Norman (also known as Norman III, 1905 – after 1918) was an American-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

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 ...

. He was exported from the United States as a

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 ...

and showed some promise as a juvenile in 1907 when he won twice from nine starts. In the following spring he recorded a 25/1 upset victory in 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 ...

. He was unplaced when favourite for the

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 ...

and finished last in the

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 ...

but ended his second season with a victory in the Newmarket St Leger. He raced for another two seasons but never recaptured his

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

winning form. He made no impact as a breeding stallion.

Background

Norman was a bay horse bred in the United States by his American owner August Belmont Jr. Like several major American owners Belmont had moved most of his hoses to Europe following the passing of the

Hart–Agnew Law The Hart–Agnew Law was an anti-gambling bill passed into law by the Legislature of the State of New York on June 11, 1908. It was an amalgam of bills enacted as Chapter 506 and 507 which were sponsored by conservative Assemblyman Merwin K. Hart ...

. The colt was sent to England as a

and entered training with John Watson at the Palace House stable in Newmarket in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. Both of Norman's parents were bred and owned by Belmont. He was sired by the Kentucky-bred stallion Octagon whose wins included the

Toboggan Handicap The Toboggan Stakes, formerly the Toboggan Handicap, is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the first week of March at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York. Open to horses aged three and older, the Grade III event is contest ...

Withers Stakes The Withers Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York (state), New York. T ...

and Brooklyn Derby. His dam Nineveh was a descendant of the broodmare Mildred, making her a relative of Kalitan and Souffle (

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred Filly, fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky O ...

Racing career

1907: two-year-old season

Norman ran nine times as a two-year-old in 1907. He won two races, including the Exeter Stakes, and finished third twice. When tried against top-class opposition in the

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), ...

over seven furlongs at

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 ...

in October he finished unplaced behind the

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 ...

Rhodora.

1908: three-year-old season

On 6 May 1908 Norman started a 25/1 outsider against sixteen opponents for the 100th running of the 2000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket. Ridden by

Otto Madden Herbert Otto Madden, normally known as "Otto" (2 January 1873 in Hoppegarten - 21 May 1942 in Newmarket, Suffolk) was a four time British flat racing Champion Jockey He was born to a jockey father, who had ridden Kincsem an unbeaten horse that ...

he upset the odds as he took the lead in the last quarter mile and drew away to win "easily" by three

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 ...

clear of Sir Archibald with White Eagle three quarters of a length back in third. The result of the race saw Norman promoted to the position of favourite for the Epsom Derby. In the Derby 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 3 June Norman started the 11/2 favourite and was againpartneed by Madden. He was in second place at half way but then faded out of contention and finished fifteenth of the eighteen runners behind the 100/1 outsider

Signorinetta Signorinetta (1905–1928) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, broodmare. In a racing career which lasted from 1907 to 1908 she ran thirteen times and won three races. Although most of her career was undistin ...

. In September he was fancied to run well in the

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 ...

but made no impact as he came home last of the ten runners behind

Your Majesty Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the Latin ''maiestas'', meaning "greatness") is used as a style (manner of address), manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queen regnant, quee ...

. In October, the colt returned to winning form when he took the Newmarket St Leger over one and three-quarter miles.

Later career

Norman remained in training for at least two more years but failed to win any more major races. In March 1910 he finished third behind Cinderella and Forerunerr in the Lincolnshire Handicap. Later that month he a second when favourite for the Newark Plate at

Nottingham Racecourse Nottingham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated at Colwick Park, close to the River Trent and about 3 km east of the city centre. Characteristics There are actually ...

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Norman a "poor" winner of the 2000 Guineas.

Stud record

After his retirement from racing Norman was exported to become a breeding stallion at the Abony Stud in Hungary. He had no success as a sire of winners.

Pedigree

References

{{2000 Guineas Winners 1905 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United States Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 12-b 2000 Guineas winners