Queen's Hussar (1960–1981) 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 ...

racehorse and sire. He won the

Washington Singer Stakes The Denford Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take place eac ...

as a two-year-old in 1962 before taking the

Lockinge Stakes The Lockinge Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Newbur ...

and the top-class

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

in 1963. He was retired to stud where his record was initially disappointing. However, he went on to sire 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 ...

winners

Brigadier Gerard Brigadier Gerard is the comedic hero of a series of 17 historical short stories, a play, and a major character in a novel by the British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. Brigadier Etienne Gerard is a Hussar officer in the French Army during the Napoleon ...

, the highest-rated British horse of the twentieth century, and Highclere.

Background

Queen's Hussar was a bay horse with a small white star officially bred by G. S. Stephens at the Highclere Stud. He was sired by March Past, a sprinter whose biggest win came in the

Wokingham Stakes The Wokingham Stakes is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is schedule ...

in 1954. Apart from Queen's Hussar, the best of his progeny was Major Rose, a stayer who won the

Chester Cup The Chester Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2 miles, 2 furlongs and 147 yards () at Chester i ...

and the

Cesarewitch Handicap The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres ...

as well as being placed in two runnings of the Champion Hurdle. Queen's Hussar's dam Jojo won one minor race before becoming a successful broodmare. She also produced the

Nell Gwyn Stakes The Nell Gwyn Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres) on the Rowley Mile at N ...

winner Hiding Place who was the dam of the Ascot Gold Cup winner Little Wolf and the grand-dam of Sheikh Albadou. During his racing career, Queen's Hussar raced in the colours of Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon, the owner of the Highclere Stud. He was trained by Thomas "Atty" Corbett (1921–1976) at Yew Tree House at

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

in Berkshire.

Racing career

Queen's Hussar raced nine times as a two-year-old in 1962. He won the Cannon Yard Plate at

Windsor Racecourse Windsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom, the other being at Fontwell Park. Des ...

, the Cuddington Stakes at

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

, the Washington Singer Stakes at Newbury and a Rous Memorial Stakes at Newmarket. In the spring of 1963, Queen's Hussar was tried over sprint distances and finished third in the

Palace House Stakes The Palace House Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres) on the Rowle ...

over five

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 hor ...

at Newmarket. In May he was moved up in distance and matched against older horses in the Lockinge Stakes over one mile at Newbury. Ridden by the Australian jockey

Scobie Breasley Arthur Edward "Scobie" Breasley (7 May 1914 – 21 December 2006) was an Australian jockey. He won the Caulfield Cup in Melbourne five times: 1942-45 consecutively on Tranquil Star, Skipton, Counsel and St Fairy; then on Peshawar in 1952. ...

he started at

odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

of " 9/2" and won from Cyrus and Romulus. At Royal Ascot in June he contested the Jersey Stakes in which he finished third behind the fillies The Creditor and Brief Flight. Queen's Hussar then ran in the Sussex Stakes (then restricted to three and four-year-olds) over one mile at

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in la ...

on 31 July. Ridden by the Australian Ron Hutchinson he was given little chance and started a 25/1 outsider in front of a crowd which included Queen Elizabeth II. Hutchinson held the horse up at the back of the field before producing a strong late run to win by a head from the

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

winner Linacre with Nereus three lengths back in third. In August, Queen's Hussar finished second to the filly Dunce Cap in the Hungerford Stakes over seven furlongs at Newbury. Queen's Hussar raced three times as a four-year-old in 1964, recording his only win in the Cavendish Stakes at

Sandown Park Racecourse Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse rac ...

Assessment

In the 1962 Free Handicap, a ranking of the best two-year-olds to race in Great Britain, Queen's Hussar was assigned a weight of 123 pounds, eight pounds below the top-rated

Crocket A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop's crosier. Description ...

. The independent Timeform organisation gave Queen's Hussar a peak rating of 124.

Stud record

Queen's Hussar was retired from racing to become breeding stallion. In the early part of his stud career, there was little demand for his services and he stood for several years at a fee of £250. This changed following the successes of his son

from 1970 to 1972. The colt won seventeen races and is still rated by Timeform as the second best racehorse trained in Britain since 1947. Thanks to the performances of Brigadier Gerard, Queen's Hussar was the

Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who ...

in 1972. His stud fee increased to £2,000, and he went on to sire several other good winners: * Highclere, won the

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 (1,60 ...

and the

Prix de Diane The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 2,100 met ...

before becoming an influential broodmare. *Marquis de Sade, won

King Edward VII Stakes The King Edward VII Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 met ...

*Shiny Tenth, won Palace House Stakes *Church Parade, won

Vintage Stakes The Vintage Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take place e ...

Pedigree

*Queen's Hussar 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 Fair Trial, meaning that this stallion appear twice in the third generation of his pedigree. He was also inbred 4 x 4 x 4 to Fairway.

References

{{reflist 1960 racehorse births 1981 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 19-c