Isonomy (horse)
Encyclopedia
Isonomy was a British Thoroughbred
racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1877 to 1880 he ran fourteen times and won ten races. As a three-year-old he deliberately bypassed the Classics in order that his owner could land a massive betting coup in the Cambridgeshire Handicap
at Newmarket
. In the following two seasons he was the dominant stayer in Britain, producing a series of performances which led to many contemporary commentators to regard him as one of the greatest racehorses of the 19th Century. He was then retired to stud where he became a successful stallion.
high. He was bred at the Yardley stud near Birmingham
by the Graham brothers. When the leading trainer John Porter
visited the stud, he was impressed by the colt’s lively and assertive character, and determined to buy him. When Isonomy was sent to the yearling
sale at Doncaster, Porter was able to acquire him for 320 guineas
on behalf of Fredrick Gretton, a brewer with a passion for gambling. Isonomy was ridden in most of his races by Tom Cannon.
Isonomy’s’s sire, Sterling was a successful racehorse who became an excellent sire. Apart from Isonomy, he sired the 2000 Guineas winners Paradox, Enterprise and Enthusiast, and the Derby winner Harvester
. Isonomy’s dam, Isola Bella was not a success as a racemare but was well-bred, being a half-sister to the Grand Prix de Paris
winner Saint Christophe.
in August and finished second in a minor race. In September, he was sent to Newmarket and recorded his first win in a four furlong
Nursery (a handicap race for two-year-olds). On his final start he was narrowly beaten in a similar event at the same course, beaten a head into second when conceding eleven pounds
to the winner.
at the end of the season at Newmarket. By autumn, Isonomy’s useful two-year-old performances had been largely forgotten, and he was allowed to start at odds of 40/1 for the big handicap on October 22 under a weight of only 99 pounds. He created a "sensation" as he took the lead just inside the final furlong and won very easily by two lengths from Touchet and La Merveille. In addition to his winning prize of £2,187 Gretton’s gamble earned him a reported £40,000, more than double the combined prize money of the Triple Crown races.
, who was not regarded as a serious threat by the British racegoers and started 100/15 fourth choice in the betting despite receiving eight pounds. Parole took the lead at half way and drew clear. Although Isonomy made steady progress he was unable to catch the leader and finished second, beaten one and a half lengths. Gretton then challenged Parole's owners to a £10,000 weight-for-age match race between the horses, but his offer was declined.
In June, Isonomy was sent Royal Ascot where, on the first day of the meeting he defeated the 1877 Epsom Derby
winner Silvio (the 4/9 favourite) in the Gold Vase
over two miles. Two days later, he competed in the Gold Cup
, at that time regarded as the most important and prestigious weight-for-age race of the year. The field included two of the previous season's leading Classic performers: the French-trained Insulaire, who had won the Prix du Jockey Club
and finished second in the Epsom Derby
and the Grand Prix
, and Jannette who had won the Epsom Oaks
and defeated the colts, including Insulaire, in the St Leger
.Isononomy was held up in the early stages before moving up to contest the lead as the field entered the straight. As Isonomy accelerated only Insulaire attempted to match him and the two pulled well clear of the rest. In the closing stages Isonomy pulled away to beat the French colt easily by win by two lengths "in a canter".
On July 29, Isonomy ran in the Goodwood Cup
in which he was asked to concede thirteen pounds to Parole. An outsider named The Bear set off in front and at one stage opened up a lead of two hundred yards. Isonomy finally caught up with the front-runner in the straight and pulled away in the closing stages to win easily by three lengths, with Parole third A few days later on August 6 he was sent to Brighton Racecourse
for the two mile Brighton Cup in which he carried 136 pounds and started at odds of 1/10 against three opponents. After settling in third place he moved into the lead in the straight and went three lengths clear, before being eased down in the closing stages to record a three quarter length win over Paul's Cray. Isonomy was then sent north for the Ebor Handicap
at York
on 27 August for which he was made 8/11 favourite. Despite the very difficult conditions ("mud and water flying in all directions"), and conceding at least thirty pounds to his opponents, he won impressively by eight lengths.
