Lovely Rosa (1933 – 1951) was an Irish-bred, British-trained

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 and

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 ...

best known for her win in the 1936

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, ...

. As a juvenile in 1945 she showed some promise when finishing second in the

Queen Mary Stakes The Queen Mary Stakes is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Filly, fillies. It is run at Ascot Racecourse, Ascot over a distance o ...

and winning a race at Newbury but then showed little worthwhile form until her 33/1 upset victory in the Oaks. She never won again and was retired at the end of 1936. She had some success as a broodmare, most notably being the grand-dam of

Wilwyn {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Wilwyn , image = , caption = , sire = Pink Flower , grandsire = Oleander , dam = Saracen , damsire = Donatello , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1948 , country = Great Britain , colour = Bay , breeder = ...

Background

Lovely Rosa was a bay mare with a white

sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

on her right hind leg, bred in Ireland by E. J. Hope who had bought her dam Napoule at Dublin for 80

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 ...

with Lovely Rosa

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. In 1934 the

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

filly was put up for auction at Dublin and sold for 370 guineas to the trainer Harry Cottrill. Shortly afterwards she was offered for sale at Newmarket bought for 670 guineas by F R MacDonald. In early 1935 she changed hands again when she was bought privately by

Abe Bailey Sir Abraham Bailey, 1st Baronet (6 November 1864 – 10 August 1940), known as Abe Bailey, was a South African gold tycoon, politician, financier and cricketer. Early years Bailey's mother, Ann Drummond McEwan, was Scottish by birth while his ...

. Throughout her racing career she was trained by Cottrill at

Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of ra ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. She was sired by Tolgus, a fast and precocious colt who won the Imperial Produce Stakes as two-year-old in 1925 before retiring undefeated in six starts. Lovely Rosa's dam Napoule was a half-sister to the

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup 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 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...

winner

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. As a broodmare she also produced Lovely Naples whose descendants included Lando and many other major winners in Germany

Racing career

1935: two-year-old season

As a juvenile in 1935 Lovely Rosa showed good early form, finishing third to Vanbrugh on her debut in the Salisbury Stakes over five

furlongs 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 ...

. In June she was sent to

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 ...

for the

and finished second to Fair Ranee with Traffic Light in third. She then won the Kennett Stakes at

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat r ...

but failed to live up to her early promise and finished uplaced in her two subsequent races that year.

1936: three-year-old season

On her first run as a three-year-old, Lovely Rosa was one of twenty-two fillies to contest 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 (1,609 ...

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

and finished unplaced behind

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

's Tide-way. The filly was then moved up in distance for the 158th running of the Oaks Stakes over one and a half miles at

Epsom Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...

on 30 of May in which she was ridden by

Tommy Weston Thomas Weston (2 August 1890 – 1952) was a footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa and Stoke. Career Weston was born in Halesowen and played for several amateur sides before joining Aston Villa in 1911. He soon estab ...

and started a 33/1 outsider against 16 opponents. The field appeared to be a strong one, including Tide-Way, Feola (runner-up in the 1000 Guineas), Barrowby Gem, Traffic Light and Veuve Clicquot (

Windsor Castle Stakes The Windsor Castle Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,003 metres) at Ascot as part of the Royal As ...

). Lovely Rosa won by three quarters of a length from Barrowby Gem, who appeared to be a very unlucky loser having been denied a clear run until the final strides. Feola was two

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 ...

back in third ahead of Traffic Light with Veuve Clicquot and Tide-Way in seventh and eighth. Contemporary reports described her victory as "decidedly flukey". Lovely Rosa was beaten in her subsequent races: she finished third to Crested Crane and Trelissia in the

Falmouth Stakes The Falmouth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,60 ...

and was unplaced behind Barrowby Gem in the Newmarket Oaks.

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Lovely Rose the worst Oaks winner of the 20th century and described her classic victory as a "fluke".

Breeding record

At the end of her racing career Lovely Rosa was retired to become a broodmare. In 1940 she was bought for 2,500 guineas by

Malcolm McAlpine Sir Robert McAlpine Limited is a family-owned building and civil engineering company based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It carries out engineering and construction in the infrastructure, heritage, commercial, arena and stadium, healthcare, educa ...

. She produced at least eight foals and three winners between 1940 and 1951: *Lovelight, a bay mare, foaled in 1940, sired by

Solario Solario (1922–1945) was a successful United Kingdom, British Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and influential Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. Background Bred in Ireland by the Windham Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, ...

. *Instinct, brown colt, 1941, by

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. *Pictavia, brown colt, 1942, by

Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by ''Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...

. Winner. *Saracen, bay mare, 1943, by

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...

. Won one race. Dam of

. *Postilion, bay colt, 1946, by

Owen Tudor Sir Owen Tudor (, 2 February 1461) was a Welsh courtier and the second husband of Queen Catherine of Valois (1401–1437), widow of King Henry V of England. He was the grandfather of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty. Background Owe ...

. Winner. *Prickly Rose, chestnut filly, 1948, by Bellacose. Failed to win a race. *Gilded Rose, bay filly, 1950, by Midas. Failed to win a race. *Lovely Honey, bay filly, 1951, by Honeyway. Won five races. Lovely Rosa died in 1951.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1933 racehorse births 1951 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 7-b Epsom Oaks winners