Lord Lyon (1863–1887) 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 c ...

racehorse that won the 1866

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 ...

2,000 Guineas Stakes 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 at ...

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 ...

, becoming the third winner of the English

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

. Lord Lyon raced until he was four-years old and was retired to stud in 1868. He is considered to be a marginally successful sire with his most notable progeny being the colt

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and the filly Placida. He was

euthanized Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...

in April 1887 after several years of failing health.

Background

Lord Lyon was foaled in 1863 at

Oakley Hall Oakley Maxwell Hall (July 1, 1920 – May 12, 2008) was an American novelist. He was born in San Diego, California, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and served in the Marines during World War II. Some of his mysteries were ...

, the stud farm of General Mark Pearson which was located twenty miles outside of

Oakham Oakham is the county town of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, east of Leicester, south-east of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. It had a population of 10,922 in the 2011 census, estimated at 11,191 in 2019. Oakham is to the west o ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. He was sired by

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, winner of the 1852

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 ...

and

and a seven-time leading sire. Lord Lyon's dam, Paradigm, was not "fashionably bred" being sired by Paragone, a "3-

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" sire noted more for producing

hunt Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, e ...

horses than racehorses. Paradigm's dam, Ellen Horne, was purchased by Pearson for around 18 guineas for his wife to use as a

hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack'' Music * ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...

horse. Paradigm was an unsuccessful racehorse, running only twice and placing in the Lavender Stakes as a two-year-old before she fractured

pastern The is a part of the leg of a horse between the fetlock and the top of the hoof. It incorporates the long pastern bone (proximal phalanx) and the short pastern bone (middle phalanx), which are held together by two sets of paired ligaments to fo ...

while running in the Bentinck Memorial at Goodwood forcing her retirement from racing. Like her dam, Paradigm was also used as a hack before she entered the stud. Paradigm was later heralded as a worthy

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 ...

. In 1864, she foaled Lord Lyon's full sister, Achievement, which won the 1867 St. Leger, Doncaster Stakes and

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

among many other races. Another full-sister, Chevisaunce, was the dam of the Epsom Oaks and St. Leger winning filly

Jannette Jannette (1875–1905), was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who won two British Classic Races in 1878. She was one of the leading British two-year-olds of 1877 when she was unbeaten in seven races including the Richmond Stake ...

. Paradigm produced a total of 13 foals and also produced King at Arms, Man at Arms and Blue Mantle. Lord Lyon was a bay horse that stood 15.3

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high with "good bone, flat feet and very short pastern joints" and had four white

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. He was also described as "odd-shaped" and "not quite correctly balanced in all his points." According to his regular

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

Henry Custance, Lord Lyon was "a very slight whistler" until the condition was treated by firing (applying a hot rod, similar to

pin firing Pin firing, also known as thermocautery, is the treatment of an injury to a horse's leg, by burning, freezing, or dousing it with acid or caustic chemicals. Lord Lyon also possessed a docile and gentle temperament and was described by his trainer James Dover as "the quietest horse I have got."

Racing career

Lord Lyon was leased by Richard Sutton during his racing career with Pearson retaining partial ownership. Lord Lyon's first racing trial occurred in September 1864 when he was still a yearling. According to Charles Gregory, trainer James Dover's

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, General Pearson was "a hard man with his yearlings" and wanted "to know the best or the worst of them" as soon as the horses began training. Consequently, the yearling Lord Lyon was walked by Gregory 17 miles in the rain from

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to Ilsley to be trained by James Dover in early autumn 1864. Lord Lyon won 17 of his 21 starts in his racing career. He was retired to stud at the end of his four-year-old season.

1864–1865: trials

Lord Lyon's first trial race occurred on 10 September 1864 and was a half mile race at Ilsley against the two-year-old

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 ...

Jezebel. Lord Lyon carried 115 pounds and Jezebel carried 122 pounds. Lord Lyon was beaten by a neck in the race, a commendable feat given that Jezebel was a seasoned racehorse that had won the Bath Biennial and was carrying only seven more pounds than Lord Lyon in the race. He was again tried on 29 April 1865, where carrying 112 pounds he finished third a

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...

and a half behind Rustic and Grisette. This trial, where he was ridden in a

gallop The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait pos ...

for most of the race, seemed to upset Lord Lyon, and he is described as going "amiss" for a period of time after the running. Lord Lyon trained on favorably over the summer of 1865 and was tried a third time on 3 August in a three quarters of a mile race on Ilsley Downs where he beat his three-year-old half-sister Gardevisure by seven lengths while only breaking into a

canter The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait pos ...

. General Pearson insisted on another trial run between Lord Lyon and Gardevisure to force Lord Lyon to break into a gallop. In his fourth trial two-weeks later, Lord Lyon again beat Gardevisure by a margin of three lengths while running at a canter.

1865: two-year-old season

Lord Lyon's first official start as a two-year-old occurred at

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for the Champagne Stakes. With all the colts carrying 122 pounds, he ran a

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a Tie (draw), tie and the competitors are awarde ...

for the win with the colt Redan, who was owned by Lord St. Vincent. Lord Lyon's connections declined to take part in a deciding heat and Redan was allowed to walk over for the win. Lord Lyon's performance was so promising that commentary in '' Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes'' asserted that, "if Lord Lyon had not been coughing so badly the day before,

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should have heard of no dead heat." In September at the Newmarket meeting, the connections of the

Mineral (later the

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 ...

of the 1876 Epsom Derby winner Kisber) forfeited 200 sovereigns to Lord Lyon after backing out of 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 ...

