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Leamington (horse)
Encyclopedia
Leamington was a Thoroughbred
racehorse, and an influential sire in the United States
during the second half of the nineteenth century. He was not only a fast horse, but also showed great staying ability.
He was a brown horse bred in England by Mr. Halford. Leamington was by the good racehorse and sire Faugh-a-Ballagh
(by Sir Hercules), his dam was an un-named mare bred by the Marquis of Westminster and foaled in 1841 by Pantaloon.
, but he contracted strangles
, and this affected his whole three-year-old season. However, his owners and trainers appeared to have planned his losses to help keep his handicap weight down. After losing four small races carrying little weight, he won the Wolverhampton, before his losing several more. He was then "allowed" to win the Stewards' Cup
carrying only 98 lb (44 kg).
. Leamington only carried 93 lb (42 kg), due to his poor reputation gained as a three-year-old, and he easily won the race. The colt then came fourth at the Ascot Gold Cup
. He went on to the Goodwood Stakes, carrying only 118 lb (53.5 kg) with odds of 100 to 3, and easily won the race by a length. His owners won quite a bit of money from wagering on him that day, after their longshot with 100 to 3 odds beat out a field of 19. However, his win earned him top weight of 131 lb (59 kg) at his next race, the Chesterfield Cup, and he could not hold out.
, but his final race of the season, the Goodwood Cup, left him with an injury to his right foreleg.
Bosque Bonita Stud near Versailles, Kentucky
for the 1866 season. He bred only thirteen mares, but produced an outstanding crop of foals, including Longfellow
, Enquirer, Lyttleton, Lynchberg, Anna Mace, and Miss Alice.
Cameron then sent the stallion to his own Clifton Stud on Staten Island
. He was then moved to New Jersey
in 1868, before being shipped to Annieswood Farm in 1871. His offspring were now noted for their speed and included Aristides
, the winner of the first Kentucky Derby
.
Leamington was sold to Aristides Welch
, who stood the stallion at his Erdenheim Stud, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. Leamington finished out his life here, dying on May 6, 1878 at the age of 25. During his breeding career, he was the Leading sire in North America
four times, including leading Lexington
in 1875 for the first time in 16 years. He also earned this title in 1877, 1879, and 1881.
Horses sired by Leamington included:
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 an influential sire in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the second half of the nineteenth century. He was not only a fast horse, but also showed great staying ability.
He was a brown horse bred in England by Mr. Halford. Leamington was by the good racehorse and sire Faugh-a-Ballagh
Faugh-a-Ballagh
Faugh-a-Ballagh was a Thoroughbred racehorse. A brother to Birdcatcher, Faugh-a-Ballagh was sold to E. J. Erwin in 1842. He ran once as a two-year-old at the Doncaster's Champagne Stakes, finishing third to The Cure and Sorella. He then began his three-year-old season as the first Irish-bred horse...
(by Sir Hercules), his dam was an un-named mare bred by the Marquis of Westminster and foaled in 1841 by Pantaloon.
At two years
Halford began racing him at age two, and then sold the to a Mr. Higgins. Leamington won the Woodcote Stakes at Warwick and the Chesterfield Stakes, before being retired for the year.At three years
As a three-year-old, it was planned to run the colt in the Epsom DerbyEpsom 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...
, but he contracted strangles
Strangles
Strangles is a contagious upper respiratory tract infection of horses and other equines caused by a bacterium, Streptococcus equi var equi...
, and this affected his whole three-year-old season. However, his owners and trainers appeared to have planned his losses to help keep his handicap weight down. After losing four small races carrying little weight, he won the Wolverhampton, before his losing several more. He was then "allowed" to win the Stewards' Cup
Stewards' Cup (Great Britain)
The Stewards' Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late July or early August....
carrying only 98 lb (44 kg).
At four years
His four-year-old career began with the 2.25 mile Chester CupChester Cup
The Chester Cup is a flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Chester over a distance of 2 miles, 2 furlongs and 147 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May....
. Leamington only carried 93 lb (42 kg), due to his poor reputation gained as a three-year-old, and he easily won the race. The colt then came fourth at the Ascot 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....
. He went on to the Goodwood Stakes, carrying only 118 lb (53.5 kg) with odds of 100 to 3, and easily won the race by a length. His owners won quite a bit of money from wagering on him that day, after their longshot with 100 to 3 odds beat out a field of 19. However, his win earned him top weight of 131 lb (59 kg) at his next race, the Chesterfield Cup, and he could not hold out.
