Matilda (1824–1846) 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
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 winning 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 d ...
in 1827. In a racing career confined to racecourses in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
she ran nine times and won four races between August 1826 and October 1828. After winning three of her first four races she defeated the Derby winner
Mameluke
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...
in a controversial race for the 1827 St Leger. She was retired from racing after four unsuccessful races in 1828 and became a broodmare.
Background
Matilda was a "small, fidgety, temperamental"
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 ...
mare owned and bred by Edward Petre (1794–1848), a free-spending
sportsman and gambler,
who was a younger son of
Robert Petre, 9th Baron Petre
Robert Edward Petre, 9th Baron Petre (March 1742 – July 1801) was a British Peerage, peer and prominent member of the English Roman Catholic nobility. Born into exceptional wealthy family, Lord Petre became a philanthropist and was responsib ...
. Matilda was the seventh foal of
Lord Egremont's mare Juliana, a daughter of Platina, the winner of the 1795
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, ...
. Platina was a sister of Chestnut Skim, the female-line ancestor of
Frederick Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederick ...
,
Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
and
The Merry Monarch
The Merry Monarch (1842 – after 1859) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. In a career that lasted from July 1844 to May 1846 he ran four times and won only one race. That race, however, was the 1845 E ...
.
Matilda was sired by Comus, a descendant of 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 finished third in the 1812
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 ...
before becoming a successful sire of winners. Like the rest of Petre's horses, Matilda was trained by
John Scott, who sent out the winners of 41
classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
, from his Whitewall Stables at
Malton in
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
.
Racing career
1826: two-year-old season
Matilda began her racing career on 9 August 1826 in a sweepstakes at
York Racecourse
York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England.
It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...
in which she finished unplaced behind a
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 ...
named Popsy. Two days later she reappeared for a race over the same course and distance. Ridden by Sim Templeman, she recorded her first win "in a canter"
by beating the colts Moonshine (subsequently the winner of the
Champagne Stakes) and Reviewer. On 21 September, at the St Leger meeting at
Doncaster Racecourse
Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy.
History
Doncas ...
, Matilda started the 4/1 second favourite for a one mile sweepstakes for two-year-olds. Ridden by Bob Johnson, she led from the start and won by 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 ...
from Popsy, with the favourite Lunacy in third place.
1827: three-year-old season
Matilda made her first appearance as a three-year-old at York on 10 August when she started 5/4 favourite for a ten furlong sweepstake. Ridden by Bill Scott, she led from the start, set a strong pace and "won easy"
from Moonshine and Kit Cat. ''The Sporting Magazine'' praised the filly's speed, but criticised her lack of size, dubious stamina and difficult temperament. On 18 September, Matilda was sent to Doncaster to contest the St Leger Stakes over one and three quarter miles, in which she was ridden by
Jem Robinson
James Robinson (1794–1873) was a British Jockey. In a riding career which lasted until 1852 he rode the winners of 24 British Classic Races. His six wins in The Derby set a record which was not surpassed until Lester Piggott won his sevent ...
. She was third favourite in the betting at odds of 9/1 behind her stable companion Granby and the Derby winner
Mameluke
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...
. The start of the race was chaotic and controversial: the official starter, Mr Lockwood, proved unable to control the jockeys and there were at least seven false starts before the race began. There were suspicions that Lockwood, and many of the jockeys had been bribed to delay the start for as long as possible in the hope of upsetting Mameluke and preventing the southern horse from winning. Matilda, however, was also disadvantaged: on several of the false starts she broke quickly and galloped a good distance before being recalled.
When the race finally began Matilda led the field after 80 yards and maintained her advantage into the straight. A
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 ...
from the finish she was headed by Mameluke, but rallied to win by a length. It was reported that Petre won bets totalling £15,000 on the race, including a £2,000 bet that he would win the St Leger before the
"Catholic Question" was carried by parliament.
Matilda was scheduled to run a match race over one mile against Mr Foljambe's black filly on the last day of the Doncaster meeting, but the race did not take place.
1828: four-year-old season
In August 1828, Matilda began her third season with a run in a division of the
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 ...
at York. She was expected to run well, starting the 7/4 favourite, but seemed unable to cope with the soft ground and finished third of the four runners behind Lady Georgiana and Popsy. A year after her last appearance at the course, Matilda ran in the Constitution Stakes at Doncaster in September. She led for most of the way but was overtaken in the straight and beaten three lengths by Laurel. On 8 October Matilda ran in the Gold Cup at
Richmond, North Yorkshire
Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...
and finished second of the eight runners behind her stable companion Delphine. Nine days later, Matilda appeared at
Northallerton
Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increase ...
where she was made 4/5 for the Northallerton Gold Cup. She
bolted
The BOLT Browser was a web browser for mobile phones including feature phones and smartphones that can run Java ME applications. The BOLT Browser was offered free of charge to consumers and by license to mobile network operators and handset manu ...
either before or during the race and finished last of the four runners behind Delphine.
Stud career
Matilda was retired from racing to become a broodmare for Petre. She later moved to the studs of the
Duke of Cleveland
Duke of Cleveland was a title that was created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The dukedoms were named after Cleveland in northern England.
The first creation in 1670 (along with the barony ...
in 1832,
Lord Eglinton in 1841 and Lord William Powlett in 1844. She produced twelve live foals in sixteen years before her death in 1846.
Her first foal, an unnamed filly sired by
Whisker
Vibrissae (; singular: vibrissa; ), more generally called Whiskers, are a type of stiff, functional hair used by mammals to sense their environment. These hairs are finely specialised for this purpose, whereas other types of hair are coarser ...
produced Nat, the winner of the
Cambridgeshire Handicap
The Cambridgeshire Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlo ...
in 1843. Matilda's daughter Eliza, sired by Physician, won the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster in 1838.
Pedigree
References
{{St Leger Winners
1824 racehorse births
1846 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 5-a
Godolphin Arabian sire line
St Leger winners