Aboyeur
Encyclopedia
Aboyeur was a British Thoroughbred
racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1912 to 1913 he ran seven times and won two races. In June 1913 Aboyeur won the Epsom Derby
at record odds of 100/1. He was awarded the race on the disqualification of Craganour after a rough and controversial race. At the end of the season he was sold and exported to Russia where he disappeared during the Revolution
.
. His sire Desmond was a good racehorse who won the Coventry Stakes
and the July Stakes
in 1898 and went on to become a successful stallion, earning the title of Champion sire in 1913. Aboyeur's dam, a mare called Pawky, was unraced.
As a foal, Aboyeur was sold by his breeder to J. Daly. Daly sold him a year later for £2,200 as part of a group of three yearlings to Alan Cunliffe, the leader of a group of heavy gamblers known as the Druid’s Lodge confederacy. The name came from the Druid’s Lodge stable near Salisbury, Wiltshire, where their horses, including Aboyeur, were trained, in conditions of secrecy by Tom Lewis. The name "Aboyeur" derives from a French word meaning "barker" or "heckler".
but finished unplaced in his other two races including the Free Handicap at Newmarket in October in which he finished behind the fututre 1000 Guineas winner Jest
at Easter on his only start before the Derby. The best colt of the season appeared to be Charles Bower Ismay’s Craganour, who had been champion two-year-old in 1912. In a controversial race for the 2000 Guineas he had been awarded second place behind Louvois by the racecourse judge (there were no photo-finish cameras in use), despite many observers believing that he had crossed the line in front.
, was an unconsidered outsider, starting at odds of 100/1 while Craganour was made 6/4 favourite in a field of fifteen. The weather was fine and the record crowd, estimated at up to 500,000 included the King
and Queen
. Aboyeur was saddled separately, well away from the other horses, and did not take part in any parade before the start. Accounts of the race are often highly-coloured and partisan: what follows is an attempt to summarise the evidence.
Aboyeur, ridden by Edwin Piper, took an early lead which he maintained into the straight, where he ran about three horse-widths away from the inside rail to his left. Several challengers emerged: Craganour challenged the leader on his immediate outside (right), with Nimbus and Great Sport further out, while Shogun, Louvois and Day Comet moved up on the inside. The initial interference occurred when Craganour, ridden by Johnny Reiff, hung left, bumping Aboyeur who in turn veered towards the rail, badly hampering Shogun, Louvois and Day Comet. Piper, then struck his horse with his whip in his left hand, causing Aboyeur to hang sharply back to the centre of the track, colliding with Craganour and attempting to bite him. Throughout the final furlong Reiff, with his whip in his right hand, and Piper, with his whip in his left, continued to drive their horses into each other, leading to repeated bumps as the other horses drew nearer. Craganour crossed the line first in a blanket finish, just ahead of Aboyeur, Day Comet, Louvois, Great Sport and Nimbus, with Shogun, Sun Yat and Bachelor's Wedding finishing just behind.
.)
and was beaten again in the Gordon Stakes
at Goodwood
.
At the end of August he was sold for 13,000 guineas
to the Imperial Russian Racing Club of St Petersburg and exported to stand as a stallion in Russia at the end of the season.
as one of the two worst colts to have won the race in the 20th Century.
. Reports that he had been "rescued from the Bolsheviks" and taken to Constantinople
proved unfounded and later rumours that he had been evacuated to Serbia disguised as a cart horse were never substantiated. His final fate is unknown.
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1912 to 1913 he ran seven times and won two races. In June 1913 Aboyeur won the Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
at record odds of 100/1. He was awarded the race on the disqualification of Craganour after a rough and controversial race. At the end of the season he was sold and exported to Russia where he disappeared during the Revolution
Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution can refer to:* Russian Revolution , a series of strikes and uprisings against Nicholas II, resulting in the creation of State Duma.* Russian Revolution...
.
Background
Aboyeur was a fine-looking bay horse bred in Ireland by Thomas Kennedy LaidlawThomas Kennedy Laidlaw
Thomas Kennedy Laidlaw PC was a Scottish-born Irish racehorse owner and breeder.Laidlaw was educated at Park School and the University of Glasgow, but later moved to Ireland. His racing colours were black with gold spots...
. His sire Desmond was a good racehorse who won the Coventry Stakes
Coventry Stakes
The Coventry Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
and the July Stakes
July Stakes
The July Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July....
in 1898 and went on to become a successful stallion, earning the title of Champion sire in 1913. Aboyeur's dam, a mare called Pawky, was unraced.
As a foal, Aboyeur was sold by his breeder to J. Daly. Daly sold him a year later for £2,200 as part of a group of three yearlings to Alan Cunliffe, the leader of a group of heavy gamblers known as the Druid’s Lodge confederacy. The name came from the Druid’s Lodge stable near Salisbury, Wiltshire, where their horses, including Aboyeur, were trained, in conditions of secrecy by Tom Lewis. The name "Aboyeur" derives from a French word meaning "barker" or "heckler".