. On 11 October, Lord Lyon won the 7-

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 hors ...

Troy Stakes at Newmarket while carrying 122 pounds, beating the Duke of Beaufort's

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 ...

Mr. Pitt by a margin of three quarters of a

. At his last two-year-old engagement at Newmarket, Lord Lyon won the Criterion by two lengths from the colt Young Monarque while carrying 127 pounds.

1866: three-year-old season

In the winter of 1866-1867 Lord Lyon was one of the leading fancies for the Derby, although some observers doubted his stamina. Among the other leading contenders was his former stable companion, Rustic. On his three-year-old debut, Lord Lyon started 4/7 favourite for 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 at ...

at Newmarket in a field of fifteen runners. Ridden by R Thomas (Harry Custance was injured), he won from Monarch of the Glen. At Epsom he again started odds-on favourite against twenty-five opponents. The start of the race was delayed for half an hour by false starts. Lord Lyon was not among the early leaders but moved steadily forward to dispute the lead with Redan turning into the straight. At this point he was overtaken on the inside by the unnamed "Bribery Colt" (later named Savernake) who opened up a clear lead. Custance persevered however and Lord Lyon responded to catch the Bribery Colt in the last strides and win by a head with Rustic three lengths back in third. The first three finishers were all sons of Stockwell. Lord Lyon reappeared at

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 and ...

and was second to Rustic in the

Prince of Wales's Stakes The Prince of Wales's Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 212 yards (2,004 met ...

, with Lord Lyon carrying 129 pounds and Rustic carrying 125 pounds. At

in September Lord Lyon defeated Savernake "by sheer gameness and stamina" in the St Leger, winning by a head after what was described as one of the most exciting races seen in many years. The win completed what is now known as the Triple Crown, although it was not referred to as such in contemporary sources. On the day following his win in the St Leger, he finished second to Rama in the

Doncaster Cup The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles 1 furlong and 197 yards (3,600 metr ...

over two and a half miles. In October, Lord Lyon was sent to Newmarket, where he won the Select Stakes and the Grand Duke Michael Stakes and was second to the two-year-old colt Friponnier in the All-aged Stakes. Also at Newmarket he ran a match race against Rustic and reversed the result of his Ascot defeat to take the £1,000 stake by a margin of 20

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

1867: four-year-old season

In March, Lord Lyon won the Trial Stakes held at

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, beating the colt Moulsey "with the greatest ease" and winning £120. Lord Lyon won the

Craven Stakes The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres ...

and two £100 Plate races at the First Spring meeting held in April at Newmarket. At Ascot, he won the £590 Biennial Stakes, beating Wild Moor by 12 lengths while carrying 140 pounds. At the Stockbridge meeting, Lord Lyon won the Stockbridge Cup (also called "The Cup" in the 1860s). Lord Lyon's final race occurred in

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and was for the Queen's Plate, where he lost by a head to Rama. Lord Lyon was retired to stud in 1868 and full ownership of the horse was returned to General Pearson, the racing partnership of Sutton and Pearson being terminated after Sutton's retirement from racing in 1867.

Stud career

Lord Lyon had a "chequered" stud career,

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...

at numerous stud farms over a 10-year period, leading ''Baily's Magazine'' to liken him to a "rolling-stone." In 1868, Lord Lyon became a breeding stallion for General Pearson after he retired from his racing career. He first stood at the Neasham Hall Stud Farm in

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for 30

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per mare and

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45 mares in his first season. From 1871 to 1874, Lord Lyon stood at

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for a fee of 30 guineas between 1871–1873 and 50 guineas per mare in 1874. For the 1875 season, he was moved to Shepherd's Bush, a stud farm in

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which was located three miles from Albert Gate (an entrance to

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), for a fee of 26 guineas per mare. Lord Lyon was sold in 1876 to

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 ...

and Clare Vyner for £4,500 and was relocated to Rosebery's Crafton Stud in Crafton, Buckinghamshire where he initially stood for a 50-guinea fee. His fee was reduced to 30 guineas per mare in 1879. Lord Lyon's success at stud was hampered by chronic foot and leg ailments that stemmed from poor limb conformation. The

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remarked on Lord Lyon's condition in 1884, "he was in most respects as perfect a model as one could wish to see, but below the knee he dwindled away to nothing; his ankles were small and bullety, his pasterns straight, and his feet half the size they should have been." In the early 1880s, Lord Lyon's connections decided to

euthanize Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eutha ...

him, but his life was spared due to the efforts of John Winteringham. Winteringham relocated Lord Lyon to the Croft Stud at

Croft-on-Tees Croft-on-Tees is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It has also been known as Croft Spa, and from which the former Croft Spa railway station took its name. It lies north-north west of the cou ...

around 1881. After the success of

, he was advertised in 1885 as a breeding stallion for Winteringham, covering a limited number of mares per season for a fee of 21 guineas per mare. Lord Lyon remained in

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until he was euthanized at the age of 24 on 12 April 1887.

Notable offspring

Pedigree

References

{{St Leger Winners 1863 racehorse births 1887 racehorse deaths Epsom Derby winners Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing winners Thoroughbred family 1-j 2000 Guineas winners St Leger winners