Canterbury Pilgrim (1893–1917) was a British Thoroughbred 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 ...

. She showed some ability as a juvenile but failed to win a race. She won the Oaks Stakes on her first run as a three-year-old and went on to win the Liverpool Summer Cup, Park Hill Stakes and

Jockey Club Cup 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 w ...

before being retired at the end of the year. As a broodmare the best of her offspring was

Swynford Swynford (January 1907 – 18 May 1928) was a British Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Bred at the Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, 16th Lord Derby's stud in Lincolnshire, England he was sired by John O'Gaunt (horse), John O'Gaunt, a so ...

, a top-class racehorse who was even better as a breeding stallion. She also produced the influential sire Chaucer and several good broodmares. She has been described as "one of the most influential horses, stallion or mare, of the Twentieth Century".

Background

Canterbury Pilgrim was a chestnut mare bred in at the Sefton Stud in Newmarket,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

by Caroline, Duchess of Montrose, the widow of James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose. When the Duchess died in 1894, the yearling filly was put up for sale in July and bought for 1,800 guineas by Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby. She was trained throughout her racing career by

George Lambton George Lambton (23 December 1860 – 23 July 1945) was a British thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He was British flat racing Champion Trainer in the 1906, 1911 and 1912 seasons. Early life The Honourable George Lambton was born in London on 23 ...

at Bedford Lodge stables in Newmarket,

. She was one of the best horses sired by Tristan, a brilliant and durable but highly temperamental performer whose wins included the

July Cup The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres ...

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat 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 ...

and three editions of 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 ...

. Her dam Pilgrimage was a top-class performer who completed a rare double when winning both 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 ...

and

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 at ...

in 1878. As a broodmare he produced several other good winners including 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 ...

winner

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

Racing career

1895: two-year-old season

Canterbury Pilgrim contested four events as a two-year-old in 1894 but failed to win a race. When tried against top-class opposition on her debut in the Champagne Stakes 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 10 September she came home last of the seven runners behind the Duke of Westminster's filly Omladina. She also finished last of four behind Gulistan, Attainment and Queen's Piper in the Prendergast Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse on 10 October. Her only effort came at Liverpool in early November when she finished third to Arctic in the Knowsley Nursery (a handicap race for juveniles) carrying a weight of 104 pounds. On her final run of the year she ran unplaced under 105 pounds in the Chesterfield Nursery Stakes over five furlongs on 14 November at

Derby Racecourse Derby Racecourse is a former horse racing venue in Derby, England, from 1848 to 1939. It was preceded by two earlier courses, at different locations. Earlier courses It is unknown exactly when horse racing first started in Derby, although a ...

1896: three-year-old season

Canterbury Pilgrim began her second season in the 118th running of the Oaks Stakes over one and a half miles at Epsom Racecourse on 5 June. Ridden by

Fred Rickaby Frederick Edward Rickaby (1869 - 1941) was an English flat racing jockey, who won three fillies' Classics. He is usually referred to as Fred Rickaby Sr. to distinguish him from his son and grandson, both successful jockeys in their own right ...

she was made the 100/8 fifth choice in the eleven-runner field with the Prince of Wales's 1000 Guineas winner Thais starting the 13/8 favourite. After tracking the leaders for most of the way she moved into second place behind Thais in the straight and then moved alongside the favourite entering the final furlong after a brief struggle she broke clear and won by two

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 ...

from Thais, with Proposition a length away in third. The filly was then dropped back in distance for the Coronation Stakes over one mile at Royal Ascot twelve days later but despite starting 7/4 favourite she came home fourth behind Helm, Thais and Miss Fraser, all of whom had finished behind her at Epsom. Canterbury Pilgrim was matched against older horses in the Liverpool Summer Cup over eleven furlongs on 23 July and was assigned a weight of 103 pounds. Ridden by Tommy Loates she won "very cleverly" by a length from the nine-year-old Australian

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

Paris III. Canterbury Pilgrim faced Helm again Park Hill Stakes over one and three quarter miles on the last day of the St Leger meeting at the Doncaster. Starting the 10/11 favourite she went to the front entering the final furlong and "forged ahead" to win by two lengths from Jolly Boat with Helm unplaced. On 28 October, carrying a weight of 113 pounds, the filly finished unplaced behind Winkfield's Pride in the Cambridgeshire Handicap over nine furlongs at Newmarket. One day later at the same track she started at odds of 20/21 for the Jockey Club Cup over two and a quarter miles and won "very easily" from the colt Gulistan.

Breeding record

Canterbury Pilgrim was retired from racing at the end of 1896 to become a broodmare for Lord Derby's stud. On Lord Derby's death in 1896 the mare passed into the ownership of his son the 17th Earl. She produced ten foals between 1898 and 1914: *St Victorine, a brown filly, foaled in 1898, sired by St Serf. Female-line ancestor of

Star Kingdom A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

. * Chaucer, brown colt, 1900, by St Simon. Won eight races. Sire of

Canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

and Pillion. Leading sire of broodmares. *Gourd, brown filly, 1902, by Persimmon *Glasconbury, chestnut filly, 1903, by

Isinglass Isinglass () is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification or fining of some beer and wine. It can also be cooked into a paste for specialised gluing purposes. The E ...

*Wife of Bath, brown filly, 1904, by St Simon. Female-line ancestor of

Mon Fils Mon Fils (1970–1979) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for winning the classic 2000 Guineas in 1973. As a two-year-old, Mon Fils won two of his seven races including the Mill Reef Stakes. In 1973 he won the 2000 G ...

and

Saoire Saoire (foaled 29 April 2002) is a Welsh-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the Irish 1000 Guineas in 2005. After being sold cheaply as a foal she was eventually sent into training with Frances Crowle ...

. *Pilgrim's Way, chestnut filly, 1905, by

St Frusquin St. Frusquin (1893–1914) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career that lasted from May 1895 to July 1896, he ran eleven times and won nine races. He was the best British two-year-old of 1895 when his five wins incl ...

. Female-line ancestor of Right Boy,

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

Kyllachy Kyllachy (foaled 25 February 1998) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Named after a Scottish grouse moor, he was a specialist sprinter who was usually held up for a late run. His early form was promising but unremarkable as he won two ...

. *

, brown colt, 1907, by John O'Gaunt. Won St Leger and

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 ...

. Champion sire in 1923. *The Tabard, chestnut filly, 1908, by

Zinfandel Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kaštel ...

*Harry of Hereford, bay colt, 1910, by John O'Gaunt *Nun's Veiling, brown filly, 1914, by Roquelaure Canterbury Pilgrim died in 1917, at the age of 24.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1893 racehorse births 1917 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-g Epsom Oaks winners