Carbine (1885–1914) was a champion New Zealand-bred
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
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 ...
who won 30 principal races in New Zealand and Australia. He was very popular with racing fans, and sporting commentators of the day praised him for his gameness, versatility, stamina and weight-carrying ability, as well as for his speed. He was one of five inaugural inductees into both the
New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame
The New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame recognises and honours those whose achievements have enriched the New Zealand thoroughbred horse racing industry.
History
The Hall of Fame's first group of honorees were inducted in 2006, and inductions are he ...
and the
Australian Racing Hall of Fame
The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000.
The numbers in brackets afte ...
.
Background
Carbine was foaled at
Sylvia Park Stud near
Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
on 18 September 1885. He was a bay
stallion
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...
who was sired by the
Ascot Stakes
The Ascot Stakes is a flat handicap 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 metres), and ...
winner and successful sire
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...
. His dam was the imported British mare Mersey, whose sire was Knowsley. Carbine was
inbred
Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...
to Brown Bess in the third and fourth generations.
[TesioPower 2000, Stallions of the World] He was a half-brother to the stakes winning stallion Carnage who won the
Victoria Derby
The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbour ...
,
Champagne Stakes,
Spring Stakes, and Essendon Stakes. When fully mature, Carbine stood about 16 hands 1 inch in height, possessed good conformation and temperament, although he had some foibles.
[Barrie, Douglas M., The Australian Bloodhorse, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1956]
Racing career
During his career on the race track, Carbine started 43 times for 33 wins, six seconds and three thirds, failing to place only once due to a badly split hoof.
Carbine, nicknamed "Old Jack", was undefeated in five starts in top-class races as a two-year-old in New Zealand. He then was taken to Australia, where he won nine of 13 starts as a three-year-old.
[Pring, Peter; "Analysis of Champion Racehorses", The Thoroughbred Press, Sydney, 1977, ] One highlight that year was his win in the AJC
Sydney Cup
The Sydney Cup is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred handicap horse race, for horses three years old and older, run over 3200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in the autumn during the ATC Championships series and it is ...
of 2 miles (3,220 metres) carrying 12 lb (5.5 kg) over weight-for-age. Despite suffering interference at the half-mile post and being buffeted back to last place, Carbine won by a head in a record time of 3 min 31 s. (Race times were slower in Carbine's era than now due, among other factors, to the rough state of tracks and the upright posture in the saddle assumed by 19th-century
jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
s.) At the end of his three-year-old racing season, Carbine was sold by his owner-trainer Dan O'Brien for 3,000 guineas and prepared by his new owners for racing in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
[Ahnert, Rainer L. (Ed. in Chief), "Thoroughbred Breeding of the World", Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970]
As a four- and five-year-old, Carbine won 17 of what would prove to be his last 18 races. On four occasions Carbine won twice on the same day. His victory in the
1890 Melbourne Cup was noteworthy. He set a weight-carrying record of 10 st 5 lb (66 kg) in the Cup, defeating a field of 39 starters and setting a record time for the race. He carried 53 lb (24 kg) more than the second-place horse, Highborn.
Carbine was owned for most of his Australian career by Donald Wallace, a wealthy horse-breeder, investor, and Member of the Victorian Parliament. Walter Hickenbotham, a prominent Melbourne-based horseman, trained him. Wallace and Hickenbotham planned to enter Carbine in the 1891 Melbourne Cup and other major events of that year's turf calendar but a chronic heel injury thwarted their intentions, and Carbine was retired to Wallace's stud.
Stud record
Carbine proved his stud potential the following year, 1892, by siring a colt named Wallace, who went on to become an exceptionally good racehorse and sire. Wallace was considered the best of Carbine's Australian-bred progeny. He won the VATC
Caulfield Guineas
The Caulfield Guineas is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held over 1600 metres (1 mile) at set weights for three-year-old horses at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. Total prize money is A$3 million.
The race ...
,
Victoria Derby
The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbour ...
,
Sydney Cup
The Sydney Cup is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred handicap horse race, for horses three years old and older, run over 3200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in the autumn during the ATC Championships series and it is ...
and other good races. Despite limited stud opportunities Wallace was the
Leading sire in Australia The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in Australia for each season since 1883–84. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season.
List
* 2021/22 – I Am Invincible (1)
* 20 ...
in the 1915/16 season. Wallace also finished second three times and third three times on the leading sires' table.
