Petronius (1805–1823) 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

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 ...

best known for winning the

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 ...

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 1808. After winning the St Leger as a 20/1 outsider, Petronius remained in training for two more years, winning two races at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in 1809 and the Union Cup at Preston in 1810. He retired from racing after winning five races from eleven starts. He had little success as a breeding stallion and died in 1823 at the age of eighteen.

Background

Petronius was a

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 ...

horse bred by his owner

Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton and 6th Duke of Brandon (15 July 1740 – 16 February 1819) was a Scottish peer and politician. Background and education Hamilton was the second son of the 5th Duke of Hamilton, by his third wife, Ann ...

and was the fifth of the Duke's seven St Leger winners. His sire,

Sir Peter Teazle Sir Peter Teazle (1784 – 18 August 1811) was a good British bred Thoroughbred racehorse, a Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland nine times, and carried on the sire line of Herod. Breeding Sir Peter Teazle was a brown horse bred and own ...

(or simply "Sir Peter") won the Epsom Derby in 1787 and became the most successful stallion of the time, winning the title of Champion sire on ten occasions between 1799 and 1809.

Racing career

1808: three-year-old season

Unraced as a two-year-old, Petronius made his first appearance on a racecourse on 27 April 1808 at

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

Racecourse. He started the 4/6 favourite and "won easy" from two opponents. Petronius' next race was the Union Cup, an all-aged race at Preston Racecourse on 13 July, when he finished third of the five runners behind Sir William Gerard's five-year-old Julius Caesar. On 26 September, Petronius was one of fourteen colts and

fillies 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 ...

to contest the thirty-third running of the St Leger at

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

. Ridden by Ben Smith, he started a 20/1 outsider, with Sir Mark Sykes' filly Theresa being made the 3/1 favourite. Petronius' long odds were partly explained by a rumour that he had thrown his jockey and eaten a great deal of

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

shortly before the race. The closing stages of the classic were dominated by Petronius, Clinker (another colt sired by Sir Peter) and Lord Milton's Easton with Petronius prevailing after "a very good race". Petronius ended his first season at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

on 12 October, when he contested a sweepstakes for three-year-olds. He finished second of the four runners behind Sir William Gerard's Pam, to whom he was conceding two pounds in weight. The finish of the race was close and controversial, leading to a "great dispute" regarding the judge's decision.

1809: four-year-old season

Petronius began his second season at York on 29 May when he started at odds of 3/1 for a two-mile all-aged sweepstakes. After what was described as "a very good race", he won easily by one and a half

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 ...

from Cardinal York and four others. At the next York meeting in August, Petronius had two engagements. He won a four-mile subscription race "cleverly" from the five-year-old mare Thomasina and three others before finishing third to Theresa 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 ...

over the same distance four days later. On 14 September Petronius ran at

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

where he started 6/4 favourite for the Members Plate a race run in a series of heats, with the prize going to the first horse to win twice. Petronius won the first heat, but was beaten by the Duke of Leeds' horse Mowbray in the second and did not contest the deciding heat. Two weeks later, Petronius contested another race in two-mile heats at the Doncaster St Leger meeting. He finished fourth and second in the first two heats, and appeared to have won the third, but was disqualified on a technicality. After a horse race, the jockey is weighed, together with the

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

and

bridle A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the "bridle" includes both the that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit. Headgear w ...

, to check that the correct weight has been carried: Petronius's bridle had been removed, and his jockey therefore weighed in at slightly less than the stipulated 119 pounds.

1810: five-year-old season

On 18 July, Petronius began his final season by running in the Union Cup at Preston. Carrying top weight of 122 pounds, he started the 1/2 favourite and "won easy" from two opponents. In the following month, Petronius appeared at York for a division of the Great Subscription Purse. He started at odds of 7/2 and finished third of the four runners behind Mowbray and Whitworth after what was described by the Sporting Magazine as "one of the finest races ever run".

Stud career

Petronius was retired to stud but appears to have made no impact as a sire of winners. His services were not advertised in the annual lists of stallions and only a few foals appear in the

General Stud Book The ''General Stud Book'' is a breed registry for horses in Great Britain and Ireland. More specifically it is used to document the breeding of Thoroughbreds and related foundation bloodstock such as the Arabian horse. Today it is published e ...

. Petronius died from inflammation of the lungs on 11 May 1823 at Marlefield, near Kelso in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Pedigree

*Petronius was

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

3 x 3 to Herod, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the third generation of his pedigree. He was also inbred 3 x 4 to Snap.

References

{{St Leger Winners 1805 racehorse births 1823 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 15 Byerley Turk sire line St Leger winners