Sterling (1868 – 26 March 1891) was a British racehorse and sire. Although he was not particularly successful in terms of major wins he was very highly regarded, being rated by his

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

Harry Custance as the equal of

Thormanby Thormanby is a village and civil parish in Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the A19 approximately halfway between Easingwold and Thirsk and about south east of the county town of Northallerton. History Thormanby ...

Background

Sterling was a bay horse bred and owned by the Graham family who owned the Yardley Stud near

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. His dam, Whisper, was bred by Mr. R. Taylor and produced ten foals between 1866 and her death in 1882. Sterling was her third foal and one of six sired by Oxford. Whisper's other good racers included Playfair.

Racing career

Sterling won five races including the Liverpool Autumn Cup at

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, whi ...

. He also finished second to Bothwell in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on 25 April 1871. In the autumn of 1871, the owner of the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

winner Harry Bassett's owner issued a challenge to the owner of Sterling for a one and a half mile match race at level weights, to be run in the United States. Sterling's owner responded by offering to put up £12,000 to the American's £8,000, but only if the match took place in England. The race never materialised.

Stud career

Sterling was much more successful as a breeding stallion than he had been as a racehorse. Sterling died on 26 March 1891 at 23.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom 1868 racehorse births 1891 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 12-a