Festoon (1951–1973) 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 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 ...

, best known for winning 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 (1,60 ...

in 1954 and setting a world record when being sold at auction later that year. In a racing career which lasted from autumn 1953 to July 1954 the

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

ran seven times and won three races. After winning her only race as a two-year-old, Festoon won 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 over one mile 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 ...

the following spring. She failed to stay the distance in The Oaks but returned to one mile to win the

Coronation Stakes The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is schedul ...

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 a ...

and finish third against colts in the

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

at Goodwood. She was then retired to stud where she produced several winners.

Background

Festoon was a chestnut mare with a prominent white blaze and long white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

on her hind legs. She was bred by her owner John Arthur "Lucky" Dewar, an industrialist who had inherited a fortune including a string of racehorses from his uncle

Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar Thomas Robert "Tommy" Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar (6 January 1864 – 11 April 1930) was a Scottish whisky distiller who, along with his brother John Dewar, built their family label, Dewar's, into an international success. They blended their whisky ...

in 1930. Festoon was sired by

Fair Trial A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

, a successful racehorse who became Britain's champion sire in 1950. Her dam, Monsoon finished second in the wartime substitute Oaks in 1943 and was bought by Dewar as a prospective broodmare for 7,300

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 ...

at the end of her racing career. Before foaling Festoon, Monsoon had produced Refreshed, a filly who finished third in the 1000 Guineas in 1952. As a descendant of the broodmare Rose Red, Monsoon came from the same branch of Thoroughbred "Family" 1-w which later produced

Celtic Ash Celtic Ash (1957–1978) was an English-bred Thoroughbred racehorse raised in Ireland who is best known for winning the 1960 Belmont Stakes. Background Celtic Ash was a bay horse bred by Lord Harrington. He was out of the mare Ash Plant and sir ...

, Larkspur, Altesse Royale and

Nocturnal Spree Nocturnal Spree (1972–after 1991) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. In a brief racing career lasting from the autumn of 1974 until May 1975, the filly ran four times and won two races. She finished third in her only race as a two-year ...

. Festoon was trained throughout her brief career by Noel Cannon at the

Druid's Lodge Woodford is a civil parish in southern-central Wiltshire, England, on the west bank of the Salisbury Avon, about north of Salisbury. Its settlements are the villages of Lower Woodford, Middle Woodford and Upper Woodford, the last of which is ...

stables on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wit ...

, Wiltshire.

Racing career

Festoon was slow to mature as a two-year-old and ran only once in 1953, winning a minor race over six

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 ...

s. On her first appearance as a three-year-old, Festoon finished second to Key in the 1000 Guineas Trial at Kempton Park in March. In the 1000 Guineas, Festoon started at odds of 9/2 in a field of twelve fillies, with Key being made the 5/2 favourite. Ridden by the Australian jockey

Scobie Breasley Arthur Edward "Scobie" Breasley (7 May 1914 – 21 December 2006) was an Australian jockey. He won the Caulfield Cup in Melbourne five times: 1942-45 consecutively on Tranquil Star, Skipton, Counsel and St Fairy; then on Peshawar in 1952. ...

she led from the start and won by two

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most Measurement system, systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit f ...

from Big Berry with Welsh Fairy a length further back in third. On her next appearance, Festoon ran in the ten furlong Druid's Plate at her home course of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

and was beaten by Valerullah, a colt to whom she was attempting to concede sixteen pounds. The win led some observers to conclude that Festoon had stamina limitations, especially as Fair Trial's progeny seldom excelled at distances beyond nine furlongs. Festoon was nevertheless moved up in distance again for the Oaks 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 ...

. Ridden by

Joe Mercer Joseph Mercer, OBE (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an English football player and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa, Manchester City and Engl ...

, who took over the ride after Breasley was badly injured in a fall in a race at Alexandra Park, she finished fifth to the French-trained filly Sun Cap, apparently failing to stay the distance. At Royal Ascot, Festoon returned to one mile to contest the Coronation Stakes. Ridden again by Mercer she started 11/8 favourite and won impressively from Sybil's Niece. On her final appearance, Festoon was matched against colts in the one mile Sussex Stakes at Goodwood in July. In a race run in atrocious weather she started 2/1 second favourite behind the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's colt Landau. Festoon challenged Landau for the lead in the straight but weakened in the closing stages and lost second place to Orthopaedic in the closing stages.

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Festoon an "average" winner of the 1000 Guineas. Breasley considered Festoon one of the best horses he had ridden up to that time, comparing her to the outstanding Australian mare

Tranquil Star Tranquil Star (foaled in 1937) was one of the hardiest and best performed Australian-bred Thoroughbred race-mares. She is the only mare to have won the double of the Caulfield Stakes, now known as the Yalumba Stakes, and the Cox Plate, which is ...

Stud record

On the death of John Arthur Dewar in August 1954, shortly after Festoon's last race, his bloodstock was dispersed at auction. At the Newmarket sales in December Festoon was bought by Anthony Askew for 36,000 guineas, reported as a world record price for a broodmare. As a broodmare she produced five winners, two of which were close to top class: Pindaric (sired by

Pinza Pinza (1950–1977) was a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted just over a year– from July 1952 until July 1953– he ran seven times and won five races. He was the best British colt of his generation in 1953, ...

), won the

Lingfield Derby Trial The Derby Trial Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 133 yards () ...

in 1962, while Atilla (''sic''), by Alcide, was a successful international performer whose wins included the

Gran Premio del Jockey Club The Gran Premio del Jockey Club is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in October. T ...

and the

Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is schedu ...

. Festoon died in 1973 at the San Quentin stud.

Pedigree

References

{{1000 Guineas winners 1951 racehorse births 1973 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-w 1000 Guineas winners