Slieve Gallion (1904–1926) 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 and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

. In a career that lasted from May 1906 to June 1907 he ran eight times and won six races. He was one of the leading British two-year-olds of 1906 when his wins included the Champagne Stakes 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 ...

. The following spring he became a

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 ...

winner by 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 ...

but finished third when favourite for The Derby. After winning his only subsequent race he was sold and exported to stand as a stallion in Hungary.

Background

Slieve Gallion's colour was controversial: he was officially described as a black horse, although his portrait suggests that he was a dark-coated bay, and some argued that he was an unusually dark chestnut. He was bred in England by the Irish breeder Henry Greer, who owned the colt during his racing career. Greer named the colt after a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

. He was sired by Greer's stallion Gallinule, a moderate racehorse who became a highly successful sire of winners, being 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 r ...

on two occasions. Greer sent the colt to be trained by Sam Darling at Beckhampton.

Racing career

1906: two-year-old season

Slieve Gallion began his racing career at

Sandown Park Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing ...

in May where he won the Cobham Plate. He was immediately moved up in class and sent to

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

for the New Stakes, the race now known as the Norfolk Stakes. He won the race "very easily" to establish himself as one on the season's leading two-year-olds. A much anticipated meeting between Slieve Gallion and the year's other leading colt, Traquair, in the

July Stakes The July Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it ...

at Newmarket did not come to pass when Greer's horse was withdrawn. After a three-month break, Slieve Gallion returned to the racecourse to win the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster. On his final start of the season he ran in one of the year's most important two-year-old races, the

Middle Park Stakes The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is s ...

at Newmarket Racecourse. He was made favourite at odds of 1/4 in a field of five runners but was beaten after a "long and desperate struggle" by

Eustace Loder Eustace, also rendered Eustis, ( ) is the rendition in English of two phonetically similar Greek given names: *Εὔσταχυς (''Eústachys'') meaning "fruitful", "fecund"; literally "abundant in grain"; its Latin equivalents are ''Fæcundus/Fe ...

's colt Galvani, with Traquair third. One explanation for his half-length defeat was that he was below his best form having suffered from dental problems in the build-up to the race. Although he had been beaten in his most important test, Slieve Gallion was widely regarded as the fastest two-year-old of the season, despite his "tearaway" racing style and tendency to carry his head at a high, awkward angle. Late in the season it was reported that Greer had turned down an offer of 18,000

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 ...

for his colt.

1907: three-year-old season

Slieve Galion began his three-year-old season by winning the Craven Stakes at Newmarket in April. In the 2000 Guineas over the same course and distance two weeks later he started at odds of 4/11 against nine opponents. Ridden by

Billy Higgs William Arnold "Billy" Higgs (1880–1958) was a British Thoroughbred horse racing jockey, trainer, owner and breeder, colloquially referred to as "Farmer Higgs". He was twice Champion Jockey of Britain. Career For the most successful per ...

, he took an early lead and after being briefly challenged by Bezonian drew clear "in splendid style" to win easily by three lengths. 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 5 June he was made 8/13 favourite for the one and a half mile Derby in a field of nine runners. Confidence was high, with one prominent correspondent claiming that Slieve Gallion only had to "escape accident" to win the Classic. Despite stamina not being considered one of Slieve Gallion's strengths, Higgs rode the colt positively, sending him to the front after half a mile. He continued to lead into the straight, but two furlongs from the finish he began to struggle and was overtaken by the Irish colt

Orby __NOTOC__ Orby is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map: Skegness, Alford & Spilsby: (1:25 000): It is situated approximately east from the town of Spilsby, and west from the seaside ...

. Slieve Gallion hung badly to the right as he tired and finished third, beaten two lengths and half a length by Orby and Wool Winder. Higgs and Sam Darling offered no excuses, admitting that their colt had been beaten on merit. Shortly after the Derby, Orby's owner "Boss" Croker challenged Greer to a match race between the colts for "a substantial sum" over any distance. The challenge was not accepted. Two weeks after his defeat at Epsom, Slieve Gallion returned to the one mile distance for the St James's Palace Stakes at

which he won from two opponents at odds of 1/20. Slieve Gallion was then bought for 15,000

by the Hungarian Mikos de Szemere. The colt was injured shortly afterwards and never raced again. His winnings of £7,705 made him the fifth most financially successful horse of the British season.

Stud career

Slieve Gallion was exported by his new owner to stand as a stallion in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He made little impact as a sire of flat racers, but his progeny proved highly successful as

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

rs. He was euthanized at the Kisber Stud in 1926.

Pedigree

References

{{2000 Guineas Winners 1904 racehorse births 1926 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 8-d 2000 Guineas winners