Squirrel 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 seven of his nine races, including the 1400 Guineas Stakes and

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consis ...

s against Dapper and Jason. He was also a successful stallion, siring

Craven Stakes The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) ...

winner Firetail. However he was more well known for producing broodmares, siring the dams of seven Classic winners including

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 ...

winner

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, along with the dam of champion sire Trumpator. Squirrel was owned by Jenison Shafto.

Background

Squirrel 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 Cornforth and foaled in 1754. He was sired by Traveller, who won several races. As a sire he served few mares until Dainty Davy, and Squirrel himself, made it to the racecourse and turned out to be good horses. Squirrel's

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

was Grey Bloody Buttocks, a daughter of

Bloody Buttocks Bloody Buttocks was a British Thoroughbred sire who was the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1739. He was owned by Mr. Crofts. Background Bloody Buttocks was a grey Arabian horse bred by Mr. Crofts, but his pedigree was never publis ...

. He was sold to Jenison Shafto.

Racing career

Squirrel's first race was at

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

, where he finished runner-up to Mr. Swinburn's Belford. In October 1758 in the first running of the 1400 Guineas Stakes over the four-mile, one-and-a-half furlong Beacon Course at Newmarket. He won the race, where the opposition included the Earl of Northumberland's Primrose and Mr. Panton's Posthumous. Later in the same meeting he beat Kiddleston, Standby, Crab, Shock, Bosphorus, Dormouse, Perseus and Rake to win 120 guineas. He returned to the track in May 1759, when he won a 300 guineas

against Mr. Panton's Mystery over the Beacon Course. 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 ...

he finished second to Silvo and in October at Newmarket he beat Spider in a match race for 200 guineas over the Rowley Mile. At Newmarket in April 1760 be beat the Duke of Cumberland's Dapper over the Beacon Course for 500 guineas. In July he won the Ladies' Plate, which was run in four-mile heats, beating Juniper and Posthumous. In the spring of 1761 he easily beat

Sir James Lowther James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (5 August 173624 May 1802) was an English country landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 27 years from 1757 to 1784, when he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Earl of Lonsdale. ...

's Jason in a match race of the Beacon Course worth 1000 guineas. Later in the spring he was due to face another of Lowther's horses, Barham, for another 1000 guineas match, but before the race he became lame in his fetlock and the race did not take place. He was then taken out of training and retired to stud.

Stud career

Squirrel became a successful stallion and during his career at stud his progeny earned over £56,000 on the racecourse. He stood at Packenham Hall in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

and his progeny included: * Lady Bolingbroke (1766) – foaled the Oaks winner Tetotum. * Squirrel mare (1767) – foaled the Oaks winner

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás st ...

and the dam of

winners

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, an ...

and

Rhadamanthus In Greek mythology, Rhadamanthus () or Rhadamanthys ( grc, Ῥαδάμανθυς) was a wise king of Crete. As the son of Zeus and Europa he was considered a demigod. His name means "showing stern and inflexible judgement". He later became one o ...

. * Flora (1768) – produced 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 d ...

winners Spadille and Young Flora. * Firetail (1769) – won a number of races, including the

Craven Stakes The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) ...

in 1773. * Brim (1771) – foaled the 1786 Derby winner

. * Brunette (1771) – was the dam of champion sire Trumpator. * Cypher (1772) – was the dam of Oaks winner Trifle. * Dasher (1772) – running from 1776 to 1779, he won several race at Newmarket, Chelmsford, Odiham, Epsom,

Ascot Heath 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 a ...

and Andover. * Squirrel mare – foaled the Oaks winner Serina. Squirrel died in 1780.

Pedigree

Sire line tree

*SquirrelByerley Turk Line
/ref>
/ref>
/ref> **Firetail **Hippolitus **Squirrel (Carlisle) ***Cossus **Weazel **Touchstone **Labyrinth **Slim **Houghton

References

{{reflist 1754 racehorse births 1780 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Thoroughbred family 4