Rubens (1805 – February 1829) 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 ...

racehorse. During his career he won three races, including the

Craven Stakes The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres ...

in 1810. After retiring from racing he became a successful stallion and 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 1815, 1821 and 1822. His progeny included Landscape,

Pastille A pastille is a type of sweet or medicinal pill made of a thick liquid that has been solidified and is meant to be consumed by light chewing and allowing it to dissolve in the mouth. The term is also used to describe certain forms of incense. ...

, Whizgig and the

Rubens mare The Rubens mare (foaled 1819) was an unnamed British Thoroughbred racehorse. In her only race she finished second in The Oaks in 1822. Later she became a top broodmare, foaling Ascot Gold Cup winner Camarine, 1000 Guineas winners May-day and ...

Background

Rubens was a chestnut

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

bred by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

and foaled in 1805. His dam was the bay Alexander mare who also foaled Castrel, Craven Stakes winner Selim 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 ...

winner Bronze. All three of these foals were full-siblings to Rubens. Their sire was dual Craven Stakes winner

Buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

. As well as these siblings, Buzzard also sired

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 ...

winner

Quiz A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which players attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several specific topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, ...

Racing career

1808: Three-year-old season

On 2 June 1808 at

Epsom Downs Epsom Downs is an area of chalk upland near Epsom, Surrey; in the North Downs. Part of the area is taken up by the racecourse, the gallops are part of the land purchased by Stanly Wootton in 1925 and are open to users such as ramblers, model ...

and racing for the

, Rubens started as the 10/3 second favourite for the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

where he face nine rivals. The race was won by 25/1 outsider Pan, who beat the favourite Vandyke. Chester finished in third place, with Rubens in fourth. Rubens was then purchased by 3rd Earl of Darlington and at Brighton in August he was one of four horses who contested the Pavilion Stakes. Derby runner-up Vandyke was the 5/6 favourite, with Rubens second favourite at 3/1. Rubens won the race from Vandyke. He was also intended to run in four

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consi ...

s during the season, but his opponents in each of these paid a forfeit and the races never took place. The forfeits were from Bradbury, a colt by

Gohanna Gohanna (1790 – April 1815) was a British racehorse that was second to Waxy in the 1793 Epsom Derby and was a successful sire in the late 18th and early 19th century. Gohanna was initially referred to as "Brother to Precipitate" during hi ...

, Dreadnought and Jock.

1809: Four-year-old season

In April 1809 at the Newmarket First Spring meeting he won a Sweepstakes of 100

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

each over one mile, after starting as the 4/7 favourite. Chester was second and Zoroaster finished in third place of the five runners. The following month he lost to Vandyke in a 200 guineas match race at Newmarket. In October he was intended to race against Oaks winner Morel at Newmarket, but Darlington paid a forfeit. Three days later he also paid a forfeit to Currycomb.

1810: Five-year-old season

On 23 April 1810 he beat odds on favourite Plover to win the Craven Stakes at Newmarket. A colt by Dick Andrews finished last of the three runners. Runens' final race was in a Handicap Sweepstakes of 200 guineas each at Newmarket in May. He finished the race in third, behind winner Spaniard and runner-up Cecilia. Rubens was then sold to General Leveson Gower and retired to stud.

Stud career

Rubens was a stallion at

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may ...

in Berkshire, where in 1811, he stood for an initial fee of twelve guineas and one guineas for the groom. In 1818 he moved to Newmarket and his fee was 25 guineas. He stood in or around Newmarket for a number of years, but in between he stood at Eaton Stud near Chester in 1820. He was a successful stallion and 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 1815, 1821 and 1822. His progeny included

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 ...

winners Landscape and

and

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 ...

winner Whizgig. He was also the damsire of Epsom Derby winners

Coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

, Dangerous and

Phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

. His unnamed daughter, the 1819

, was the dam of Phosphorus and two other

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. Rubens died in February 1829.

Pedigree

* Rubens 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 ...

3x4 to Herod. This means that the stallion appears once in the third generation and once in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

Sire line tree

*RubensBuzzard
/ref> **Raphael **Bobadil **Gainsborough **Sovereign **Strephon **Doctor Eady **Tandem **Taniers **Peter Lely ***Poussin **Titian **Holbein **Wiseacre **Roderick **Sir Edward Codrington

References

{{reflist 1805 racehorse births 1829 racehorse deaths British Champion Thoroughbred Sires Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 2-n