Charlotte West (1827 – after 1850) 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 ...
racehorse and
broodmare who won the seventeenth running of the
classic
A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...
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 (1,60 ...
at
Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of British horserac ...
in 1830. In a racing career which lasted from April 1830 until May 1831 the filly ran seven times and won four races. After winning the 1000 Guineas on her second racecourse appearance, Charlotte West was beaten when favourite for the
Oaks Stakes
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 ( ...
but returned to win races at
Ascot and Newmarket before the end of the year. She failed to reproduce her best form in 1831 and was retired from racing.
Background
Charlotte West was a chestnut mare bred by her owner
George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey
George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey, GCH, PC (19 August 1773 – 3 October 1859), previously George Villiers and styled Viscount Villiers until 1805, was a British courtier and Conservative politician from the Villiers family.
He added ...
. She was sired by the
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
-bred stallion Tramp, a successful racehorse and sire whose other progeny included
The Derby winners
St. Giles and
Dangerous as well as the filly
Tarantella
() is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...
, the winner of the 1000 Guineas in 1833.
Charlotte West came from an extremely successful female family which traced back to the
Duke of Grafton
Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke ...
's outstanding and influential broodmare
Prunella. Charlotte West's dam Filagree also produced 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 ...
winner
Riddlesworth
Riddlesworth is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
It covers an area of and had a population of 147 in 48 households at the 2001 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of Breckland.
St Pete ...
and the filly
Cobweb
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey.
Spi ...
who won the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks before producing three classic winners including
Bay Middleton
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...
. Filagree was a daughter of Web, the
Foundation mare of Thoroughbred family 1-s, and a sister of the Derby winner
Middleton and the leading broodmare
Trampoline
A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. People bounce o ...
.
Racing career
1830: three-year-old season
Charlotte West began her racing career on 15 April 1830 at the Newmarket Craven meeting. Ridden by
James "Jem" Robinson she ran a match race against a colt named Coventry over the Ditch Mile. The colt was favoured in the betting, but the filly won to win a prize of £200. Two weeks later, Lord Jersey's filly was one of seven fillies to contest the 1000 Guineas Stakes over the same course and distance and started at odds of
5/1 behind the 3/1 joint-favourites Brambilla and Zillah. Partnered again by Robinson, Charlotte West won the classic by a length from Zillah, with Brambilla in third place. According to the Sporting Calendar she won "rather decidedly" after a "business-like" race.
A month after her win at Newmarket, Charlotte West was moved up in distance for the Oaks Stakes over one and a half miles 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 ...
. In a field of eighteen runners, she was made 3/1 favourite but finished unplaced behind Mr Scott Stonehewer's filly Variation, a 28/1 outsider. Charlotte West returned to the one mile distance at
Ascot in June for the Royal Stakes. She started at odds of 1/4 and won by two lengths from her only opponent, a filly named Schumla. The runner-up lost any chance of creating an upset when she ran wide on the turn into the straight after being distracted by the presence her trainer, mounted on his
hack
Hack may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game
* ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack''
Music
* ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...
on the outside of the course.
Charlotte West was off the course for almost five months before returning on 6 November, the last day of racing at Newmarket in 1830. She was assigned top weight of 126
pounds in a five
furlong
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 hor ...
handicap race in which she was matched against colts and older horses. She was ridden by George Edwards, and started the 5/2 favourite, whilst her main rival, Mr Rush's unnamed colt by
Tiresias
In Greek mythology, Tiresias (; grc, Τειρεσίας, Teiresías) was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nym ...
out of
Rhoda was ridden by Jem Robinson. Charlotte West won by a head from the Rhoda colt, with Edwards reportedly riding a particularly fine race.
1831: four-year-old season
Charlotte West was kept in training as a four-year-old but failed to reproduce her earlier success. At the First Spring meeting at Newmarket on 18 April she started 6/5 favourite for a five furlong handicap, but finished third of the four runners behind Mr Cooke's colt Harold. At the next Newmarket meeting in May she ran a £50 match against Zillah in which she attempted to concede five pounds to the 1000 Guineas runner-up. Charlotte West was favoured in the betting but beaten in the race and did not compete again.
Stud record
After her retirement, Charlotte West became a broodmare and produced fourteen live foals between 1833 and 1850 during which time she changed hands several times. Although she was covered by stallions including the classic winners
Cotherstone
Cotherstone is a village and civil parish in the Pennine hills, in Teesdale, County Durham, England.
Cotherstone lies within the historic county boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, but along with the rest of the former Startforth R ...
,
Touchstone,
The Colonel and
Elis
Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...
she produced no top-class winners. After 1850 her owner abandoned attempts to use the mare for breeding Thoroughbreds and she was "put to cart-horses".
Pedigree
References
{{1000 Guineas winners
1827 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 1-s
1000 Guineas winners