Tudenham (21 February 1970 – after 1991) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred 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 ...

. He showed his best form as a two-year-old in 1972 when he finished second in the

Mill Reef Stakes The Mill Reef Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-olds. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled ...

before recording the only win of his career by taking the

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

Middle Park Stakes. He remained in training for two more seasons but failed to win again. He was retired to become a breeding stallion in Japan and had some success as a sire of winners.

Background

Tudenham was a "strong, attractive" bay horse bred by his owner Lionel Brook Holliday at his Cleaboy Stud, near Mullingar in

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...

. He was sent into training with

Denys Smith Denys Smith (13 August 1924 – 13 November 2016) was a British racehorse trainer whose horses competed in both Flat racing and National Hunt racing. Smith's training stables were located at Bishop Auckland in County Durham. He trained the winn ...

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. Smith was primarily known for his achievements in National Hunt racing, having trained Red Alligator to win the

1968 Grand National The 1968 Grand National was the 122nd renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 30 March 1968. The winner was the nine-year-old Red Alligator, by 20 lengths. He was ridden by j ...

. The horse may have been named after

Tudenham Park Tudenham Park House (), originally called Rochfort House, is an 18th-century Palladian limestone country house located in Tudenham Park on the Rochfort Demesne near Belvedere House and Gardens beside Lough Ennell, County Westmeath, Ireland. Th ...

, a ruined

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

four miles away from the Cleaboy Stud. His sire Tudor Melody was the top-rated two-year-old in Britain in 1958 after winning five of his six races and later had some success when campaigned in the United States. He returned to Europe and had considerable success as a breeding stallion, siring

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

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( Queen Anne Stakes), Tudor Music (

July Cup The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres ...

) and Magic Flute ( Coronation Stakes). Tudenham's dam Heath Rose was a high-class racemare who finished third in the Prix Vermeille and fifth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe as a three-year-old in 1967. She was a granddaughter of the British broodmare Netherton Maid who was a full-sister to

Neasham Belle Neasham Belle (1948 – November 1971) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the classic Oaks Stakes in 1951. After winning one minor race as a two-year-old, she was well-beaten in her first two races in ...

and the female-line ancestor of many good winners including

Hethersett Hethersett is a large village and electoral ward in the county of Norfolk, England, about south-west of Norwich. It covers an area of and had a population of 5,441 in 2,321 households at the 2001 census, increasing to 5,691 at the 2011 cen ...

Hittite Glory Hittite Glory (18 April 1973 – 14 November 1996) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for his 100/1 success in the 1975 Flying Childers Stakes. As a two-year-old, he won one of his first four races before recording his u ...

and Harzand .

Racing career

1972: two-year-old season

Tudenham began his racing career in the Scarborough Maiden Stakes over five furlongs at

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

in May and finished second to the

Mick Easterby Michael William Easterby (born 30 March 1931) is a British racehorse trainer. He is a dual-purpose trainer, saddling runners in both flat racing and National Hunt racing. He gained his only Classic winner with Mrs McArdy in the 1977 1,000 Guinea ...

-trained Gypo, beaten a head by the winner. After a three-month absence the colt finished sixth on his reappearance before being stepped up in class for the inaugural running of the

Mill Reef Stakes The Mill Reef Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-olds. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled ...

at Newbury Racecourse in September. He took the lead from the start, maintained his advantage until well inside the final furlong but was then caught and beaten a head by

Mon Fils Mon Fils (1970–1979) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for winning the classic 2000 Guineas in 1973. As a two-year-old, Mon Fils won two of his seven races including the Mill Reef Stakes. In 1973 he won the 2000 G ...

. The pair finished ten

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clear of the other two starters. On his final start of the year he was moved up to

class for the Middle Park Stakes over six furlongs at Newmarket Racecourse and started at odds of 4/1. Of his six opponents, Quentilian, Wohurst and Mad Mahdi had won minor races whilst Golden Master,

Boldboy Boldboy (1970 – September 1998) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He raced for eight seasons in the 1970s and was one of the most popular and successful racehorses of his era. As a two-year-old he showed ability, ...

and Loyal Manzer were maidens. Timeform described the race as "the worst Middle Park Stakes in our experience". Boldboy set the pace with Tudenham being restrained at the rear of the field before moving up to take the lead a furlong out. He stayed on well and won by one and a half lengths and a short head from Quentilian and Wohurst.

1973: three-year-old season

Tudenham made no impact in his first two starts as a three-year-old finishing unplaced in both the

European Free Handicap The European Free Handicap was a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It was run over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres) on the Rowley Mile at Newmark ...

(behind Pitskelly) and the Irish 2000 Guineas (won by

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). In the Britannia Stakes 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 ...

he produced a much better effort finishing a close fourth to Tudor Rhythm in a twenty-two runner field. He then ran sixth in a handicap race at Beverley Racecourse and then looked outclassed when finishing sixth to Thatch in the Sussex Stakes in August.

1974: four-year-old season

As a four-year-old Tudenham competed mainly in handicaps over sprint distance. He failed to win in nine attempts but produced some good efforts in defeat under big weights. His best performance came over seven furlongs at

Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy. History Doncas ...

in September when he was beaten a neck by the

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

Hovis in the Mark Lane Handicap.

Assessment

In the 1972 Free Handicap, a rating of the best two-year-olds to race in Britain, Tudenham was given a rating of 117 pounds, sixteen pounds behind the filly

Jacinth Jacinth (, ) or hyacinth () is a yellow-red to red-brown variety of zircon used as a gemstone. In Exodus 28:19, one of the precious stones set into the ''hoshen'' (the breastplate worn by the High Priest of Israel) is called, in Hebrew, '' lesh ...

and thirteen pounds behind the leading colt Noble Decree. The independent Timeform organisation gave him a rating of 118, fifteen pounds behind Jacinth. He was given Timefform ratings of 107 in 1973 and 109 in 1974.

Stud record

After his retirement from racing Tudenham returned to his birthplace to become a breeding stallion at the Cleaboy Stud at an initial stud fee of £198. After one season in Ireland he was sold and exported to stand in Japan. The best of his offspring being the Japanese graded stakes race winners Kyoei Bowgun ( Kobe Shimbun Hai), Tudenham King ( Nakayama Kinen, second in the Tenno Sho) and Nihon Pillow Brave ( Epsom Cup,

Keihan Hai The Keihan Hai ( Japanese 京阪杯) is a Grade 3 horse race for Thoroughbreds aged three and over, run in November over a distance of 1200 metres on turf at Kyoto Racecourse. It was first run in 1956 and has held Grade 3 status since 1984. Th ...

). He had fertility problems in his later stud career and covered his last mares in 1991.

Pedigree

* Tudenham was inbred 4 × 4 to Nearco, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{Reflist 1970 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 21-a