King Tom (1851–1878) 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 c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

and a

leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who r ...

Pedigree

He was a bay horse foaled in 1851, sired by Harkaway and out of the exceptional mare

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

by Glencoe. King Tom was a half-brother to 14 of Pocahontas' foals including, Auricula (a stakes winner), plus

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The na ...

and his brother, Rataplan, both being by The Baron.Thoroughbred Heritage: Pocahontas
Retrieved on 2009-9-6

Racing record

King Tom won races at age two and at age three he was not quite recovered from an injury when he finished second by a length to

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

in the 1854

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 ...

. He came out of the Derby with a

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

injury that curtailed his racing for the remainder of the year. At age four, King Tom returned to the track and won one race before breaking down.

Stud record

Retired to

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay ba ...

duty, King Tom became the foundation

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

for Baron Mayer de Rothschild's

Mentmore and Crafton Studs Mentmore Stud and Crafton Stud were thoroughbred horse breeding operations that were part of the Mentmore Towers estate on the Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire borders, England. The Crafton stud farm is located at Crafton, Buckinghamshire, a ...

. Between 1861 and 1877 he was one of the United Kingdom's top ten sires 14 times and the

Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who r ...

in 1870 and 1871. King Tom sired the 1866 and 1867

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 (2, ...

winners, Tormentor and Hippia, as well as the 1870 Epsom Derby winner

Kingcraft Kingcraft (1867–1887) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was one of the leading British two-year-old of his generation, winning six of his nine races in 1869. The following year he finished third in the 2000 Guineas and the ...

. He also sired 1864

1,000 Guineas Stakes 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 ...

winner Tomato plus another outstanding

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 ...

Hannah who in 1871 won the Epsom Oaks, 1,000 Guineas and

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 ...

. One of his most important foals was his daughter, St. Angela, dam of

St. Simon Simon the Zealot (, ) or Simon the Canaanite or Simon the Canaanean (, ; grc-gre, Σίμων ὁ Κανανίτης; cop, ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲓ-ⲕⲁⲛⲁⲛⲉⲟⲥ; syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܩܢܢܝܐ) was one of the most obscure among the apostl ...

and second dam of Orme.Morris, Simon; Tesio Power 2000 - ''Stallions of the World'' King Tom is the damsire of Favonius, winner of the 1871

and the grandsire of the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 ...

winner Umpire plus the grandsire of United States Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Ten Broeck. King Tom died at age twenty-seven in January 1878. He was buried in the grounds of

Mentmore Towers Mentmore Towers, historically known simply as "Mentmore", is a 19th-century English country house built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George ...

beneath a life sized bronze statue by Sir

Joseph Boehm Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet, (6 July 1834 – 12 December 1890) was an Austrian-born British medallist and sculptor, best known for the " Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria on coinage, and the statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Par ...

. The statue is now at

Dalmeny House Dalmeny House (pronounced ) is a Gothic revival mansion located in an estate close to Dalmeny on the Firth of Forth, to the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was designed by William Wilkins, and completed in 1817. Dalmeny House is the hom ...

in Scotland.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

Bloodlines
1851 racehorse births 1878 racehorse deaths British Champion Thoroughbred Sires Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 3-m