Ashton (1806 – after 1828) was a British Thoroughbred

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

and

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best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes in 1809. He was undefeated in three races as a three-year-old in 1809, culminating with his classic victory at Doncaster. After missing the whole of the 1810 season he won a

Great Subscription Purse The Great Subscription Purses were a series of flat horse races in Great Britain run at York Racecourse, usually over a distance of 4 miles, that took place each year in August from 1751 to 1833. During the second half of the 18th century they we ...

at York on his reappearance as a five-year-old but was beaten in his three remaining races. He was then retired to stud, where he had no success as a sire of winners.

Background

Ashton was a

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horse standing high bred by his owner Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton and was the sixth of the Duke's seven St Leger winners. He was described by his owners as "a horse of great bone and strength... with true shape and corresponding action". Henry Hall Dixon was less flattering, describing Ashton as "a

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

-looking horse with very hairy legs". Ashton was sired by either Walnut or Serpent, meaning that his dam was covered by two stallions in the year of his conception. Walnut, a son of

Highflyer Highflyer, highflier or high flyer may refer to: * Highflyer (horse), a British Thoroughbred racehorse * High flyer (fishing), a vertical floating pole used to locate fishing lines * HMS ''Highflyer'', various Royal Navy ships * Yamhill High Fly ...

, never raced after an accident which left him with a "wasted" foreleg. He sired several other good horses including Constantia, the dam of the St Leger winner

Ebor Ebor is the abbreviation of the Latin '' Eboracum'', the early name of York in Britain. It may also mean: * Ebor, the legal alias of the Archbishops of York * Ebor, Manitoba, a community in Canada * Ebor, New South Wales, a village in Australia ...

. Serpent, a son of

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, sired no other horses of consequence. Ashton's dam Miss Haworth was a member of Thoroughbred family 29 and therefore closely related to several notable horses including Rowton and

Landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

Racing career

1809: three-year-old season

Ashton was unraced as a two-year-old and made his racecourse debut on 30 May 1809 at

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

. He started the 6/5 favourite for a sweepstakes over one and three quarter miles and won "very easy" from Lord Fitzwilliam's colt Whitenose. In summer he ran a trial race against the stable's 1808 St Leger winner

Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
weight-for-age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rous ...

. After a break of almost four months, Ashton reappeared to contest the thirty-fourth running of the St Leger at

Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy. History Doncas ...

. In a field of fourteen runners he was made the 15/8 favourite ahead of Cervantes on 6/1 and Middlethorpe (also owned by the Duke of Hamilton) on 8/1. Ridden by Ben Smith, he disputed the lead from the start and won the classic easily from Middlethorpe, with Henry Peirse's filly Lisette in third. Two days later Ashton contested the Doncaster Stakes over four miles. Carrying only 84 pounds, he started at odds of 1/4 and completed an unbeaten season by winning from Mr Duncombe's four-year-old filly Ceres.

1811: five-year-old season

Ashton missed the whole of the 1810 before returning as a five-year-old at York on 21 August 1811. He started favourite for the five-year-olds' division of the

and won from Cervantes, his only opponent. On the following day, he ran in another division of the Great Subscription Purse and started favourite against two six-year-old rivals. He suffered his first defeat as he finished second to the Duke of Leeds' horse Mowbray. In the following month, Ashton returned to Doncaster's St Leger meeting where he finished second in the one and a half mile Fitzwilliam Stakes behind Mr Garforth's two-year-old iccolt by Camillus (later named ''Oiseau''), with the 1810 St Leger winner Octavian in fourth place. Three days later, he was defeated by Octavian in a four mile sweepstakes at the same course, conceding ten pounds to the younger classic winner.

Stud career

Ashton began his stud career at King's Farm,

Woodford Wells Woodford Wells is a small settlement on the edge of Epping Forest, in Woodford, East London. The area lies about north-east of Charing Cross. The name is shown in the Chapman and Andre 1777 map of Essex, and shortly after on an Ordnance Surv ...

at a fee of ten guineas. By 1822, he was standing at Michael Grove near Arundel, Sussex at a fee of 8 guineas. In 1823 his fee was reduced to 5 guineas and he was first moved to Mr. Haynes' Livery Stables in Great Portland Street and by 1826 was relocated to Chiselden near

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

, Wiltshire. He was advertised at the Chiselden location in 1829 but is not mentioned in the 1830 stallion register.

Pedigree

* Ashton is inbred 2S x 3D to the stallion

, meaning that he appears second generation on the sire side of his pedigree and third generation on the dam side of his pedigree. * Ashton is inbred 3S x 4D x 4D to the stallion Herod, meaning that he appears third generation once on the sire side of his pedigree, and fourth generation twice on the dam side of his pedigree.

References

{{St Leger Winners 1806 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 29 Byerley Turk sire line St Leger winners