In September he attempted to became the first horse to complete the stayers’ Triple Crown in the Doncaster Cup
, although there was some disappointment that the undefeated Hungarian mare Kincsem
was ruled out of the race by injury. In a rough race he defeated the filly Jannette, despite being badly cut by the spurs of the runner-up's jockey, Fred Archer when he moved up to challenge for the lead along the rails. The Duke of Portland said of Isonomy's performance marked him as "one of the best and gamest horses that ever ran". The Gold Cup-Goodwood Cup-Doncaster Cup treble was not completed again until Alycidon
did so in 1949.
On his final start of the year he carried top weight in the Cesarewitch Handicap
at Newmarket on 7 October. In this race, however, he was not expected to win, and seems to have been entered mainly to provide assistance to his owner's other runner Westbourne. He was not even included in the betting for the race. The plan failed as Westbourne finished second to Chippendale, with Isonomy in fourth.
At Royal Ascot his only rivals for the Gold Cup were the Cesarewitch winner Chippendale and the 1879 Prix du Jockey Club
winner Zut. Chippendale made the running and was still leading by a length at the start of the straight, and Cannon was looking uneasy on the favourite. In the cosing stages, however, Isonomy took control of the race and finished a "gallant and easy" winner by a length. Shortly after the race it was announced that Isonomy would probably not run again in 1880, although there were hopes that he would return as a five-year-old.
In early 1881, Gretton reportedly turned down an offer of £25,000 for Isonomy.
carried out a poll of one hundred racing experts to create a ranking of the best British racehorses of the 19th Century. Isonomy was ranked third, having being placed in the top ten by 62 of the contributors. In a related poll, the electors were asked to choose the single greatest horse they had ever seen. In this poll, Isonomy finished second, one vote behind Gladiateur
.
The Illustrated Illustrated Magazine called Isonomy “one of the most remarkable racehorses of the century”. By the time of his second Gold Cup he was being described as "undoubtedly the best horse of late times" and as "one of the grandest and apparently most invincible Cup horses that ever trod the turf." The Sportsman
called him "the best horse ever bred in England." John Porter, who trained the winners of twenty-three classics including three Triple Crowns, regarded Isonomy as the best horse he ever trained.
by Arthur Conan Doyle
. The story concerns the kidnapping of a celebrated racehorse and the mysterious death of its trainer. When explaining the horse’s value to Dr Watson, Sherlock Holmes
says that “Silver Blaze... is from Isonomy stock, and holds as brilliant a record as his famous ancestor.”
at the end of the 1880 season, but had little early success, siring only fifteen foals in two years. After Gretton’s death he was sold at auction to William Stirling-Crawfurd, the husband of the Duchess of Montrose, in January 1883 for £10,000. Isonomy was sent to the Duchess’s Sefton Stud, and after a weight-reduction programme, he resumed his stud career with greater success. Although he was never Champion sire he proved to be a successful stallion, siring two Triple Crown winners in Isinglass
and Common
. Among his other successes were the outstanding filly Seabreeze and the influential sire Gallinule. Isonomy developed heart trouble
and died in April 1891.
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 1877 to 1880 he ran fourteen times and won ten races. As a three-year-old he deliberately bypassed the Classics in order that his owner could land a massive betting coup in the Cambridgeshire Handicap
Cambridgeshire Handicap
The Cambridgeshire Handicap is a flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlong , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September or early October.The event...
at Newmarket
Newmarket Racecourse
The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...
. In the following two seasons he was the dominant stayer in Britain, producing a series of performances which led to many contemporary commentators to regard him as one of the greatest racehorses of the 19th Century. He was then retired to stud where he became a successful stallion.
