The Great Match is the name given to a

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 ...

between two of the most famous 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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s of the 19th century -

Voltigeur The Voltigeurs were French military skirmish units created in 1804 by Emperor Napoleon I. They replaced the second company of fusiliers in each existing infantry battalion. Etymology ''Voltigeurs'' ( ɔltiʒœʀ English: "acrobats") were named ...

and

The Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...

. The race took place 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 ...

on 13 May 1851 for a purse of 1,000 sovereigns.

Background

The Flying Dutchman was a 5-year-old, who had won the 1849

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

and

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 ...

and, as a 4-year-old, the 1850

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...

. So dominant had he been that the whip had only been raised on him on one occasion in his entire career - at Epsom. Voltigeur was a year younger, and in 1850 had followed The Flying Dutchman's by taking both The Derby and

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 ...

(in a rematch after an initial

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a Tie (draw), tie and the competitors are awarde ...

). In winning the Derby, he had posted a time ten seconds faster than that of The Flying Dutchman the year previously. Two days after Voltigeur's St Leger victory, the two horses met for the first time in the

Doncaster Cup The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles 1 furlong and 197 yards (3,600 metr ...

. The younger horse was in receipt of 19 pounds from his rival and as a result, the previously unbeaten Flying Dutchman went down to a half-length defeat, although in some ways the victory was deemed unsatisfactory. Rumours abounded that the Flying Dutchman's

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 ...

Charles Marlow Charles Marlow is a fictional English seaman and recurring character in the work of novelist Joseph Conrad. Role of Marlow in novels by Conrad Marlow narrates several of Conrad's best-known works such as the novels ''Lord Jim'' (1900) and ''Ch ...

, was the worse for drink and consequently ignored instructions to wait on the colt, declaring "I'll show you what I've got under me today!" and setting a ridiculously fast pace. It was subsequently agreed that the two would meet again the following spring for a purse of 2,000 guineas, with each owner putting up half the stake.

Race

The famous handicapper

Henry John Rous Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral The Honourable Henry John Rous (23 January 1795 – 19 June 1877) was an officer of the British Royal Navy, who served during the Napoleonic Wars, and was later a Member of Parliament and a leading figure in horse rac ...

set the weights for the second match, giving The Flying Dutchman a weight of 120½ pounds to Voltigeur's 112. The race between the two Yorkshire horses proved extremely popular, drawing a crowd of between 100,000 and 150,000, an all-time record for York. Some even walked from as far afield as

Richmond, North Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...

to be there. Even the horses' exercise gallops attracted large crowds of fans attempting to assess their relative condition. Unlike their previous meeting, The Flying Dutchman was successfully restrained in the early stages as Voltigeur, under

Nat Flatman Elnathan "Nat" Flatman (1810 – 20 August 1860), born Holton St. Mary, Suffolk, was the first Champion flat racing jockey of Great Britain. He began his thirty-four-year racing career as an apprentice jockey at age fifteen and by 1840 he was t ...

, made the running. In the final furlong the Flying Dutchman moved up level with his rival and then pulled ahead to win by a length.

Aftermath

The event was immortalised in paintings by Harry Hall, first exhibited in Buchanan Street,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

later that year, and

John F. Herring John Frederick Herring Sr. (12 September 1795 – 23 September 1865), also known as John Frederick Herring I, was a painter, sign maker and coachman in Victorian England.British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

without a copy. As for the horses, The Flying Dutchman 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 ...

after the race. Voltigeur, on the other hand, carried on racing. The very day after the match race, he went down to defeat in the Ainsty Hunt Cup, conceding 37 pounds to a classy filly named Nancy. The next season, when he was five, he won the race named in honour of his old rival, The Flying Dutchman Handicap, run at York, before finishing unplaced in his final three racecourse appearances, including the Ascot Gold Cup, and then retiring to stud himself.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Match (horse race), The Horse races in Great Britain