1912: two-year-old season
Aboyeur ran three times as a two-year-old in 1912. He showed some promise when winning the Champagne Stakes at SalisburySalisbury Racecourse
Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing. It is located four miles from Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen races a year are held here between early May and mid-October...
but finished unplaced in his other two races including the Free Handicap at Newmarket in October in which he finished behind the fututre 1000 Guineas winner Jest
Before Epsom
On his three-year-old debut, Aboyeur finished unplaced in a race at KemptonKempton Park Racecourse
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, which is a western suburb of London 16 miles from the city centre. The site is set in of land....
at Easter on his only start before the Derby. The best colt of the season appeared to be Charles Bower Ismay’s Craganour, who had been champion two-year-old in 1912. In a controversial race for the 2000 Guineas he had been awarded second place behind Louvois by the racecourse judge (there were no photo-finish cameras in use), despite many observers believing that he had crossed the line in front.
1913 Derby: the race
At Epsom on June 4, Aboyeur, running in blinkersBlinders
Blinders, also known as blinkers or winkers, are a piece of horse tack that prevent the horse seeing to the rear and, in some cases, to the side. They usually are made of leather or plastic cups that are placed on either side of the eyes, either attached to a bridle or to an independent hood...
, was an unconsidered outsider, starting at odds of 100/1 while Craganour was made 6/4 favourite in a field of fifteen. The weather was fine and the record crowd, estimated at up to 500,000 included the King
George V
George V was king of the United Kingdom and its dominions from 1910 to 1936.George V or similar terms may also refer to:-People:* George V of Georgia * George V of Imereti * George V of Hanover...
and Queen
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
. Aboyeur was saddled separately, well away from the other horses, and did not take part in any parade before the start. Accounts of the race are often highly-coloured and partisan: what follows is an attempt to summarise the evidence.
Aboyeur, ridden by Edwin Piper, took an early lead which he maintained into the straight, where he ran about three horse-widths away from the inside rail to his left. Several challengers emerged: Craganour challenged the leader on his immediate outside (right), with Nimbus and Great Sport further out, while Shogun, Louvois and Day Comet moved up on the inside. The initial interference occurred when Craganour, ridden by Johnny Reiff, hung left, bumping Aboyeur who in turn veered towards the rail, badly hampering Shogun, Louvois and Day Comet. Piper, then struck his horse with his whip in his left hand, causing Aboyeur to hang sharply back to the centre of the track, colliding with Craganour and attempting to bite him. Throughout the final furlong Reiff, with his whip in his right hand, and Piper, with his whip in his left, continued to drive their horses into each other, leading to repeated bumps as the other horses drew nearer. Craganour crossed the line first in a blanket finish, just ahead of Aboyeur, Day Comet, Louvois, Great Sport and Nimbus, with Shogun, Sun Yat and Bachelor's Wedding finishing just behind.
1913 Derby: Emily Davison
The most famous incident in the race did not involve Aboyeur. After the leaders had passed Tattenham Corner, Emily Davison, a prominent campaigner for women’s suffrage walked out onto the track and was struck by the King’s horse Anmer, who was among the back-markers. Davison suffered fatal injuries as a result. (For more detail article on Emily DavisonEmily Davison
Emily Wilding Davison was a militant women's suffrage activist who, on 4 June 1913, after a series of actions that were either self-destructive or violent, stepped in front of a horse running in the Epsom Derby, sustaining injuries that resulted in her death four days later.-Biography:Davison was...
.)
1913 Derby: the objection
After a brief pause, the Judge, Mr Robinson announce the result as Craganour first, Aboyeur second, Louvois third, having apparently missed Day Comet on the inside who had been obscured by other runners. The result was not officlal however until the Stewards (senior racecourse officials) announced that everything was “All Right”. After a delay, the announcement was made and then immediately withdrawn. It was then announced that an official objection had been lodged against the winner, not by a rival jockey, as was customary, but by the Stewards themselves. After a lengthy inquiry in which the Judge and the jockeys were interviewed, the Stewards disqualified Craganour on the grounds had failed to keep a straight course and had thereby “jostled”, “bumped and bored” and “interfered” with other runners. The race was awarded to Aboyeur, with Louvois second and Great Sport third.After the Derby
Legal challenges to the outcome of the race were made in Chancery Court, but proved unsuccessful., while bookmakers complained that the confusion after the race led to them paying out on both "winners". Aboyeur failed to reproduce his Derby form in his two remaining starts. On July 23 he finished third to Aghdoe and Night Hawk in the St George Stakes at LiverpoolAintree Racecourse
Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England.It was served by Aintree Racecourse railway station until the station closed in the 1960s....
and was beaten again in the Gordon Stakes
Gordon Stakes
The Gordon Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late July or early August....
at Goodwood
Goodwood Racecourse
Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House...
.
At the end of August he was sold for 13,000 guineas
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
to the Imperial Russian Racing Club of St Petersburg and exported to stand as a stallion in Russia at the end of the season.
Assessment
In their book A Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Aboyeur a “poor” Derby winner. More specifically, they rated him equal with Spion KopSpion Kop (horse)
Spion Kop was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1919 until 1921, Spion Kop ran fourteen times winning two races. After an undistinguished early career in which he lost his first six races, he improved as a three-year-old to win the Epsom...
as one of the two worst colts to have won the race in the 20th Century.
Stud career
Aboyeur had little opportunity of making a mark at stud. After two seasons in Russia he disappeared during the upheavals of the Russian Revolution and Civil WarRussian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. Reports that he had been "rescued from the Bolsheviks" and taken to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
proved unfounded and later rumours that he had been evacuated to Serbia disguised as a cart horse were never substantiated. His final fate is unknown.