Kingcraft (1867–1887) 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. 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
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 ...
and then recorded his most important victory when winning
The Derby. Later in the year he finished second in the
St Leger
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 ...
. Kingcraft remained in training for two more seasons but had little further success and was retired to stud. He was later sold for export to the United States but died in transit to his new base in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
.
Background
Kingcraft, a handsome but "delicate-looking" bay horse standing 16
hands high, was bred by his owner
Evelyn Boscawen, 6th Viscount Falmouth at his stud at
Mereworth Castle
Mereworth Castle is a grade I listed Neo-Palladian country house in Mereworth, Kent, England. This source attributes the plasterwork to Francesco Bagutti, but Giovanni Bagutti would appear to be more likely.
History
Originally the site of ...
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
.
He was sired by
King Tom a successful racehorse who became an important sire, being the
Leading sire in Great Britain and 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 ...
in 1870 and 1871. Lord Falmouth sent the colt into training with
Mathew Dawson at his private stable at Heath House at
Newmarket, Suffolk.
Racing career
1869: two-year-old season
Kingcraft began his career in a Triennial Stakes at
Ascot in which he was beaten a head by a filly. He then won his next six races including the Chesterfield Stakes at
Newmarket, the Ham Stakes at
Goodwood and the Convivial Stakes at
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
.
In autumn he ran at Newmarket, winning the Buckenham Stakes and a Triennial Stakes and then walking over in the October Produce Stakes when no other horses opposed him,
before contesting one of the year's most prestigious two-year-old races, the
Middle Park Plate. His previous successes meant that he had to carry a seven
pound weight penalty, as did the season's leading filly Sunshine. In a rough finish, Sunshine was beaten a head by another filly, Frivolity, with Kingcraft a further head behind in third.
On his final start in the Criterion Stakes he was beaten by yet another filly named Hester, who went on to win the following year's
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 ...
. Although the defeat was disappointing, it was pointed out that Kingcraft was not an "every day" horse and may not have recovered from his run in the Middle Park.
Kingcraft's performances as a two-year-old earned his owner £3,765.
Kingcraft went into the winter break regarded as the leading colt of his generation, being second favourite for the 1870 Derby behind Sunshine.
1870: three-year-old season
![Boscawen E Vanity Fair 1877-09-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Boscawen_E_Vanity_Fair_1877-09-01.jpg)
Kingcraft remained a leading fancy for the
Classics in the spring of 1870, but a great deal of interest and money was invested in an unraced colt called Macgregor.
One analysis of the candidates for the 2000 Guineas offered the view that while Kingcraft possessed brilliant speed, his courage or "pluck" was questionable. On his three-year-old debut, Kingcraft started 2/1 favourite for the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in a field of ten runners. He produced a "miserable" effort, never reaching the lead and finishing third, seven lengths behind Macgregor who won very impressively.
Macgregor was the subject of a huge public gamble
for the Derby on June 1, and was made one of the shortest-priced favourites in the history of the race at odds of 4/9. Kingcraft on the other hand was almost forgotten and started a 20/1 outsider in a field of fifteen.
According to a report in ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' the weather on Derby day was poor and the crowd smaller than usual. Ridden by Tom French, Kingcraft was saddled away from the main paddock and disappointed the crowd by failing to take part in the parade in front of the stands. The start of the race was delayed for some time by the behaviour of Cockney Boy who refused to line up with the other runners. When the race got under way French restrained Kingcraft at the back of the field in the early stages before making steady progress from half way. Approaching the turn into the straight, French pulled Kingcraft to the wide outside, avoiding the congestion and bumping along the rail. The outsiders Palmerston and Muster led the race in the straight from Macgregor, but two furlongs from the finish the favourite came under pressure and was soon beaten. French made his move on Kingcraft just over a furlong from the finish, took the lead from Palmerston and quickly pulled clear to win by four lengths.
The win delighted the
bookmakers
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds.
History
The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795.
Range of events
Bookma ...
who had heavy liabilities on Macgregor. Lord Falmouth had accepted a bet of sixpence on Kingcraft from the wife of his trainer Mathew Dawson. After Kingcraft won, he presented Mrs Dawson with a sixpence set in a £500 silver bracelet. Kingcraft was allowed to walk over in the Great Surrey Foal Stakes at the same meeting.