During Carbine's short Australian stud career he sired the winners of 203½ races worth £48,624, including the multiple stakes winners, Amberite (won
Victoria Derby
The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbour ...
and
Caulfield Cup
The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...
etc.) and La Carabine (
Sydney Cup
The Sydney Cup is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred handicap horse race, for horses three years old and older, run over 3200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in the autumn during the ATC Championships series and it is ...
and VRC Australian Cup etc.).
[Cavanough, Maurice, "The Melbourne Cup", Jack Pollard P/L, North Sydney, 1976]
In 1895, the
Duke of Portland
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 rank ...
purchased Carbine for 13,000 guineas.
He was shipped from Melbourne to the Duke's English stud at
Welbeck Abbey
Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order in England and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house residence of the Dukes of Portland. It is one ...
where he was the second stud sire to the outstanding
St. Simon
Simon the Zealot (, ) or Simon the Canaanite or Simon the Canaanean (, ; grc-gre, Σίμων ὁ Κανανίτης; cop, ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲓ-ⲕⲁⲛⲁⲛⲉⲟⲥ; syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܩܢܢܝܐ) was one of the most obscure among the apostl ...
, who covered the best mares. A son of Carbine, Greatorex, was a minor race winner in England before he was exported to South Africa, where he became a leading sire on ten occasions and influenced bloodlines there. Carbine sired
Spearmint
Spearmint, also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is a species of mint, ''Mentha spicata'' (, native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is nat ...
, the 1906
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 ...
and 1906
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 it ...
winner.
Spearmint in turn sired
Spion Kop, who also won the Epsom Derby. Spion Kop's offspring included another Derby winner,
Felstead
Felsted (sometimes spelt Felstead) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bannister Green, Bartholomew Green, Causeway End, Coblers Green, Cock Green, Frenches Gre ...
. Felstead's son, The Buzzard, later stood at stud in Australia.
The wheel of history turned full circle when two of The Buzzard's offspring, Old Rowley and Rainbird, each won the Melbourne Cup, in 1940 and 1945, respectively. Spearmint was the sire of
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
three-year-old champion,
Johren
Johren (1915–1932) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in the United States. His most important win came in the 1918 Belmont Stakes.
Background
Johren was a "massive" bay horse owned and bred by Harry Payne Whitney. He was sired by ...
, foaled in 1915 in England and exported to America as a yearling. Johren was the winner of the 1918
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...
and was awarded the American
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...
.
Over half of the 65 Melbourne Cup winners from 1914 to 1978 were descendants of Carbine, including
Comic Court
Comic Court (1945–1973) was a most versatile post-war Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse who set race records at distances of 6 furlongs (1,200 metres) and 2 miles (3,200 metres). He won the 1950 Melbourne Cup carrying and set an Australa ...
,
Phar Lap
Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a champion New Zealand–bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest racehorse ever. Achieving incredible success during his distinguished career, his initial ...
,
Rising Fast
Rising Fast (1949 - 1978) was a champion New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is the only horse to complete the Spring Grand Slam, winning the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, and Cox Plate in 1954. He also won the 1955 Caulfield Cup and c ...
,
Rain Lover
Rain Lover (1964-1989) was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse best remembered for his back-to-back wins in the 1968 and 1969 VRC Melbourne Cup.
Background
Rain Lover was sired by the good racehorse, Latin Lover (GB) (a son of the un ...
and
Think Big
In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...
.
[de Bourg, Ross, "The Australian and New Zealand Thoroughbred", Nelson, West Melbourne, 1980, ] Statistics and contemporary assessments indicate that he was a dominant
antipodean
In geography, the antipode () of any spot on Earth is the point on Earth's surface diametrically opposite to it. A pair of points ''antipodal'' () to each other are situated such that a straight line connecting the two would pass through Ear ...
racehorse of the 19th century, and he still ranks with such 20th-century Thoroughbreds as his descendants
Danzig,
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 ...
,
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...
,
Mr. Prospector,
Nasrullah,
Nijinsky II
Nijinsky (21 February 1967 – 15 April 1992) was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the outstanding two-year-old in Europe in 1969 when he was unbeaten in five races. In the following season, he bec ...
(winner of the
UK Triple Crown),
Royal Charger
Royal Charger (1942–1961) was a British Thoroughbred that was successful as a horse racing, racehorse, but much more important as a Horse breeding#Terminology, sire.
Background
Royal Charger was a chestnut horse sired by the important stallio ...
and
Royal Palace
This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent.
Africa
* Abdin Palace, Cairo
* Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo
* Koubbeh Palace, Cairo
* Tahra Palace, Cairo
* Menelik Palace
* Jubilee Palace
* Guenete Leul Palace
* Imperial Palace- Massa ...
(who have established their own sire-lines)
in terms of renown among turf historians.