At five years
Leamington ran once at the age of five. He carried 130 lb (59 kg), as the handicapper realized how the horse's owners had been manipulating his races. The weight was too much to carry, and Leamington could not win here either.At six years
He had a successful start to his six-year-old career, however, winning the Chester Cup easily against a good field. He finished second in his next race, the Queen's Gold Vase at AscotAscot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...
, but his final race of the season, the Goodwood Cup, left him with an injury to his right foreleg.
At seven years
He began training in 1860 as a seven-year-old for The Whip Stakes, a strenuous four-mile race. He broke down while preparing, and was retired to begin his stud career at Rawcliffe Paddocks.Stud record
Leamington sired 19 winners of 42 races while at Radwliffe. He was then purchased by the Canadian Roderick W. Cameron for £1,575, and stood at General Abe Buford'sAbraham Buford II
Brigadier General Abraham "Abe" Buford II was a soldier and Thoroughbred horse breeder. Born in Woodford County, Kentucky, his origins were a Huguenot family named Beaufort who fled persecution in France and settled in England before emigrating to America in 1635.Abraham Buford was the son of...
Bosque Bonita Stud near Versailles, Kentucky
Versailles, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...
for the 1866 season. He bred only thirteen mares, but produced an outstanding crop of foals, including Longfellow
Longfellow (horse)
Longfellow was one of America's first great Thoroughbred racehorses and the sire of great racehorses. A legend in his own time, he was out of the first crop of the outstanding imported English stallion Leamington....
, Enquirer, Lyttleton, Lynchberg, Anna Mace, and Miss Alice.
Cameron then sent the stallion to his own Clifton Stud on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. He was then moved to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in 1868, before being shipped to Annieswood Farm in 1871. His offspring were now noted for their speed and included Aristides
Aristides (racehorse)
Aristides was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first Kentucky Derby in 1875.In 1875 the Derby was raced at a mile and a half, the distance it would remain until 1896 when it was changed to its present mile and a quarter...
, the winner of the first Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
.
Leamington was sold to Aristides Welch
Aristides Welch
Aristides J. Welch was an American Thoroughbred racehorse breeder.Welch owned Erdenheim Stud at Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. In 1870 he purchased the mare Maggie B. B. from Captain T. G. Moore and stood her at Erdenheim. In 1872 he purchased the sire Leamington...
, who stood the stallion at his Erdenheim Stud, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Leamington finished out his life here, dying on May 6, 1878 at the age of 25. During his breeding career, he was the Leading sire in North America
Leading sire in North America
The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...
four times, including leading Lexington
Lexington (horse)
Lexington was a United States Thoroughbred race horse who won six of his seven race starts. Perhaps his greatest fame came however as the most successful sire of the second half of the nineteenth century; he was the Leading sire in North America 16 times, and of his many brood mare and racer...
in 1875 for the first time in 16 years. He also earned this title in 1877, 1879, and 1881.
Horses sired by Leamington included:
- AristidesAristides (racehorse)Aristides was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first Kentucky Derby in 1875.In 1875 the Derby was raced at a mile and a half, the distance it would remain until 1896 when it was changed to its present mile and a quarter...
(1872) won the first Kentucky Derby and Withers StakesWithers StakesThe Withers Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds willing to compete one mile on the dirt. Held at Aqueduct Racetrack every year at the end of April , it is a Grade III event, and offers a purse of $150,000... - HaroldHarold (horse)Harold was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by Aristides Welch who owned both his sire and his dam. Sired by Leamington, a four-time Leading sire in North America, he was out of the great mare, Maggie B. B...
(1876) won 1879 Preakness StakesPreakness StakesThe Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb... - IroquoisIroquois (horse)Iroquois , was the first American-bred Thoroughbred race horse to win the prestigious Epsom Derby at Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom, Surrey, England. He then went on to win the St...
(1878) the first American horse to win the Epsom DerbyEpsom DerbyThe 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 GB St Leger Stakes - Knight of Ellerslie (1881) won the 1884 Preakness Stakes; sired U.S. Racing Hall of FameNational Museum of Racing and Hall of FameThe National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
colt Henry of NavarreHenry of Navarre (horse)Henry of Navarre was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Sired by the 1884 Preakness Stakes winner Knight of Ellerslie he was named for the Huguenot king, Henry IV of France....
. - LongfellowLongfellow (horse)Longfellow was one of America's first great Thoroughbred racehorses and the sire of great racehorses. A legend in his own time, he was out of the first crop of the outstanding imported English stallion Leamington....
(1867) a great sire himself - 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...
(1873) one of the three greatest runners in the 1870s - Saunterer, won Belmont Stakes and Preakness StakesPreakness StakesThe Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...