Challacombe (1902 – 8 January 1917) 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 showed little ability as a two-year-old, showing no worthwhile form in six starts. In the following year he made steady progress, winning seven races, culminating with an upset victory in the

St Leger Stakes 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 ...

. He was subsequently retired to stud but had no success as a sire of winners.

Background

Challacombe was a bay horse with a white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

bred by F W Dunn. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

he was put up for auction at Doncaster and was bought for 570

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 ...

by Alec Taylor Jr. on behalf of the American-born

Washington Singer Washington Merritt Grant Singer (1866–1934) was an United States, American-born Englan, English heir, philanthropist and prominent horse racing, racehorse owner. Biography Early life Born in Yonkers, New York he was the third child of Isabell ...

. Taylor, who trained the horse at

Manton, Wiltshire Manton is a small village in Wiltshire, England, on the western outskirts of Marlborough just off the A4 Bath Road. History A settlement of twelve households and an estate held by Miles Crispin were recorded at ''Manetone'' in the 1087 Domesda ...

, later expressed his disappointment that the colt had never been entered in 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 ...

. The horse was named after a small village in Devon. He was sired by St Serf who won the Rous Memorial Stakes and went on to sire several other good horses included 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 ...

winner Thais. Challacombe's dam Lady Chancellor was a distant, female-line descendant of the dam of 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 (2, ...

winner

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Racing career

1904: two-year-old season

Until 1946 two-year-old racehorses in Britain did not have to be given official names and the colt who was to become Challacombe raced unnamed as a juvenile in 1904. The colt made no impact, as he failed to win or place in any of his six races.

1905: three-year-old season

The still unnamed colt returned in the spring of 1905 and began to make steady progress. He won the Union Jack Stakes over one mile at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in April and the Wood Ditton 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 ...

later that month. In May he followed up by taking the Tudor Plate at

Sandown Park Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing ...

and the Chippenham Plate over miles at Newmarket. At

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 June he finished unplaced in both the Gold Vase and the Triennial Stakes. In July he ran for the first time under the name ''Challacombe'' and won the Coombe Plate over one mile at

. Later that month he was moved up in class for the Duchess of York Plate over ten

furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

Hurst Park Hurst Park Racecourse was a racecourse at Moulsey Hurst, West Molesey, Surrey, near the River Thames. It was first laid out in 1890 and held its last race in 1962. There was racing at nearby Hampton for many years until 1887. The first meeting a ...

he finished third behind the Oaks winner

Cherry Lass Cherry Lass (1902–1914), was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who won two British Classic Races in 1905. In a racing career which lasted from summer 1904 until October 1905 she ran fifteen times and won nine races. As a three ...

. The colt returned to Hurst Park in August and finished second to Costly Lady in the Holiday Plate. On his final race before contesting the St Leger Challacombe contested the

weight-for-age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rous ...

Newdigate Stakes over miles at

Gatwick Racecourse Gatwick Racecourse was a racecourse in the county of Surrey, England near to Horley and Lowfield Heath. It was in use from 1891 to 1940 when it was closed at the start of the Second World War. The land is now part of London Gatwick Airport. His ...

in early September, and won "very easily" from the four-year-old St Denis. 130th running of the St Leger over 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 ...

on 13 September was much anticipated as the field was expected to include the season's three outstanding three-year-olds,

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

, Val d'Or and Cherry Lass. When Cicero was withdrawn with a leg injury, and Val d'Or was prevented from crossing the

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from France by rough weather, Cherry Lass became the clear favourite. The race was run in wet and "dismal" conditions but nevertheless attracted the customary huge crowd. Cherry Lass went off at odds of 6/4 ahead of Llangibby (third to Val d'Or and Cicero in 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 ...

) and

Polymelus Polymelus (1902–1924) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for five years (1914, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1921). Among his most famous descendants are Secretariat and Northern Dance ...

with Challacombe, ridden by

Otto Madden Herbert Otto Madden, normally known as "Otto" (2 January 1873 in Hoppegarten - 21 May 1942 in Newmarket, Suffolk) was a four time British flat racing Champion Jockey He was born to a jockey father, who had ridden Kincsem an unbeaten horse that ...

the 16/1 fourth choice in an eight-runner field. It was reported that Challacombe, who was equipped with blinkers, had been considered unlikely to run in the race until the withdrawals of Cicero and Val d'Or. Challacombe was not among the early leaders but drew alongside the tiring Cherry Lass in the straight before pulling away to win "easily" by three lengths from Polymelus with the favourite three lengths back in third place. The winning time of 3:05.4 was a new record for the race. Challacombe ended the year with earnings of £6,847 making him the sixth most financially successful horse of the season.

1906: four-year-old season

Challacombe remained in training as a four-year-old but failed to win any major races.

Assessment and honours

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

Stud record

Challacombe retired from racing to become a breeding stallion but had no success as a sire of winners. Challacombe was euthanised on 8 January 1917.

Pedigree

References

{{St Leger Winners 1902 racehorse births 1917 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 32 St Leger winners