Book Law (1924 – 1944) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. The best female racehorse of her generation in Britain, she was noted for her courage and consistency and in her prime she was described as a "fighting machine". She showed great promise as a two-year-old in 1926 when she won the

Queen Mary Stakes The Queen Mary Stakes is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Filly, fillies. It is run at Ascot Racecourse, Ascot over a distance o ...

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

. In the following year she finished second in both the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

and the Oaks Stakes, before embarking on a six-race winning streak which included the Coronation Stakes, Nassau Stakes, St Leger and Jockey Club Stakes. As a four-year-old in 1928 she won the Burwell Stakes on her seasonal debut but then finished third in both the Coronation Cup and the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

after which she was retired from racing to become a broodmare. Her foals included the top class colts Rhodes Scholar and Canon Law, the influential broodmare Highway Code and Archive, a racehorse of no account who sired

Arkle Arkle (19 April 1957 – 31 May 1970) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by ''Archive'' out of ''Bright Cherry'', he was the grandson of the unbeaten (in 14 races) flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was bred by Mar ...

Background

Book Law was a bay mare bred in the United Kingdom by her owner Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor. She was sent into training with

Alec Taylor, Jr. Alec Taylor Jr. (1862–1943), known as the Wizard of Manton, was a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who followed in the footsteps of his highly successful father, Alec Taylor Sr. Family His father, Alec Taylor Sr., was a successful hors ...

at his stable at Manton, Wiltshire. She was sired by Buchan, who won the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...

and Doncaster Cup as well as finishing second in the

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

and the

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

. As a breeding stallion he made his mark as a sire of fillies including Short Story and the dams of

Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

and

Sun Castle Sun Castle (1938 – March 1942) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who raced during World War II and was best known for winning the classic St Leger in 1941. After showing promise as a two-year-old he finished third in the 2000 Guineas the ...

. Her dam Popingaol won two minor races but became a very successful broodmare whose other foals included Pogrom, Splendid Jay (

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 fu ...

), Book Debt (dam of Pay Up) and Fair Cop (female-line ancestor of

Provoke Provocation, provoke or provoked may refer to: * Provocation (legal), a type of legal defense in court which claims the "victim" provoked the accused's actions * Agent provocateur, a (generally political) group that tries to goad a desired res ...

Racing career

1926: two-year-old season

Book Law made her first impact in June 1926 when she contested the Queen Mary Stakes at

in which she was ridden by Robert A "Bobby" Jones and won at odds of 7/2. At Sandown Park in July she ran unplaced behind Pricilla in the National Breeders' Produce Stakes. In autumn she finished third to Applecross in the Moulton Stakes at Newmarket. Towards the end of the year she was described as the best horse of her age and sex in England.

1927: three-year-old season

In a twenty-eight runner field for the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

over the Rowley mile at Newmarket Racecourse on 29 April, Book Law dead-heated for second place with Endowment, two

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

behind the winner Cresta Run. On 3 of June Book Law started the 5/2 favourite Oaks Stakes over one and a half miles at Epsom Racecourse. She took the lead approaching the final turn but was overtaken in the closing stages and beaten a head by

Beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

in a "terrific race". Book Law was then dropped back in distance for the Coronation Stakes over one mile, which, with a first prize of £4,750, was the most valuable run that year at Royal Ascot. Ridden by Henri Jellis she started the 4/9 favourite and won from Lord Furness's Gay Baby. The filly maintained her good form through the summer of 1927, taking the Welsh Oaks at Chepstow and the Gratwicke Stakes at Goodwood before winning the Nassau Stakes (again at Goodwood) at odds of 2/5. On 7 September, with Jellis in the saddle, Book Law started the 7/4 favourite in a field of sixteen colts and fillies for the 152nd running of the St Leger over fourteen and a half furlongs 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 ...

. The race had been deprived of some interest by the absence of the Derby winner Call Boy, whose entry had been rendered void by the death of his owner. Racing on heavy ground Book Law was always in close contention before going to the front early in the straight. She repelled a challenge from the Derby runner-up Hot Night and drew away to win by three lengths with five lengths back to Son and Heir in third place. Three weeks after her Leger success, Book Law ended her second season with a run in the jockey Club Stakes over fourteen furlongs at Newmaarket in which she was matched against older horses. Starting at odds of 4/6, she won by three quarters of a length from the four-year-old Foliation. By the end of 1927 she was being described as the best three-year-old in England of either sex. He earnings of £22,316 made her easily the most financially successful horse of the year. When Alec Taylor the Manton stable was taken over by his assistant Joseph Lawson

1928: four-year-old season

Book Law began her second season by winning the Burwell Stakes over one and a half miles at Newmarket in May. At Epsom in June she started favourite for the Coronation Cup but began to struggle soon after half way and finished third behind the Italian-bred five-year-old Apelle. Both Lord Astor and Henri Jellis were bitterly disappointed by her performance, but it was subsequently found that she had been suffering from a "kidney infection". The filly missed an intended run in the

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...

but returned on 20 July for the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

at Sandown and finished third to

Fairway Fairway may refer to: * Fairway (golf), part of a golf course *Fairway (navigation), a part of a water body with navigable channel *Fairway (horse), a Thoroughbred racehorse *Fairway, Gauteng, South Africa *Fairway, Kansas, United States *Fairway, ...

and

Royal Minstrel Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. Book Law's retirement was announced shortly after her defeat at Sandown. She ended her career with earnings of £31,875, making her the fourth most successful female racehorse in British turf history up to that time behind Sceptre (£38,283), Pretty Polly (£36,638) and

La Fleche LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...

(£34,703).

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Book Law an "average" winner of the St Leger.

Stud record

Book Law was retired from racing to become a broodmare for Lord Astor's stud. Book Law died in November 1944 in a paddock accident at the Cliveden Stud. She produced at least ten foals between 1930 and 1944: *Canon Law, a bay colt, foaled in 1930, sired by Colorado. Won St James's Palace Stakes. *Law Maker, brown colt, 1931, by

Phalaris Phalaris ( el, Φάλαρις) was the tyrant of Akragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily, from approximately 570 to 554 BC. History Phalaris was renowned for his excessive cruelty. Among his alleged atrocities is cannibalism: he was said to have e ...

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, bay colt, 1933, by

Pharos The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria (; Ancient Greek: ὁ Φάρος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, contemporary Koine ), was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the re ...

. Won

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

. *Light Sentence, chestnut filly, 1934 by Pharos. *Legal Fare, bay colt, 1935, by Manna *Sun Lore, bay colt, 1938, by

Hyperion Hyperion may refer to: Greek mythology * Hyperion (Titan), one of the twelve Titans * ''Hyperion'', a byname of the Sun, Helios * Hyperion of Troy or Yperion, son of King Priam Science * Hyperion (moon), a moon of the planet Saturn * ''Hyp ...

. Winner. *Highway Code, bay filly, 1939, by Hyperion. Winner. Female-line ancestor of

Swale Swale or Swales may refer to: Topography * Swale (landform), a low tract of land ** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution ** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification Geography * River Swale, in North ...

Shadeed Shadeed (1982–2005) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from October 1984 to November 1985, he ran seven times and won four races. In the 1985 he was the highest-rated three-year ...

and Forty Niner. *Hampton Hall, bay or brown colt, 1940, Dastur *Archive, bay colt, 1941, by Nearco. Sire of

. *Handley Cross, colt (later

gelded A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, making th ...

), 1944, by Foxhunter

Pedigree

References

{{St Leger Winners 1924 racehorse births 1944 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-n St Leger winners