Lath (foaled 1732) 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. He won at least four races, including a 1000-

guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

sweepstakes at Newmarket and a

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consis ...

against

Squirt Squirt or squirting can refer to the following: Animals * Sea squirt, a marine animal Arts and entertainment * ''Squirt'', a comic strip in the ''Funday Times'' * "Squirt" (Fluke song), a song by Fluke * ''Squirt'' (TV series), a New Zealand ...

. After retiring from racing he became a

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 ...

and produced a number of high-class runners and also sired the grand-dam of

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 d ...

winner

Hollandoise Hollandoise, or alternatively Hollandaise, (1775–1782) was a grey British Thoroughbred mare that won the 1778 St. Leger Stakes, the first horse to win the event under its formal title. Raced sporadically from 1778 to 1782, Hollandoise won ...

Background

Lath was a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

bred by

Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin, (3 September 1678 – 17 January 1766), styled Viscount Rialton from 1706 to 1712, was an English courtier and politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1712, wh ...

, and foaled in 1732. His

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

was Roxana, a daughter of

Bald Galloway Bald Galloway (foaled ''c.''1705) was a leading Thoroughbred sire in the 18th century. He was foaled in about 1705 and was bred by Captain Rider. He was sired by St. Victor's Barb and his dam was Grey Whynot, a daughter of Whynot. Grey Whynot's ...

. In 1731 she was intended to be covered by

Hobgoblin A hobgoblin is a household spirit, typically appearing in folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his ''A Midsummer Nigh ...

, but he refused her, so she was sent to the

Godolphin Arabian The Godolphin Arabian (–1753), also known as the Godolphin Barb, was an Arabian horse who was one of three stallions that founded the modern Thoroughbred (the others were the Darley Arabian and the Byerley Turk). He was named after his best-kno ...

, who at the time was acting as a teaser stallion to Hobgoblin. The mating produced Lath, who was the Godolphin Arabian's first foal. Roxana later foaled Roundhead (by

Flying Childers Flying Childers (1715–1741) was a famous undefeated 18th-century thoroughbred racehorse, foaled in 1714 at Carr House, Warmsworth, Doncaster, and is sometimes considered as the first truly great racehorse in the history of thoroughbreds and the ...

) and Cade (also by Godolphin Arabian). After Lath's success on the racetrack, the Godolphin Arabian went on to become a top stallion and was champion sire in 1738, 1745 and 1747. He sired Cade,

Regulus Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation designated α Leonis, which is Latinized to Alpha Leonis, and abbreviated Alpha Leo or α Leo. Re ...

and Blank, who also went on to become champion sires.

Racing career

On 23 April 1737, he won a sweepstakes of 1000

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

at Newmarket, beating the

Earl of Portmore Earl of Portmore was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the Scottish military commander David Colyear, 1st Lord Portmore. He had already been created Lord Portmore in 1699 and was made Lord Colyear and Viscount of Mil ...

and

Duke of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has be ...

's John Trott along with seven others. Later in the year, he beat Little Partner over four miles for 200 guineas. In October 1738, he beat Squirt, also over four miles, for 300 guineas. He also won a race for £50 at Marlborough. He was described as "one of the best horses that appeared at Newmarket since the time of Childers."

Summary of known races

Stud career

After retiring from racing Lath was sold to John Turner and later

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755) was a British nobleman and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1729 when he inherited the Dukedom. Life Cavendish was the son of Will ...

. The most notable of Lath's progeny were: * Red Cap (1744) – a chestnut stallion who won a race at Ludlow and one at Newmarket. * Miss (1754) – a chestnut mare who foaled the dam of

Great Subscription Purse The Great Subscription Purses were a series of flat horse races in Great Britain run at York Racecourse, usually over a distance of 4 miles, that took place each year in August from 1751 to 1833. During the second half of the 18th century they we ...

winner Chatsworth. * Ancaster Crazy – a chestnut mare who foaled Virago, the winner of many races and dam of St.Leger winner

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1732 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Thoroughbred family 6-a