Quintessence (1900–1917) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 who 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 (1,609 ...

of 1903 and was unbeaten in her six races. She was owned and bred by Evelyn Edward Thomas Boscawen, 7th Viscount Falmouth. After retiring from racing she became a successful

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

, with her son Clarissimus winning 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 ...

Background

Quintessence was

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 ...

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 ...

foaled in 1900 and bred by Evelyn Edward Thomas Boscawen, 7th Viscount Falmouth. She was a daughter of St. Frusquin, who won the

and

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

in 1896. St Frusquin was also a successful sire and was Champion sire in Britain. His other progeny included St. Amant,

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 ...

winners Rhodora and Flair and

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

winners

Rosedrop Rosedrop (1907–1930) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She won one minor race as a two-year-old in 1909 before emerging as a top-class performer in the following year. She won the Epsom Oaks, Atalanta Stakes and Great Yorksh ...

and

Mirska Mirska (1909 – after 1913) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1909 Epsom Oaks. Raced only three times in her lifetime, her only win occurred in the Oaks. Despite being a daughter of two English Classic winners, Mirska was not favour ...

. Quintessence's

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

, Margarine, was a daughter of 2000 Guineas winner

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...

Racing career

1902: Two-year-old season

As a two-year-old Quintessence won the Biennial Stakes at Ascot. At Newmarket she won the six-

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 ...

Exeter Stakes, with Sermon finishing second. On 1 August at Goodwood Quintessence won the

Molecomb Stakes The Molecomb Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ...

. She finished her two-year-old season unbeaten, with three wins from three starts.

1903: Three-year-old season

On 1 May 1903 she faced 12 rivals in 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 (1,609 ...

at Newmarket and was ridden by Herbert Randall. Baroness La Fleche started the race as the 15/8 favourite. Also near the front of the betting was Skyscraper at 9/4, Quintessence at 4/1 and Hammerkop at 100/7. At the start three fillies - Sun Rose, Guigne and Hammerkop - got tangled in the webbing. In the early stages Skyscraper, Quintessence and Baroness La Fleche led the race on the left of the track, with another group of three just behind them racing down the centre of the track. With about two

s left to run Quintessence just headed Skyscraper. Sun Rose made progress through the field in the latter stages of the race, recovering from her poor start, but was unable to catch Quintessence. Quintessence won 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 Sun Rose, with Skyscraper in third place. Dazzling finished fourth, with favourite Baroness La Fleche finishing back in sixth place. After the race a protest was put in against the poor start, by Prince Soltykoff, the owner of Sun Rose. However, the protest was lodged a minute after the 15 minutes allowed for objections so could not be entered. She was not entered for most of the major summer and early autumn stakes races due to her chronic problems with

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...

. The cause of this malady was thought to be due to her habit of "tearing all the

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

off in her box." In September she won the

Park Hill Stakes The Park Hill Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards (2,9 ...

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 ...

(with the

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

winner Our Lassie unplaced) and the following month she beat three rivals to easily win the Newmarket Oaks, which was worth £450. She was retired to stud at the end of the 1903 season, finishing her career unbeaten in her six races.

Stud career

Quintessence was retired to stud, where she became a successful broodmare. Her only

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 ...

winner was

Clarissimus The constitution of the late Roman Empire was an unwritten set of guidelines and principles passed down, mainly through precedent, which defined the manner in which the late Roman Empire was governed. As a matter of historical convention, the late ...

, by Radium, who was foaled in 1913 and won the

in 1916. Her 1914 foal was Nonperail, a full sister to Clarissimus. She finished third in 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 (1,609 ...

. Her 1916 foal was Mountaineer, a bay horse by

Polymelus Polymelus (1902–1924) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for five years (1914, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1921). Among his most famous descendants are Secretariat and Northern Dance ...

. She died in 1917, ten days after foaling Paragon, another son of Radium. Paragon was successfully reared by a foster-mare that Lord Falmouth bought for £60 and he went on to win the City and Suburban Handicap 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 ...

in 1922.

Pedigree

''Note: b. =

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 ...

, blk. =

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, br. =

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

, ch. =

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

References

{{1000 Guineas winners 1900 racehorse births 1917 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Undefeated racehorses Thoroughbred family 2-s 1000 Guineas winners

Background

Racing career

1902: Two-year-old season

1903: Three-year-old season

Stud career

Pedigree

See also

References