Background
Isonomy was a late foal, being born in May 1875, and as a result he was, in his early life, smaller and less physically developed than other colts of his generation. Even in full maturity, he was not a large horse, standing just under 15.2 handsHand (unit)
The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length, now used only for the measurement of the height of horses in some English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. With origins in ancient Egypt, it was originally based on the breadth of a human hand...
high. He was bred at the Yardley stud near Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
by the Graham brothers. When the leading trainer John Porter
John Porter (horseman)
John Porter was an English Thoroughbred flat racing trainer whose horses won the English Triple Crown three times.-Biography:Born in Rugeley, Staffordshire, the National Horseracing Museum says that John Porter "was undoubtedly the most successful trainer of the Victorian era."From 1854 to 1855,...
visited the stud, he was impressed by the colt’s lively and assertive character, and determined to buy him. When Isonomy was sent to the yearling
Yearling
Yearling may refer to:*Yearling , an animal in its second year of life.**Yearling , a horse between one and two years of age.in titles or proper names:*Yearling Books, an imprint of the publishing company Random House....
sale at Doncaster, Porter was able to acquire him for 320 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...
on behalf of Fredrick Gretton, a brewer with a passion for gambling. Isonomy was ridden in most of his races by Tom Cannon.
Isonomy’s’s sire, Sterling was a successful racehorse who became an excellent sire. Apart from Isonomy, he sired the 2000 Guineas winners Paradox, Enterprise and Enthusiast, and the Derby winner Harvester
Harvester (horse)
Harvester was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1883 to 1884 he ran thirteen times and won five races. In 1884 he was involved in the second, and most recent dead heat in the history of the Epsom Derby. At the end of his racing career, Harvester was sold and...
. Isonomy’s dam, Isola Bella was not a success as a racemare but was well-bred, being a half-sister to the Grand Prix de Paris
Grand Prix de Paris
The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.-History:...
winner Saint Christophe.
1877: two-year-old season
As a two-year-old, Isonomy showed promise, without appearing to be top class. He made his first appearance over five furlongs at BrightonBrighton Racecourse
Brighton Racecourse is a horse racing course at Brighton, East Sussex in England, for flat races of up to about one and a half miles. The course is one of three courses in Britain which is not a circuit and forms a figure like three sides of a square, sloping, with wide left-hand turns and an...
in August and finished second in a minor race. In September, he was sent to Newmarket and recorded his first win in a four furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
Nursery (a handicap race for two-year-olds). On his final start he was narrowly beaten in a similar event at the same course, beaten a head into second when conceding eleven pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
to the winner.
1878: three-year-old season
Isonomy’s three-year-old campaign was a highly unorthodox one. While the other leading colts of his generation were contesting the classics, Isonomy’s efforts were confined to the training gallops. The reason for this was a plan by Gretton to land a massive gamble in the Cambridgeshire HandicapCambridgeshire Handicap
The Cambridgeshire Handicap is a flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlong , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September or early October.The event...
at the end of the season at Newmarket. By autumn, Isonomy’s useful two-year-old performances had been largely forgotten, and he was allowed to start at odds of 40/1 for the big handicap on October 22 under a weight of only 99 pounds. He created a "sensation" as he took the lead just inside the final furlong and won very easily by two lengths from Touchet and La Merveille. In addition to his winning prize of £2,187 Gretton’s gamble earned him a reported £40,000, more than double the combined prize money of the Triple Crown races.
1879: four-year-old season
On his four-year-old debut, Isonomy carried 124 pounds in the Newmarket Handicap on 15 April and started 2/1 favourite. Among his opponents was the American horse ParoleParole (horse)
Parole was a Thoroughbred race horse bred by Pierre Lorillard, a scion of the tobacco family. Lorillard and his brother George were both horsemen and competed throughout their careers...
, who was not regarded as a serious threat by the British racegoers and started 100/15 fourth choice in the betting despite receiving eight pounds. Parole took the lead at half way and drew clear. Although Isonomy made steady progress he was unable to catch the leader and finished second, beaten one and a half lengths. Gretton then challenged Parole's owners to a £10,000 weight-for-age match race between the horses, but his offer was declined.
