Hypericum (1943 – after 1964) 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. Bred and owned by
King George VI she was one of the best two-year-old fillies in England in 1945 when she won two of her four races including the
Dewhurst Stakes
The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres ...
as well as finishing second in the
Middle Park Stakes
The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is ...
. In the following year she became increasingly temperamental but after finishing second on her seasonal debut she won 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 ...
despite throwing her jockey and
bolting before the start. In her two subsequent races she finished fourth in 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 ...
and unplaced in 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 ...
. As a broodmare she had an enduring influence on the breed through her granddaughter
Highclere.
Background
Hypericum was a bay mare bred and owned by
King George VI. She was trained throughout her racing career by
Cecil Boyd-Rochfort
Sir Cecil Charles Boyd-Rochfort KCVO (188718 March 1983) was an Irish thoroughbred racehorse trainer who was British flat racing Champion Trainer five times.
Background
Cecil was the son of Rochfort Hamilton Boyd-Rochfort and the grandson of ...
at the Freemason Lodge Stable in
Newmarket, Suffolk.
The filly was ridden in most of her races by
Doug Smith.
She was sired by
Hyperion, who won the
Epsom Derby and 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 ...
in 1933 and went on to become an internationally significant sire: Hypericum's successes enabled Hyperion to claim the second and third of his six
sires' championships in 1945 and 1946. Her dam Feola finished second in 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 ...
and third in 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 ...
before becoming a very successful broodmare. Her other female-line descendants included
Round Table,
Pebbles,
Aureole
An aureola or aureole (diminutive of Latin ''aurea'', "golden") is the radiance of luminous cloud which, in paintings of sacred personages, surrounds the whole figure.
In Romance languages, the noun Aureola is usually more related to the d ...
,
Lassalle,
Jet Ski Lady
Jet Ski Lady (foaled 20 February 1988) was an American-bred, Irish-trained thoroughbred racehorse, best known for winning The Oaks in 1991. In a racing career which lasted from June 1990 to October 1991 the filly ran ten times and won four rac ...
and
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
.
Racing career
1945: two-year-old season
In 1945 Hypericum won one of her first two races. In October the filly was stepped up in class for the Middle Park Stakes over six furlongs and finished second to the
Aga Khan's colt
Khaled. Later that month she started
4/7 favourite and won the seven-furlong Dewhurst Stakes.
In the Free Handicap, a ranking of the season's best juveniles, Hypericum was assigned a weight of 122 pounds, eight pounds below the top filly Neolight.
1946: three-year-old season
On her debut as a thee-year-old Hypericum finished second to Neolight in the Katheryn Howard Stakes at
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 ...
. On 3 May she started at odds of 100/6 for the 133rd running of the 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile course. Neolight was made the 4/6 favourite while the best-fancied horses were the Aga Khan's Cama and
Lord Rosebery
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of ...
's Iona. As the thirteen runners approached the starting tapes Hypericum swerved, unseating Doug Smith and cantered three-quarters of a mile before she was caught and returned to the start. When the race began, fifteen minutes later, the filly swerved again but soon settled and won by one and a half lengths from Neolight, with Iona three-quarters of a length back in third. Hypericum's victory, which was witnessed by
Princes Elizabeth, was described as one of the most popular ever seen at Newmarket. After her victory it was explained that Hypericum was a "problem" horse who had thrown off every rider who had mounted her, including her trainer.
In the Epsom Oaks on 7 June Hypericum started 9/4 second favourite behind Iona but after misbehaving at the start again she finished fourth of the ten runners behind
Steady Aim, Iona and Nelia. The filly was dropped back in distance for 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 ...
over one mile at
Royal Ascot but ran poorly behind Neolight and was retired from racing soon afterwards.
Assessment and honours
In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Hypericum an "average" winner of the 1000 Guineas.
Breeding record
After her retirement from racing to become a broodmare for the Royal Stud. On the death of the King in 1952 she passed into the ownership of
Queen Elizabeth II. She produced at least seven foals between 1949 and 1964:
*Prescription, a chestnut filly, foaled in 1949, sired by Epigram.
*Belladonna, bay filly, 1952, by
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance s ...
. Winner. Dam of Ben Marshall (won
St Leger Italiano).
*Medici, colt, 1953, by Donatello.
*Restoration, bay colt, 1955, by
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
. Won
King Edward VII Stakes
The King Edward VII Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 met ...
.
*Highlight, bay filly, 1958, by
Borealis
Borealis (Latin for ''northern'' or ''of the north'') may refer to:
Astronomy
* Borealis Basin or North Polar Basin, a basin on the planet Mars
* Borealis quadrangle, an area on the planet Mercury
** Borealis Planitia, a basin within the quadran ...
. Winner. Dam of
Highclere and female-line ancestor of
Deep Impact and
Height of Fashion.
*Eucumbene, bay filly, 1962, by
Sica Boy. Winner; second in the
Yorkshire Oaks
The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 ...
. Dam of Eucalyptus (
Ballymoss Stakes).
*Narcotic, bay filly, 1964, by
Narrator
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
.
Pedigree
References
{{1000 Guineas Winners
1943 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 2-f
1000 Guineas winners