Sir Tatton Sykes (1843–1860), who also raced under the name Tibthorpe, 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. In a career that lasted from spring 1846 to summer 1848 he ran eleven times and won four races. As a three-year-old in 1846 he won two of the three races which became known as the
Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
Sports Horse racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
** Triple Crown Trophy
** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Tri ...
, taking 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
Newmarket and the
St Leger
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 ...
at
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 was considered by some to have been unlucky when he was narrowly defeated in
The Derby. The rest of his career was a disappointment as he won only one race in the next two seasons. After being retired to
stud
Stud may refer to the following terms:
Animals
* Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding
** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred
Arts and entertainment
* Stud (band), a British progressive rock group
* The Stud (bar), a gay ba ...
he had some success as a sire of winners.
Background
The colt who would become Sir Tatton Sykes was bred near
Driffield
Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield. By road, it is north-east of Leeds ...
by a farmer named Hudson. He was a bright bay horse standing 15.2
hands high with large, drooping ears, a white
blaze and one white foot and was described as having a "quiet and docile" temperament. He was sired by Melbourne, a member of the
Godolphin Arabian sire-line who went on to get the Triple Crown winner
West Australian and the outstanding filly
Blink Bonny. His dam, an unnamed mare by
Margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Em ...
went on to produce the important broodmare Lady Elizabeth.
As a young horse he was bought for £10 by
Bill Scott. Scott had recently quarreled with his brother
John Scott, the leading racehorse trainer of the time, and had set up his own stable near
Malton, North Yorkshire
Malton is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is the location of the offices of Ryedale District Council and has a population of around 13,000 ...
, with the day-to-day conditioning of the horses being handled by William Oates. Bill Scott, who rode many of his own horses, was one of the most successful jockeys of his era, although he was also noted for his heavy drinking and rough riding tactics. Scott named his bay colt Tibthorpe, after
a village near Driffield.
Racing career
1846: three-year-old season
Tibthorpe did not run as a two-year-old but showed a great deal of promise in training: according to one story Bill Scott dismounted after an early gallop and dropped to his knees to thank God "that he has sent me a bloody clinker at last".
In early 1846 the name of Tibthorpe began to appear in the betting lists for
The Derby: after being quoted at odds of
100/1 in late January, he was backed down to 25/1 over the next month. Tibthorpe made his first racecourse appearance in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on 28 April, starting at odds of 5/1 in a field of six runners. Bill Scott produced a "perfect"
display of jockeyship to win a slowly run race on his own horse, foiling a major gamble on a horse named Tom Tulloch. Tibthorpe's appearance and performance led to suspicions of foul play. During this period there were several cases of four-year-old horses having their identities faked and running in races, notably the
British Classics, which were confined to three-year-olds. Tibthorpe's win at Newmarket was only confirmed after an
examination of his teeth, demanded by Tom Tulloch's owner
Lord Maidstone, which established that he was indeed a three-year-old colt.
The Yorkshire-trained horse was promoted to second favourite for the Derby, and Scott renamed him after
Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet
Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet (1772–1863) was an English landowner and stock breeder, known as a patron of horse racing.
Life
A younger brother of Sir Mark Masterman Sykes, he was educated from 1784 at Westminster School. Matriculating at Br ...
a notable breeder of Thoroughbreds based at
Sledmere
Sledmere is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, about north-west of Driffield on the B1253 road.
The village lies in a civil parish which is also officially called "Sledmere" by the Office for National Statistics, although th ...
.
At Epsom on 27 May, Sir Tatton Sykes started at odds of 10/1 for the Derby in a field of twenty-seven runners. Bill Scott had reportedly been drinking heavily on the morning of the race and had a long and noisy argument with the racecourse starter, which resulted in him missing the start and being left behind by the other runners.
