Skyscraper (1786–1807) 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. One of many notable offspring of the great

Highflyer Highflyer, highflier or high flyer may refer to: * Highflyer (horse), a British Thoroughbred racehorse * High flyer (fishing), a vertical floating pole used to locate fishing lines * HMS ''Highflyer'', various Royal Navy ships * Yamhill High Fly ...

, Skyscraper is best known for winning The Derby of 1789. He competed until he was seven, when after losing two races he was 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 bar ...

Background

Skyscraper was bred at

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, a ...

by the

5th Duke of Bedford Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (23 July 1765 – 2 March 1802) was an English aristocrat and Whig politician, responsible for much of the development of central Bloomsbury. Life Francis Russell, eldest son of Francis Russell, Marquess of ...

, who was only twenty-one when the horse was foaled. Bedford went on to become a notable breeder, producing two other winners of the Derby,

Eager Eager may refer to: *Eager (band) *Eager (horse), (1788 – after 1795), a British Thoroughbred racehorse * ''Eager'' (novel), a children's science-fiction novel written by Helen Fox *Eager (surname) *, an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the ...

(1788), and the nameless

Colt by Fidget The Colt by Fidget (1794 – after 1799) is a name used to refer to an otherwise nameless British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career that lasted from June 1797 to April 1798 he ran at least twice and won once. On his racecourse debut in the ...

(1794), as well as two Oaks winners, Portia (1788) and Caelia (1790). The Duke's turf career was ended by his death in 1802.Skyscraper
at bloodlines.net, Retrieved 7 February 2012 Skyscraper's sire was Highflyer (1774), an undefeated racehorse who became the greatest stallion of his time. His grandsire was the noble Herod, the foundation sire through whom Skyscraper was in the direct male line of the

Byerley Turk The Byerley Turk (c. 1680 – c. 1703), also spelled Byerly Turk, was the earliest of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock (the other two are the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian).Ahner ...

, while his granddam was Rachel, whose grandsire was the

Godolphin Arabian The Godolphin Arabian (–1753), also known as the Godolphin Barb, was an Arabian horse who was one of three stallions that founded the modern Thoroughbred (the others were the Darley Arabian and the Byerley Turk). He was named after his best-kno ...

. Skyscraper's dam was Everlasting, a mare by the unbeaten

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

. He was a half brother to the mare Sister to Goldfinch (1785), the third dam of

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

, who won the Derby in 1804.

Name

Skyscraper was given his name, which is thought to refer to his height, by the Duke of Bedford's racing friend Ralph Dutton. The name also echoes that of his sire, Highflyer. The word 'skyscraper' was first applied to a building when it was used to describe the

Home Insurance Building The Home Insurance Building was a skyscraper that stood in Chicago from 1885 to 1931. Originally ten stories and tall, it was designed by William Le Baron Jenney in 1884 and completed the next year. Two floors were added in 1891, bringing its ...

, Chicago, completed in 1884. However, the word had an earlier nautical meaning, referring to an upper sail of a

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or fe ...

Racing career

1789: three-year-old season

At the Newmarket Craven meeting of 1789, Skyscraper collected 240 guineas in forfeits and also won a five hundred guineas race for colts and fillies, beating Maid of all Work. At the Newmarket Second Spring meeting he won the Prince's Stakes (one hundred guineas each), beating

Earl Grosvenor Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

's Brother to Skylark, Lord Clermont's Pipator, and six others. At Epsom on 28 May he won 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 gai ...

, beating a field of ten which included Sir George, Brother to Skylark, and 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 ...

's Soujah ul Dowlah. He was ridden to victory by Sam Chifney the elder.Derby Winners 1780–1851
at georgianindex.net, Retrieved 8 February 2012 While at Epsom he also collected seventy guineas from the

Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749, along with the subsidiary title Baron of Cockermouth, in Cumberland, for Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, with remainder to his nephews Sir Charles Wy ...

