Sainfoin (horse)
Encyclopedia
Sainfoin was a British
Thoroughbred
racehorse that was the winner of the 1890 Epsom Derby
and was the sire of Rock Sand
, the tenth winner of the Triple Crown in 1903.
and Sir Robert Jardine
.
by beating the favourite Surefoot. He did not win any races after the Derby at age four, securing a third place in the Imperial Plate and an unplaced finish at the 1891 City and Suburban Handicap. He was retired to stud in 1892.
for 700 guineas and stood as stud at the Cloghran Stud in Dublin. Sainfoin's most notable son was Rock Sand, winner of the Triple Crown in 1903, but he was also the damsire (through Tout Suite) of 1926 leading sire and St. Leger
winner Hurry On
.
Sainfoin died in Carlow, Ireland in late 1912 or early 1913. His death was not reported to the press until many months after he died. The HMS Sainfoin was named after Sainfoin in 1943.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Thoroughbred
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 that was the winner of the 1890 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 was the sire of Rock Sand
Rock Sand
Rock Sand was a brown Thoroughbred race horse who was a very good young galloper, winning six of his seven starts. Always showing great courage he won the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, St. Leger Stakes and Epsom Derby which earned him the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.He was a beautifully conformed...
, the tenth winner of the Triple Crown in 1903.
Pedigree
Sainfoin was sired by Springfield out of the mare Sanda and was foaled at Hampton Court Stud, owned by Queen Victoria, in 1887. Most of the yearlings produced by Hampton Court Stud were underfed and skinny, which resulted in little interest in Sainfoin as a racing prospect. He was sold as a yearling for 500 guineas to horse trainer John PorterJohn 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,...
and Sir Robert Jardine
Sir Robert Jardine, 1st Baronet
Sir Robert Jardine, 1st Baronet was a Scottish businessman and Liberal politicianJardine was born at Edinburgh the son of David Jardine of Muir House, Lockerbie, Dumfries and his wife Rachel Johnstone...
.
Racing career
Sainfoin's only start and win as a two-year-old was in the 1889 Astley Stakes. The next year, he won the Esher Stakes and Dee Stakes for Jardine. Sainfoin was sold to Sir James Miller for £6,000 in 1890 and subsequently won 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...
by beating the favourite Surefoot. He did not win any races after the Derby at age four, securing a third place in the Imperial Plate and an unplaced finish at the 1891 City and Suburban Handicap. He was retired to stud in 1892.
Stud career
After Miller's death in 1906, Sainfoin was sold to Lord CarnarvonGeorge Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon
George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon was an English aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the search for and the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.-Biography:...
for 700 guineas and stood as stud at the Cloghran Stud in Dublin. Sainfoin's most notable son was Rock Sand, winner of the Triple Crown in 1903, but he was also the damsire (through Tout Suite) of 1926 leading sire and 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...
winner Hurry On
Hurry On
Hurry On was an outstanding, undefeated British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire that revived the Matchem sire line. For a trainer who conditioned as many top winners as the Englishman Fred Darling, the observation that Hurry On was the best horse he ever trained is high praise indeed.-Breeding:He...
.
Sainfoin died in Carlow, Ireland in late 1912 or early 1913. His death was not reported to the press until many months after he died. The HMS Sainfoin was named after Sainfoin in 1943.