In June, Isonomy was sent Royal Ascot where, on the first day of the meeting he defeated the 1877 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...
winner Silvio (the 4/9 favourite) in the Gold Vase
Queen's Vase
The Queen's Vase is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.-History:...
over two miles. Two days later, he competed in the Gold Cup
Ascot Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
, at that time regarded as the most important and prestigious weight-for-age race of the year. The field included two of the previous season's leading Classic performers: the French-trained Insulaire, who had won the Prix du Jockey Club
Prix du Jockey Club
The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
and finished second in 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...
and the Grand Prix
Grand Prix de Paris
The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.-History:...
, and Jannette who had won the Epsom Oaks
Epsom Oaks
The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June....
and defeated the colts, including Insulaire, in the St Leger
St. Leger Stakes
The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
.Isononomy was held up in the early stages before moving up to contest the lead as the field entered the straight. As Isonomy accelerated only Insulaire attempted to match him and the two pulled well clear of the rest. In the closing stages Isonomy pulled away to beat the French colt easily by win by two lengths "in a canter".
On July 29, Isonomy ran in the Goodwood Cup
Goodwood Cup
The Goodwood Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late July or early August.-History:...
in which he was asked to concede thirteen pounds to Parole. An outsider named The Bear set off in front and at one stage opened up a lead of two hundred yards. Isonomy finally caught up with the front-runner in the straight and pulled away in the closing stages to win easily by three lengths, with Parole third A few days later on August 6 he was sent to Brighton Racecourse
Brighton Racecourse
Brighton Racecourse is a horse racing course at Brighton, East Sussex in England, for flat races of up to about one and a half miles. The course is one of three courses in Britain which is not a circuit and forms a figure like three sides of a square, sloping, with wide left-hand turns and an...
for the two mile Brighton Cup in which he carried 136 pounds and started at odds of 1/10 against three opponents. After settling in third place he moved into the lead in the straight and went three lengths clear, before being eased down in the closing stages to record a three quarter length win over Paul's Cray. Isonomy was then sent north for the Ebor Handicap
Ebor Handicap
The Ebor Handicap is a flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August....
at York
York Racecourse
York Racecourse is a horse racing track in the southwest of the city of York in North Yorkshire, England with a spectator capacity of 60,000. The most famous race to be held at York on an annual basis is the Ebor Handicap, which is run during the Ebor Festival meeting in August...
on 27 August for which he was made 8/11 favourite. Despite the very difficult conditions ("mud and water flying in all directions"), and conceding at least thirty pounds to his opponents, he won impressively by eight lengths.
In September he attempted to became the first horse to complete the stayers’ Triple Crown in the Doncaster Cup
Doncaster Cup
The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September....
, although there was some disappointment that the undefeated Hungarian mare Kincsem
Kincsem
Kincsem was the most successful Thoroughbred race horse ever, having won 54 races for 54 starts. Foaled in Tápiószentmárton, Hungary in 1874, she is a national icon, and is revered in other parts of the world, too...
was ruled out of the race by injury. In a rough race he defeated the filly Jannette, despite being badly cut by the spurs of the runner-up's jockey, Fred Archer when he moved up to challenge for the lead along the rails. The Duke of Portland said of Isonomy's performance marked him as "one of the best and gamest horses that ever ran". The Gold Cup-Goodwood Cup-Doncaster Cup treble was not completed again until Alycidon
Alycidon
Alycidon was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was foaled in 1945 and died in 1963. He was a top-class British stayer who became the Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland in 1955, despite having low fertility and a relatively short career at stud.-Breeding:...
did so in 1949.
On his final start of the year he carried top weight in the Cesarewitch Handicap
Cesarewitch Handicap
The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs , and the latter part is on the Rowley Mile. It is scheduled to take place each year in October.The event was...
at Newmarket on 7 October. In this race, however, he was not expected to win, and seems to have been entered mainly to provide assistance to his owner's other runner Westbourne. He was not even included in the betting for the race. The plan failed as Westbourne finished second to Chippendale, with Isonomy in fourth.