Scott made up the lost ground and was able to bring Sir Tatton Sykes through the field to challenge for the lead in the straight. In the closing stages, however, it became clear that Scott was in no condition to ride a strong finish and despite briefly taking the lead his colt was caught and beaten by
Pyrrhus The First
Pyrrhus The First (1843 – 1862) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from April 1846 to 1849 he competed twelve times and won ten races, including one walk-over. In the summer of 1846 he proved himself ...
.
After the race Scott was reported to the racecourse stewards and fined £5 for "disobeying orders" and "using improper language". While many blamed Scott for his horse's defeat, others pointed out that Sir Tatton Sykes was a difficult horse to ride and may well have been beaten on merit by the winner. On his first start after his Epsom defeat, Sir Tatton Sykes started 4/7 favourite but failed to finish the course in the North Derby Stakes at
Newcastle Racecourse
Newcastle Racecourse is a horse racing course located at Gosforth Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, owned by Arena Racing Company. It stages both flat and National Hunt racing, with its biggest meeting being the Northumberland Plate held a ...
on 23 June after slipping on the turn and throwing his jockey. 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 ...
in August, Sir Tatton Sykes won the Knavesmire Stakes, beating Wrestler "in a canter".
At
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 ...
in September, twelve horses ran in the
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 ...
, with Sir Tatton Sykes being made joint favourite with Brocardo at odds of 3/1. Bill Scott's condition was closely monitored, with William Oates prepared to take the ride in case of drunkenness, but he arrived at the start completely sober. Scott tracked the leaders on Sir Tatton Sykes, then moved forward in the straight to dispute the lead with Iago, a colt from the stable of his brother John Scott. The two Scott horses drew clear of the other runners, with Sir Tatton Sykes prevailing by half a length after making a "tremendous rush" in the closing stages. The win was well-received, with Scott being loudly cheered by the Yorkshire crowd. The original Sir Tatton Sykes, who was then seventy-five years old and a popular racecourse figure, led his equine namesake into the winner's enclosure. On his final start of the season, Sir Tatton Sykes was beaten by Iago in the Grand Duke Michael Stakes at Newmarket after he had "swerved at the finish".
1847–1848: later career
Sir Tatton Sykes stayed in training as a four-year-old but failed to reproduce his best form. In April he ran in the
Port Stakes
The Port Stakes was a flat horse race in Great Britain open to four-year-olds. It was run on the Two Middle Miles (T.M.M.) of the Beacon course at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles, and was scheduled to take place each year in early or mid Ap ...
over two miles at Newmarket's Craven meeting, but was easily beaten by Sting, after which he was sold by Scott to Captain O'Kelly.
At
Ascot in June he contested the
Emperor's Plate in which he finished unplaced behind The Hero over two and a half miles. Later that summer he won a £500 match race against The Traverser over one mile at York.
1848 saw further deterioration in the form of the double Classic winner. At Ascot he finished unplaced in the
Royal Hunt Cup
The Royal Hunt Cup 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 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...
carrying a weight of 125 pounds. Later that year he ran in a race at Hampton in which he finished second to an unnamed three-year-old filly over one mile. He was then retired to stud.
Stud career
At stud, Sir Tatton Sykes sired a few good winners, but was not a great success. He was based at a stud farm owned by Mr Eyke at Stanton, near
Shifnal
Shifnal is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of the county town of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of the city of Wolverhampton. It is near the M5 ...
in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
. The best of his progeny were the filly Ronzi, who won 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 ...
and Mr Sykes, who won 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 ...
.
Sir Tatton Sykes died in May 1860 at Stanton from "an inflammation of the bowels".
Pedigree
* Sir Tatton Sykes is
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 ...
3S × 4D to the stallion
Comus
In Greek mythology, Comus (; grc, Κῶμος, ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He is a son and a cup-bearer of the god Dionysus. He was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr and represents ana ...
, meaning that he appears third generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.
References
{{St Leger Winners
1843 racehorse births
1860 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 8-e
Godolphin Arabian sire line
2000 Guineas winners
St Leger winners