Thais (1893–1898) 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
broodmare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
. She showed very promising form as a juvenile in 1895 when she was placed in the
New Stakes
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
and 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 ...
before winning the Crabbet Plate at
Gatwick
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...
. In the following year she won the
1000 Guineas
The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...
and finished second in both the
Epsom Oaks
The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...
and the
Coronation Stakes
The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is schedul ...
before being retired at the end of the season. She had no chance to prove her worth as a broodmare, dying at the age of five without producing a foal.
Background
Thais was a bay mare bred by her owner 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 ...
. She was sent into training with
Richard Marsh at Egerton House in
Newmarket, Suffolk
Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...
. She was described as a "delicate and highly-strung" filly.
She was sired by St Serf who won the
Rous Memorial Stakes and went on to sire several other good horses included 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 ...
winner
Challacombe
Challacombe is a small village on the edge of the Exmoor National Park, in Devon, England. The village has a small general shop/Post Office and a single pub, the Black Venus. The village is on the B3358 road and is 5 miles west of Simonsbath.
...
. Her dam Poetry, a half-sister to 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 ...
winner
Ossian
Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora'' (1763), and later combined under t ...
,
was bred by the
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has be ...
and bought by the Prince of Wales for 430
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 ...
.
Racing career
1895: two-year-old season
At
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 ...
on 20 June Thais started at odds of
11/4 for the
New Stakes
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
over five and a half
furlongs
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...
. Ridden by T J Calder she finished third, beaten a head and two
lengths
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...
by Roquebrune and Shaddock. 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 Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...
she was made 2/1 favourite but finished a close third to the colts Galeazzo and Labrador. On 24 July, with Calder in the saddle, the filly recorded her first success when she won the £1000 Crabbet Plate over five furlongs at
Gatwick Racecourse
Gatwick Racecourse was a racecourse in the county of Surrey, England near to Horley and Lowfield Heath. It was in use from 1891 to 1940 when it was closed at the start of the Second World War. The land is now part of London Gatwick Airport.
His ...
.
1896: three-year-old season
![Edward VII](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Edward_VII_.jpg)
On 1 May Thais was one of 19 fillies to contest the 83rd running of the 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket and was made the 5/1 second favourite behind Omladina, a filly who had divided
St Frusquin and
Persimmon
The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus ''Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-pers ...
when running second in the
Middle Park Plate. The best-fancied of the others were
Lord Zetland
Marquess of Zetland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 August 1892 for the former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland. Zetland is an archaic form of Shetland. The Dundas family ...
's Jolly Boat, Douglas Baird's Santa Maura and the unnamed "sister to Ella Tweed". Ridden by
John Watts, Thais took the lead a furlong out and won an "exciting race" by a neck from Santa Maura, with Jolly Boat three quarters of a length away in third place. As Thais and Santa Maura were racing on opposite sides of the wide course the finish was difficult to judge and many observers believed that the latter had won. The Royal victory was reportedly greeted by "cheers of the heartiest sort".
At Epsom Racecourse on 5 June Thais started 13/8 favourite against ten opponents for the
Oaks Stakes
The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2 ...
over one and a half miles. With Watts again in the saddle she looked the likely winner in the straight but was overtaken in the last quarter mile and was beaten two lengths into second place by
Lord Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...
's
Canterbury Pilgrim
Canterbury Pilgrim (1893–1917) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, broodmare. She showed some ability as a juvenile but failed to win a race. She won the Oaks Stakes on her first run as a three-year-old and ...
. Richard Marsh explained his trainee's defeat by stating that the filly had refused to eat since leaving Newmarket and was "quite off-colour". In the
Coronation Stakes
The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is schedul ...
over one mile at Royal Ascot later that month Thais finished in front of Canterbury Pilgrim but was beaten into second place by the
Duke of Westminster
Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...
's Helm, to whom she was conceding seven pounds.
On 28 October, carrying a weight of 112 pounds, Thais finished unplaced behind Winkfield's Pride in the
Cambridgeshire Handicap
The Cambridgeshire Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlo ...
at Newmarket.
Breeding record
At the end of the 1896 season Thais was retired to become a broodmare at the Royal stud at
Sandringham Sandringham can refer to:
Places
* Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia
* Sandringham, Queensland, Australia
* Sandringham, Victoria, Australia
**Sandringham railway line
**Sandringham railway station
**Electoral district of Sandringham
* Sand ...
. She was barren when mated to Isinglass in 1897 and died in November 1898 of
inflammation of the bowels before producing any offspring.
Pedigree
References
{{1000 Guineas Winners
1893 racehorse births
1898 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 23-a
1000 Guineas winners