1880: five-year-old season
Isonomy ran twice as a five-year-old and won both his races. On May 19 he carried 138 pounds in the Manchester Cup over one mile five furlongs. He was set to give large amounts of weight to many top class horses and was not among the favourites for the race, starting at odds of 100/6. In what was described as "one of the most wonderful performances that has been recorded for many years" he won the race from The Abbot, a top class three-year-old who had recently finished third in the 2000 Guineas and to whom he was conceding 46 pounds. Gretton was reported to have won £25,000 in bets on the race.At Royal Ascot his only rivals for the Gold Cup were the Cesarewitch winner Chippendale and the 1879 Prix du Jockey Club
Prix du Jockey Club
The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
winner Zut. Chippendale made the running and was still leading by a length at the start of the straight, and Cannon was looking uneasy on the favourite. In the cosing stages, however, Isonomy took control of the race and finished a "gallant and easy" winner by a length. Shortly after the race it was announced that Isonomy would probably not run again in 1880, although there were hopes that he would return as a five-year-old.
In early 1881, Gretton reportedly turned down an offer of £25,000 for Isonomy.
Assessment
In May 1886 The Sporting TimesThe Sporting Times
The Sporting Times was a weekly British newspaper devoted chiefly to sport, and in particular to horse racing...
carried out a poll of one hundred racing experts to create a ranking of the best British racehorses of the 19th Century. Isonomy was ranked third, having being placed in the top ten by 62 of the contributors. In a related poll, the electors were asked to choose the single greatest horse they had ever seen. In this poll, Isonomy finished second, one vote behind Gladiateur
Gladiateur
Gladiateur was a French Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won the English Triple Crown in 1865. Gladiateur is called a legend by France Galop and "One of the best horses ever to grace the turf in any century" by the National Sporting Library of Middleburg, Virginia...
.
The Illustrated Illustrated Magazine called Isonomy “one of the most remarkable racehorses of the century”. By the time of his second Gold Cup he was being described as "undoubtedly the best horse of late times" and as "one of the grandest and apparently most invincible Cup horses that ever trod the turf." The Sportsman
The Sportsman (1865 newspaper)
The first British newspaper titled The Sportsman began publishing from 1865, some six years after the Sporting Life. It ran until 1924....
called him "the best horse ever bred in England." John Porter, who trained the winners of twenty-three classics including three Triple Crowns, regarded Isonomy as the best horse he ever trained.
Contemporary culture
Isonomy found his way into contemporary Literature in the story Silver BlazeSilver Blaze
"Silver Blaze", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 in the cycle collected as The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. It was adapted in 1937 to a film starring Arthur Wontner, and an ITV drama starring Christopher Plummer which was...
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
. The story concerns the kidnapping of a celebrated racehorse and the mysterious death of its trainer. When explaining the horse’s value to Dr Watson, Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
says that “Silver Blaze... is from Isonomy stock, and holds as brilliant a record as his famous ancestor.”
Stud career
Isonomy was retired to Bonehill Paddock stud near TamworthTamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
at the end of the 1880 season, but had little early success, siring only fifteen foals in two years. After Gretton’s death he was sold at auction to William Stirling-Crawfurd, the husband of the Duchess of Montrose, in January 1883 for £10,000. Isonomy was sent to the Duchess’s Sefton Stud, and after a weight-reduction programme, he resumed his stud career with greater success. Although he was never Champion sire he proved to be a successful stallion, siring two Triple Crown winners in Isinglass
Isinglass (horse)
Isinglass was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who dominated during his time in racing and won the English Triple Crown.-Racing record:...
and Common
Common (horse)
Common was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from May to September 1891 he ran five times and won four races...
. Among his other successes were the outstanding filly Seabreeze and the influential sire Gallinule. Isonomy developed heart trouble
and died in April 1891.