Beam (1924 – 1941) 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

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 ...

. As a juvenile she showed promise by winning one race and finishing third in the

Molecomb Stakes The Molecomb Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ...

. In the following year she finished fourth in the 1000 Guineas and won the Haverhill Stakes before beating a strong field to take the

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards ...

in a race record time which stood for more than half a century. She was retired from racing at the end of the season. Beam made no impact as a dam of winners and died in 1941 at the age of seventeen.

Background

Beam was a bay mare bred in the United Kingdom by her owner

John Lambton, 3rd Earl of Durham John George Lambton, 3rd Earl of Durham (19 June 1855 – 18 September 1928), known as Viscount Lambton until 1879, was a British peer. Durham was the eldest twin son of George Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham, and his wife Lady Beatrix Frances, da ...

. She was sent into training with

Frank Butters Frank Joseph Arthur Butters (1878–1957) was a racehorse trainer specialising in flat racing who trained in Austria, Italy and England in the first half of the 20th century. He trained for two of the most successful owner-breeders in British raci ...

at his Fitzroy House stable in

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...

. She was ridden in most of her races by

Tommy Weston Thomas Weston (2 August 1890 – 1952) was a footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa and Stoke. Career Weston was born in Halesowen and played for several amateur sides before joining Aston Villa in 1911. He soon estab ...

. She was one of the best horses sired by Galloper Light, an English-bred stallion who won the

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and i ...

in 1919. Beam was a daughter of Mistrella (foaled 1907), a British broodmare whose other descendants included

Light Brocade Light Brocade (1931–1947) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was one of the best two-year-old fillies in England in 1933 when she won three of her four races including the Molecomb Stakes and Cheveley Park Stakes. In t ...

, Lady Capulet and the Ascot Gold Cup winners Foxhunter and Trimdon.

Racing career

1926: two-year-old season

As a two-year-old in 1926, Beam ran four times and recorded her only success on her final appearance when she won the Houghton Stakes at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

winning by a short head from Cartona. She had earlier finished third to the colt Shian Mor in the

at Goodwood.

1927: three-year-old season

In the spring of 1927 of Beam ran in the 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket and finished fourth of the twenty-eight runners behind

Cresta Run The Cresta Run is a natural ice skeleton racing toboggan track in eastern Switzerland. Located in the winter sports town of St. Moritz, the run is one of the few in the world dedicated entirely to skeleton. It was built in 1884 near the haml ...

Book Law Book Law (1924 – 1944) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. 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". Sh ...

and Endowment. At the same track in May she won the nine-furlong Haverhill Stakes, coming home eight

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 ...

clear of her eight opponents. On 3 of June Beam was one of sixteen three-year-old fillies to contest the 149th running of the Oaks Stakes over one and a half miles at

Epsom Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...

. Book Law started the 5/2 favourite ahead of Cresta Run with Beam next in the betting on 4/1. Beam took the lead from the start but after becoming unbalanced on the downhill section of the course she stumbled and was overtaken by Book Law. She rallied in the closing stages to regain the advantage and won a "terrific race" by a head from Book Law with a gap of six

back to Grande Vitesse in third place. Her winning time of 2:34.6 was a record for the race which stood until 1982. Tommy Weston reported that the filly had been unsuited by the course and would have won by at least two lengths on a straight track. Later in June Beam was beaten by Adieu in the

Queen's Vase The Queen's Vase is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 6 furlongs and 34 yards (2,847 metres), and it is schedul ...

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 ...

. She won one other minor race in 1927 before being retired from racing at the end of the season.

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Beam an "inferior" winner of the Oaks.

Breeding record

Beam was retired from racing to become a broodmare for Lord Durham's stud. She produced two minor winners from nine foals and died in 1941.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1924 racehorse births 1941 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-l Epsom Oaks winners