Daedalus (1791 – after 1794) 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 sire. In a brief career that lasted from April to October 1794 he ran three times and won once. He won 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 g ...

on his racecourse debut, beating the smallest field in the history of the race. He was beaten in two races later that year and was retired.

Background

Daedalus (or Dædalus) was a bay horse bred by his owner Lord Grosvenor from his mare Flyer, who had previously produced the 1790 Derby winner Rhadamanthus. Daedalus and Rhadamanthus were the most notable horses sired by Lord Grosvenor's horse Justice, who during his racing career had won two races at Newmarket.

Racing career

1794: three-year-old season

Daedalus made his first racecourse appearance 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 ...

on 5 June. Forty-nine horses had been entered for the race at 50

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

each, but only four ran, including a stable companion of Daedalus who was not included in the betting. This four-horse field was the smallest in Derby history. The

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third so ...

's Leon was the 4/5 favourite, with Lord Egremont's unnamed Highflyer colt (later named Ragged Jack) the 2/1 second choice and Daedalus starting at odds of 6/1. Ridden by Frank Buckle, Daedalus won from the Highflyer colt, with Leon third. Daedalus gave his owner a third Derby win in five years, while Buckle was recording the second of his five victories. After a break of four months, Daedalus returned to the racecourse for two runs at Newmarket in autumn. On 17 October he was one of three runners in a 100 guinea

Sweepstakes A sweepstake is a type of contest where a prize or prizes may be awarded to a winner or winners. Sweepstakes began as a form of lottery that were tied to products sold. In response, the FCC and FTC refined U.S. broadcasting laws (creating the ...

over the two mile "Ditch In" course. Daedalus started favourite at odds of 4/6, but finished second at level weight to Mr Wilson's colt Bennington. Ten days later, Daedalus ran in another Sweepstakes over the same course and distance. On this occasion he started 5/2 second favourite and finished fourth of the six runners behind Bennington. At the end of the year Daedalus was sold to Mr. A Bayton and did not race again.

Retirement

Little is recorded of Daedalus after his sale to Mr. Bayton. He does not appear in any lists of stallions and has no progeny recorded in the ''

General Stud Book The ''General Stud Book'' is a breed registry for horses in Great Britain and Ireland. More specifically it is used to document the breeding of Thoroughbreds and related foundation bloodstock such as the Arabian horse. Today it is published e ...

'' which noted that he had been "sent to Russia." In Russia, he was owned by Count Alexis Orlov, the brother of Gregory Orlov, who also imported the 1792 St. Leger winner Tartar. Count Orlov mainly bred trotting horses, the "

Orlov Trotter The Orlov Trotter (also known as ''Orlov;'' Russian: орловский рысак) is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot, noted for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse. The breed was developed in Ru ...

s," that became a celebrated breed of harness racehorse in the 19th century with lines that have persisted to modern times.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Derby Winners 1791 racehorse births Epsom Derby winners Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Thoroughbred family 1-a Byerley Turk sire line