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Mathew Dawson (1820–1898) was a British racehorse trainer. In a career which lasted from 1840 until his death in 1898 he trained the winners of twenty-eight
British Classic Races The British Classics are five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for racehorses against their ow ...
, a figure surpassed by only two other men. He was significant as one of the first trainers to run a public stable, rather than being the employee of a wealthy patron. He was based for most of his career at
Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred ...
. His first name is sometimes recorded as "Matthew", but "Mathew" is more usual.


Background

Dawson was born at his family's home Stamford Hall,
Gullane Gullane ( or ) is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twelft ...
,
Haddingtonshire East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...
in 1820. His father George Dawson, his elder brother Thomas and his younger brother John were all racehorse trainers. He was apprenticed to his father and worked in 1838 for his brother Thomas at his stables at
Middleham Middleham is an English market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream from the junction of the River Ure and River Cove ...
,
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...
.


Training career

Dawson began training racehorses in Scotland in 1840, where his main patrons were Lord Kelburn and William Hope Johnstone. His most important winner in this period was The Era, who won the
Northumberland Plate The Northumberland Plate is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newcastle over a distance of 2 miles and 56 yards (3,270 metres), and ...
in 1845. He also sent a horse called Pathfinder to run in The Derby, but the horse finished last, almost 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 ...
behind the other runners. In 1846, Dawson moved to England to become the stud manager and private trainer for
Lord John Scott Lord John Douglas-Montagu-Scott (13 July 1809 – 3 January 1860) was a 19th-century landlord and MP for Roxburghshire. He was the third son of the 4th Duke of Buccleuch and younger brother to the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. He inherited his residenc ...
at Yew Tree Cottage at
Compton, Berkshire Compton is a village and civil parish in the River Pang valley in the Berkshire Downs about south of Didcot which is buffered from neighbouring settlements by cultivated fields to all sides. The village is in a gently-sloped dry valley and th ...
. While working for Scott he recorded his first
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 ...
win in 1851 and trained his first Classic winner when Catherine Hayes won The Oaks in 1853. When Scott sold his horses to James Merry in 1857, Dawson continued to train them but moved his base to Russley Park, near
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 ...
. For Merry, Dawson trained Sunbeam to win St Leger in 1858 and Thormanby to win the 1860 Derby. In 1866, Dawson move to Newmarket, basing himself first at St Mary's Square and then Heath House, where he had his greatest successes. His first important owners were the Dukes of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
and
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...
, but they were soon succeeded by Lord Falmouth. For Falmouth, Dawson trained the winners of fourteen classics between 1870 and 1883 including two Derbies with Kingcraft and
Silvio Silvio () is an Italian male name, the male equivalent of Silvia. Sílvio is a variant of the name in Portuguese. It is derived from the Latin "Silvius", meaning "spirit of the wood," and may refer to: People * Silvio Berlusconi (born 1936), Ita ...
. During this period he was also closely involved with the jockey Fred Archer who came to Dawson as an apprentice in 1868 and became his stable jockey in 1874. Other important owners who sent their horses to Dawson included the
Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
, for whom he trained St. Simon, who was ineligible for the Classics but was regarded by Dawson as the best horse he ever trained. Dawson trained a fourth Derby winner when Lord Hastings’ colt Melton won in 1885. In 1885, Dawson retired from large-scale training and moved to Exning Manor, which he renamed Melton House. Although he was now in charge of a much smaller number of horses, Dawson continued to have considerable success, winning Classics with the fillies Mimi and Minthe and sending out
Minting Minting is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated south from the A158 road. The population (including Gautby) at the 2011 census was 286. Minting Priory was located here. Mi ...
to win the
Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and ...
. By 1891 Dawson intended to retire completely, but was persuaded to handle a few horses for
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 ...
. Now in his seventies, and often unable to walk because of chronic
gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensi ...
, Dawson won a further four Classics for Rosebery, including successive Derby winners in 1894 ( Sir Visto) and 1895 ( Ladas). Mathew Dawson died at Newmarket on 20 August 1898. It was said of him that in an era in which the sport was often tainted by corruption and dishonesty, he left behind "a reputation which an archbishop might envy."


Family

Mathew Dawson married Mary Rose (d. 1895) in 1844. The couple had no children. Dawson's nephew, George Dawson, took over Heath House after his uncle's “retirement” and trained the winners of ten Classics including
Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of R ...
and
Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world musi ...
.


References


Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Mathew British racehorse trainers People from West Berkshire District 1820 births 1898 deaths