Sailor (1817–1820) 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. In a brief racing career in the spring and summer of 1820 he won both of his races including The Derby. He collapsed and died on the Newmarket gallops shortly after his Derby win.

Background

Sailor was a tall, leggy chestnut horse sired by Scud out of the mare Goosander. Goosander was a highly successful broodmare who also produced The Oaks winner Shoveler and was a sister to the dam of the Derby winner Sam. Sailor was trained by William Chifney and ridden in the Derby by Chifney’s younger brother, Sam Chifney, Jr. Chifney was one of the outstanding jockeys of his era, and one of the first to hold horses up in the early stages of a race before finishing strongly: he became famous for this tactic which became known as the "Chifney Rush".

Racing career

Sailor was one of the leading fancies for the 1820 Derby before he appeared on a racecourse: in November 1819 he was being offered at odds of 15/1 for the race by British

bookmakers A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

. Sailor won a sweepstakes at Newmarket on his debut in spring 1820. The Derby was run in extremely difficult conditions 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 ...

on Sailor's birthday on 18 May. A violent storm on the eve of the race demolished many of the tents and booths which had been set up on the downs and left the ground very soft, which suited Sailor. He started the second favourite at odds of 4/1 in a field of fifteen runners. In a fast-run race, Sailor won the Derby easily by two lengths from Abjer, with the favourite

Pindarrie Pindarrie (foaled 1817) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He raced five times and won the Riddlesworth Stakes and 2000 Guineas Stakes. He was owned by George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton, and trained by Robert Robson. He only raced in 1820 ...

finishing fifth. In the autumn of 1820, Sailor was being exercised on Newmarket Heath when he stumbled, staggered for two hundred yards and collapsed. He died on the spot from what was subsequently determined to be a burst blood vessel in his chest.

Pedigree

Sailor's pedigree contained significant

inbreeding 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 ...

. He was inbred 3 × 3 to King Fergus, meaning that the stallion appeared twice in the third generation of his pedigree. He was also inbred 4 × 4 × 4 to Eclipse, 3 × 4 to Highflyer, and 4 × 4 to Herod.

References

{{Epsom Derby Winners 1817 racehorse births 1820 racehorse deaths Epsom Derby winners Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Undefeated racehorses Thoroughbred family 6-c