughbred breeding in Germany. Edition prying, Bremen, ISBN 3-86108-708-1.