The descendants of Carbine include eight of the nine horses to earn $10,000,000 or more in stakes wins. These horses are
Deep Impact,
Makybe Diva,
Narita Brian
Narita Brian ( ja, ナリタブライアン, Hepburn: ; May 3, 1991 – September 27, 1998) was a Japanese racehorse. Until T M Opera O surpassed him in 2000, Narita Brian was the world's top money earner.
Background
Narita Brian was a bay ho ...
,
Sunline
Sunline (29 September 1995 – 1 May 2009) was a champion New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the world's highest earning race mare of her time. She won 32 of her 48 races with earnings of NZ$14,200,000. She was named the New Zealand ...
,
Symboli Kris S
Symboli Kris S (, foaled January 21, 1999 in the United States – December 8, 2020) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred race horse. He was voted Japanese Horse of the Year in 2002 and 2003. He was retired at the end of 2003 and was syndicated ...
,
T M Opera O
T M Opera O ( ja, テイエムオペラオー, link=no, March 13, 1996 – May 2018) was a champion Japanese thoroughbred racehorse, and was the world's all-time leading money earner at the time of his retirement in 2001. In 1999, he was the ...
,
Viva Pataca
Viva Pataca () (foaled 7 May 2002) is a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse, who achieved his greatest success when trained in Hong Kong.
Background
Bred by the Dukes of Devonshire and Roxburghe, he was out of the mare Comic and sired by En ...
and
Vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...
.
[Morris, Simon; ''Tesio Power 2000 - Stallions of the World'', Syntax Software] Modern day competitors
Mine That Bird
Mine That Bird (foaled May 10, 2006) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2009 Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds and came second in the Preakness Stakes and third in the Belmont Stakes. He had earnings of $2,228,637 and was inducte ...
,
Rachel Alexandra
Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aunt ...
and Australian champion
Winx trace to Carbine through both their sire and dam.
Death and subsequent fame
Carbine died at Welbeck on 10 June 1914. He had suffered a stroke and was put down with a drug to end his suffering, according to the horse's 'biographer', Grania Polliness. The Duke of Portland gave his skeleton to the
Melbourne Museum
The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens, Melbourne, Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.
Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum was opened in 2000 as a project of t ...
. Today it is displayed at the
Australian Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in Melbourne. Carbine's combined record of documented success as both a racehorse and an international sire is possibly unequalled by any other
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
n Thoroughbred.
Carbine had his portrait painted by the noted equine artist,
Martin Stainforth
Martin Frank Stainforth (14 August 1866 – 22 April 1957) was a British-born artist best known for his portraits of Thoroughbred racehorses he painted in England and while living in Australia and the United States.
Biography
Born at Martley, ...
and it was reproduced in ''Racehorses in Australia''.
Carbine's mounted head and tail are in the collection of the
Auckland War Memorial Museum
The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Aucklan ...
.
Carbine's name is immortalised in the name of the road which runs through what was once the Sylvia Park Stud, Carbine Road.
The Perkins Brewery (Toowoomba) named a beer after Carbine, "Carbine Stout" in 1915. When the brewery closed in 1958 Carbine Stout was brewed at Castlemaine Perkins' famous Milton site until 2005, and still to this day XXXX receive requests from Stout fans who try valiantly to convince Castlemaine to brew it again.
The historic mining town
Mount Carbine in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia, is named after him. The name was chosen after his 1890 Melbourne Cup win.
Pedigree
See also
*
List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses
The list of leading Thoroughbred racehorses contains the names of undefeated racehorses and other horses that had an outstanding race record in specific categories. Note though that many champions do not appear on the list as an unexpected defe ...
*
Repeat winners of horse races A list of racehorses which have won the same race on three or more occasions.
Footnotes
See also
* List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses
* List of historical horses
* Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand
* Harness racing in New Zealand
Harnes ...
*
Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand
The racing of Thoroughbred horses (or gallopers, as they are also known) is a popular gaming and spectator sport and industry in New Zealand.
History
Thoroughbred horse racing commenced soon after European settlement. The first totalisator machin ...
References
{{reflist
Carbine - Profile of a Champion* ''Carbine'' by Grania Poliness, published by Waterloo Press, Sydney, 1985
External links
Australian Racing Museum and Hall of Fame
1885 racehorse births
1914 racehorse deaths
Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses
Horse racing in New Zealand
Melbourne Cup winners
New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame horses
Racehorses bred in New Zealand
Racehorses trained in New Zealand
Racehorses trained in Australia
Thoroughbred family 2-h
Sydney Cup winners