The difficulties of
early telegraphic communication were illustrated by the reporting of the race by the "American Press Association". Receiving two slightly different reports of the race within a short space of time, the APA reporter assumed that two different events were being described and reported that the race had been run in two heats, with Kingcraft winning both.
On 24 September, Kingcraft started 2/1 favourite for the St Leger at
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
ahead of Palmerston and Sunlight. Tom French held Kingcraft up in the early stages before producing him on the inside to take the lead in the straight. He looked the likely winner until Hawthornden emerged with a strong challenge on the wide outside. Inside the final furlong Kingcraft was overtaken and beaten half a length in an exciting finish. Later at the same meeting he ran in the Doncaster Stakes over one and a half miles in which he started favourite at 7/4 but finished fourth of the five runners behind Enterprise. In October, Kingcraft ran four times at Newmarket, but his only success came when he walked over in the Select Stakes. He finished second in a Triennial Stakes, fourth in the Newmarket St Leger and fourth in the All-Aged Stakes. His performances led to speculation that his hard race in the St Leger had "subdued his spirit"
Later career
Kingcraft had little success in two more seasons, although he ran in many important races. In April 1871 he was beaten by Palmerston in the Claret Stakes at Newmarket. At Ascot in June Kingcraft ran in the
Gold Cup in which he finished fifth of the seven runners behind the French-trained Mortemer. He was also beaten in a Triennial Stakes and the same meeting. At Newmarket in October that autumn he started at odds of 20/1 for the
Cesarewitch Handicap
The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres ...
and ran unplaced behind Corisande. Later that month at the same racecourse he finished fifth to Sabinus in the
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...
.
On 23 April 1872 Kingcraft returned to Epsom, the scene of his biggest win, and ran unplaced in the City and Suburban Handicap won by Digby Grand. At Goodwood in July he produced his best performance for almost two years when he stayed on in the straight to take third place behind the favourite Spennithorne in the
Goodwood Stakes over two and a half miles. Later that season he ran in the Liverpool Autumn Cup and was made joint favourite. Ridden by Charles Maidment he held the lead in the closing stages but although he ran on with "great gameness" he was beaten a head by the three-year-old Vanderdecken. The winning time of 2:33.5 was one of the fastest ever recorded for a mile and a half.
Assessment
William Allison, in his book "Memories of Men and Horses" described Kingcraft as "the best-looking Derby winner I have seen" but "a bad one according to classic standard." The ''Pall Mall Budget'' called Kingcraft "one of the worst horses which have ever won the Derby" and his opposition at Epsom as "rubbish."
Stud career
Kingcraft was retired to his owners stud where he had limited success. The best of his offspring were Swift and Vernet, both of whom won the
Grand Critérium
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* Grand, Vosges, village and c ...
. When Lord Falmouth decided to dispose of all his horses in 1884 Kingcraft was bought for 500
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 ...
by
Lord Rossmore
Baron Rossmore, of Monaghan in the County of Monaghan, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1796 for the soldier Robert Cuninghame, with remainder to his wife Elizabeth's nephews Henry Alexander Jones (the son of Theophilus J ...
. Four months later on 8 December Lord Rossmore sold Kingcraft for 530 guineas. He was sent to Ireland where he stood at the Athgarvan Stud at the
Curragh
The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...
. The best of his Irish runners was Springfield Maid a notable steeplechaser who won the
Irish Grand National
The Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5,834 ...
and the
Galway Plate. He was later sold to Daniel Swigert of
Elmendorf Farm
Elmendorf Farm is a Kentucky Thoroughbred horse farm in Fayette County, Kentucky, involved with horse racing since the 19th century. Once the North Elkhorn Farm, many owners and tenants have occupied the area, even during the American Civil War. Mo ...
at the end of 1886, but died on board ship six days after leaving England.
Pedigree
References
{{Epsom Derby Winners
1867 racehorse births
1887 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Epsom Derby winners
Thoroughbred family 11-g