's three-year-old filly Tag, on whom Sam Chifney won that year's Oaks.''Country life'', vol. 118 (1955), pp. 330–331: "Skyscraper, owned by the Duke of Bedford, won the Derby in 1789, and his jockey was Sam Chiffney the elder, who also won the Oaks the same year on Lord Egremont's Tagg. There is a mezzotint by Houston after a painting of Skycraper by J. N. Sartorius." At Newmarket on 1 October the horse collected a 250 guineas forfeit (for a 500 guineas match) from Magpie as well as sixty guineas from Lord Egremont's Calomel. The next day he won eight hundred guineas, beating Skylark, Competitor, and nine others. Also at Newmarket he gained another £50, beating eight including Egbert, and collected 110 guineas from Sister to Lethe and 130 guineas from Braggadocio.

1790: four-year-old season

At the Newmarket first Spring meeting Skyscraper won the Jockey Stakes (100 guineas each), beating Skylark, Pipator, and Pickle. At the Newmarket second Spring meeting he took on Sir Charles Bunbury's Glaucus in a match for one thousand guineas and was beaten. On 1 October he won the Subscription (140 guineas) at Newmarket, beating Escape (1785), but in a match for seventy guineas at the same meeting he was defeated by Skylark. The next day in a sixty guineas purse he finished fourth, the winner being Seagull.

1791: five-year-old season

Skyscraper again had his first outing at the Newmarket first Spring meeting, with mixed success. He won the 1500 guineas, beating fifteen other horses, but in a Sweepstakes was third and last, being beaten by Spear (1786) and Shovel (1785). At the second Spring meeting he collected a forfeit of 150 guineas (for a 300 guineas each sweepstakes) from four other horses, including the Prince of Wales's

colt and a

Pot-8-os Potoooooooo or variations of Pot-8-Os (1773 – November 1800) was an 18th-century thoroughbred racehorse who won over 30 races and defeated some of the greatest racehorses of his time. He went on to be an important Stud (animal), sire, whose le ...

colt. However, in a field of six for a Sweepstakes of fifty guineas each at the same meeting, he was runner-up to the

Earl of Clermont Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

's Tally-Ho.

1792: six-year-old season

Skyscraper began the 1792 flat season with disappointments, but finished it strongly. In a handicap of fifty guineas each at the Newmarket Craven meeting, he finished second to his younger half-sister Thalia. At the first Spring meeting he took on Mr Bullock's Buzzard (1787) in a match for 200 guineas and was beaten, but at the meeting he went on to win the King's Plate, beating Coriander, Gustavus (1785) and Toby, the last another of his half-brothers by Highflyer. At Stockbridge he won the Prince of Wales's Plate, again meeting Thalia and beating her in both heats. At Winchester he won the King's Plate, twice beating Cropper. At Lewes he was runner-up for the King's Plate to the

's Precipitate (1787), and at Derby he walked over in a race for fifty guineas. At Newmarket on 1 October he won yet another King's Plate, beating Skylark, and the next day won a race for sixty guineas, beating Skylark again.

1793: seven-year-old season

The horse won no races in 1793. At the Newmarket first Spring meeting he was runner-up for the King's Plate to Coriander, one of the horses he had beaten in the same race the year before. At the second Spring meeting he finished fifth and last in the Jockey Club Plate. He was then retired to stud.

Sire

After his last race Skyscraper was retired to Woburn, where he stood as a stallion priced at five guineas a nomination. After the death of his owner in 1802, he was transferred to a stud at Tytherton, near

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

, where his fee was increased to ten guineas. His offspring included:

Likenesses

After he won the Derby, Skyscraper's portrait was painted by J. N. Sartorius, and this was later engraved in

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonali ...

by Houston.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Derby Winners 1786 racehorse births 1807 racehorse deaths Epsom Derby winners Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Thoroughbred family 3 Byerley Turk sire line