Middleton (1822 – after 1833), also known as Chestnut Middleton, was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

. His racing career consisted of a single race: a win in the 1825

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 ...

. Training problems prevented him from racing again, and he was retired undefeated to stud. He was exported to Russia in 1833.

Background

Middleton was a big, heavily built chestnut horse with a white blaze bred by his owner George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey at his stud at

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Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. His sire, Phantom won the Derby in 1811 and went on to be Champion sire on two occasions. Middleton’s dam, Web, was a half-sister of the Derby winner Whisker and became an extremely successful broodmare, her descendants including the Classic winners Glencoe, Cobweb ( Epsom Oaks), Charlotte West (

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 ...

) and Riddlesworth (

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 ...

Racing career

Middleton was slow to mature and did not run as a two-year-old. In early 1825, however, he performed well in private trial races. Despite never having raced in public, he became the leading fancy for The Derby and was the subject of much heavy betting for the race, with Lord Jersey and the Duke of Wellington among the biggest gamblers. On the morning of the race, Middleton was the target of a plan by bookmakers to prevent him winning the race. A stable lad was bribed to allow the colt to drink several buckets of water, leaving him bloated. Edwards responded by giving Middleton a four-mile exercise walk after which he professed himself satisfied with the colt's condition. Middleton started at odds of 7/4 against seventeen opponents and won cleverly, from Rufus, with Hogarth third. Both Jersey and Wellington reportedly claimed over £1,000 in winning bets. In autumn, Middleton was entered in several match races but did not run after either he or his opponent was withdrawn. Middleton began to suffer from

Navicular Disease Navicular syndrome, often called navicular disease, is a syndrome of lameness problems in horses. It most commonly describes an inflammation or degeneration of the navicular bone and its surrounding tissues, usually on the front feet. It can lead t ...

which caused chronic lameness. It proved impossible to run him again, and he was retired to stud with an unbeaten record.

Stud career

Middleton stood as a stallion at the Horse Bazaar, Portman Square, London, where he had little success. In 1833, he was sold and exported to Russia.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Derby Winners 1822 racehorse births Epsom Derby winners Undefeated racehorses Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-s Byerley Turk sire line