Blacklegs (foaled 1728) was a British

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. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse and sire who was the champion sire of Great Britain in 1746. He was bred by

William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire (1672 – 4 June 1729) was a British nobleman and politician. He was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire and Lady Mary Butler. A prominent Whig, he was sworn of the Privy Counc ...

, and owned by his son

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755) was a British nobleman and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1729 when he inherited the Dukedom. Life Cavendish was the son of Will ...

Background

Blacklegs was a bay

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

bred by

, and foaled in 1728. He was sired by the Duke of Devonshire's

Flying Childers Flying Childers (1715–1741) was a famous undefeated 18th-century thoroughbred racehorse, foaled in 1714 at Carr House, Warmsworth, Doncaster, and is sometimes considered as the first truly great racehorse in the history of thoroughbreds and the ...

, who was undefeated in six starts as a racecourse. Flying Childers was also a successful stallion and was champion sire of Great Britain twice. Amongst his other progeny were the sires Blaze and Snip, along with Second, Spanking Roger and Roundhead. Blacklegs'

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

was an unnamed daughter of

Basto Jef Martens (), better known by his stage name Basto (stylized as Basto!), is a Belgian record producer, musician and DJ. He primarily produces electro house music, and he is signed to the ARS label. He has produced using various aliases such a ...

. This Basto mare also foaled the champion sire

Crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

, as well as the previously mentions Snip and Second. After the 2nd Duke of Devonshire's death in 1729, Blacklegs was owned by his son and successor

Racing career

In October 1732 at Newmarket, Blacklock beat the

Duke of Bridgewater Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

's Beauty over for mile for 200

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

. The following April he won the 700 guineas stakes, beating Sly, Favourite and Quibble over four miles. He beat Sly again in October, this time in a 300 guineas

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consis ...

. At the same meeting he beat Mr. Honeywood's grey mare, Looby, Lord Gower's

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

mare, Spot, Bumper, Favourite and Robin.

Stud career

Blacklock retired to the Duke of Devonshire's stud. He became a successful stallion and was champion sire of Great Britain in 1746. He sired several good runners and the dams of Captain, Cassandra, Dorimond, Trajan, Marcus and Jalap.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1728 racehorse births British Champion Thoroughbred Sires Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Thoroughbred racehorses