Cameronian (1928–1955) 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 Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

. He won the

2000 Guineas Stakes 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

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

in 1931 but finished unplaced in the

St. Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...

in his attempt to win the

English Triple Crown The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...

. He returned as a four-year-old to win the

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 ...

in 1932.

Background

Cameronian was a small bay horse, bred by his first owner, the Scottish whisky distiller

Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar Thomas Robert "Tommy" Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar (6 January 1864 – 11 April 1930) was a Scottish whisky distiller who, along with his brother John Dewar, built their family label, Dewar's, into an international success. They blended their whisky ...

. On Lord Dewar's death in 1930, the unraced two-year-old colt was inherited by his nephew John Arthur “Lucky” Dewar. The death of an owner had traditionally canceled all of a horse's entries, but a rule change in 1929 meant that Cameronian's status was not affected, allowing him to take part in the

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. Cameronian's sire,

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 ...

was a top class racehorse who won the Champion Stakes and went on to become a highly successful stallion. He sired many good winners including the French champion Pharis and the unbeaten

Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by ''Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...

, who became one of the most influential stallions of the 20th Century. Cameronian was the third of seven Derby winners trained by

Fred Darling Frederick Darling (1884–1953) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who trained a record-equalling seven English Derby winners. Darling's father, Sam Darling senior, was a trainer at Beckhampton, near Avebury in Wiltshire, who train ...

at Beckhampton,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

Racing career

1930: two-year-old season

Cameronian was slow to mature as a two-year-old and ran only once, winning a minor race at

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. He was not rated in that year's Free Handicap, a rating of the leading two-year-olds.

1931: three-year-old season

Cameronian began his three-year-old season by running third to Philae in the

Craven Stakes The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) ...

at Newmarket, beaten just over a length. His effort was attracted attention and he was introduced into the Derby betting as second favourite. In the 2000 Guineas three weeks later he started at 100/8 and was ridden by

Joe Childs Joseph Childs (1884–1958) was a French-born, British-based flat racing jockey. He won fifteen British Classics in a 35-year career, the last ten years of which were spent as jockey to King George V. He was known for riding a slow, waiting ra ...

, as the stable jockey Fred Fox rode the more fancied Lemnarchus. On heavy ground which had forced the withdrawal of the likely favourite Jacopo. Cameronian won by two lengths from the French colt Goyescas In the Derby at

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

a month later Cameronian started 7/2 favourite. Ridden by Fox he broke quickly and was then steadied to track the leaders in the early stages before moving into the lead as the field entered the straight. Orpen emerged as his main challenger, moving alongside Cameronian two furlongs out but after a "terrific struggle" Cameronian prevailed by three quarters of a length.

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, who had been badly drawn and been hampered during the race finished strongly to take third. The win for the favourite was extremely popular with the public, though not with the bookmakers, several of whom "welshed" (failed to pay out winning bets) on the race. At the victory celebration, Dewar, who described himself as "the most delighted man in the world", decorated the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...

with a hundred miles of tartan ribbon. Cameronian was sent to

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 ...

two weeks later for the St. James's Palace Stakes over one mile. He recorded a popular victory, winning by three lengths from Trinidad in "brilliant" style. The colt was then rested until the September, when he started odds-on favourite for 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 ...

, despite doubts from some experts about his ability to stay the one and three quarter mile distance. His attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner since

Rock Sand Rock Sand (1900–1914) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from the spring of 1902 until October 1904 he ran twenty times and won sixteen races. He was a leading British two-year-old of his generation, w ...

in 1903 however, ended in failure. He pulled hard on the way to the start where, according to Fred Fox, he "went mad", becoming highly agitated and kicking out at other horses. In the race the colt fought Fox's attempts to settle him. By the straight he was exhausted and dropped out to finish last of the ten runners behind

. Although Cameronian was found to be running a temperature after the race he soon recovered. His connections were unable to explain his poor effort, with Darling explicitly ruling out the possibility of the horse having been "got at". Plans to retire the colt at the end of the season were revised.

1932: four-year-old season

At four, Cameronian began in June by finishing third in a "stirring" finish to the Coronation Cup at Epsom, beaten a head and a short-head by the five-year-old Salmon Leap and Goyescas. In September he ran a close third to Firdaussi, when attempting to give the winner twelve pounds in the Jockey Club Stakes. On his final start he recorded his most important victory since the Derby by beating the three-year-old Dastur in the Champion Stakes.

Assessment

In their book ''A Century of Champions'', John Randall and Tony Morris rated Cameronian as an "average" Derby winner.Randall, J and Morris, T. . Portway Press, 1999, p. 137.

Stud career

Cameronian made a promising start to his stud career by siring the St Leger winner

Scottish Union Scottish Union (1935–1954) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, stallion best known for winning the British Classic Races, classic St Leger Stakes in 1938. He was one of the highest-rated British two-year-olds in ...

in his first crop of foals. His son Finis won the wartime Gold Cup in 1941, but in the same year Cameronian was sold and exported to Argentina, where he died in 1955.

Pedigree

References

External links

Newsreel of 1931 Derby from British Pathé (silent).
{{Epsom Derby Winners 1928 racehorse births 1943 racehorse deaths Epsom Derby winners Thoroughbred family 1-t 2000 Guineas winners Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom