Ruler (1777 – 4 February 1806) 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. He won three of his five starts, including the two-mile

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 ...

in 1780. He was bred and owned by William Bethell.

Background

Ruler 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 ...

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 William Bethell and foaled in 1777. He was sired by Young Marske, who won his only race and later became a successful stallion. Ruler was the second foal of Flora, a daughter of Lofty.

Racing career

Ruler's first race was at Hunmanby on 24 May 1780, when he started as the odds-on favourite for a sweepstakes of 25

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

each. He won the race, beating Foxhuntoribus, Young Ragman, Young Hyder and one other. On 27 September, he started at the price of 5/2 for the two-mile

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 ...

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 ...

. He beat Mr. Stapleton's Antagonist (the 4/6 favourite), Lord Scarbrough's brother to Ovid,

Lord Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782; styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Marquess of Rocking ...

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 ...

colt, Sir John Lister Kaye's Zodiac and Colonel St. Leger's chestnut colt to win the race. His only start in 1781 was 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 ...

, where he finished third behind Fortitude and Arske. In May 1781 he beat Laura and Junior to win £50 at Hunmanby. At the York August meeting he faced Thornville, Regent and Laura in a subscription of 25 guineas each run over four miles. He looked likely to win, but dislocated his

fetlock Fetlock is the common name in horses, large animals, and sometimes dogs for the metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints (MCPJ and MTPJ). Although it somewhat resembles the human ankle in appearance, the joint is homologous to the ba ...

and had to be retired from racing.

Stud career

Ruler stood as a stallion for John Pratt until his death in 1785. Ruler then purchased by Mark Bulmer and stood at

Middleham Middleham is an English market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream from the junction of the River Ure and River Cover. ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. He stud fee was initially two guineas and two shilling for the

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man an ...

, but after some early success it was raised to five guineas and five shillings in 1791. In 1796, 1797 and 1798 he commanded a fee of eight and a half guineas, before returning to five guineas and five shillings in 1799. Ruler died on 4 February 1806 at Wyton in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

, where he had moved to after 1800. He sired a good number of winners, including Governor, High Eagle, Minikin, Mittimus, Pencil, Phalanx, Sober Robin and Weathercock. One of Ruler's unnamed daughters foaled Miss Nancy, who was the dam of The Duchess. The Duchess won the St. Leger in 1816 and Ruler also sired the dam of York Royal Plate winner Sweetwilliam.

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 ...

, 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 ...

'' * Ruler 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 × 4 × 4 to Godolphin Arabian. This means that the stallions appear once in the third generation and twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{St Leger Winners 1777 racehorse births 1806 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Thoroughbred family 31 St Leger winners