Turcoman (1824 – 12 April 1846) 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 ...

racehorse notable for winning the

2000 Guineas Stakes The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year ...

in 1827.

Background

Turcoman was sired by Selim, who had won the Craven Stakes and the Oatlands Stakes at Newmarket. Selim was British champion sire in 1814, siring the classic winners

Azor Azor ( he, אָזוֹר, ar, أزور) (also ''Azur'') is a small town ( local council) in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, on the old Jaffa-Jerusalem road southeast of Tel Aviv. Established in 1948 on the site of the depopulated Palestinian vi ...

( Epsom Derby), Medora (Oaks), Nicolo (

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year ...

), and the filly by Selim (

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 (1,60 ...

) as well as the British Champion sire Sultan. Turcoman's dam,

Pope Joan Pope Joan (''Ioannes Anglicus'', 855–857) was, according to legend, a woman who reigned as pope for two years during the Middle Ages. Her story first appeared in chronicles in the 13th century and subsequently spread throughout Europe. The s ...

, was a successful broodmare that also produced

Tontine A tontine () is an investment linked to a living person which provides an income for as long as that person is alive. Such schemes originated as plans for governments to raise capital in the 17th century and became relatively widespread in the 18 ...

(1000 Guineas) and his full-sister Turquoise (Oaks), among many other winners. Turcoman was Pope Joan's tenth foal out of 14 offspring produced before her death in 1830.

Racing career

1828: four-year-old season

Turcoman was sold to Lord Henry Seymour, the founder of the French Jockey Club and the second son of the

Marquess of Hertford The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of England and Great Britain. The third Earldom of Hertford was created in 1559 for Edward Seymour, who was simultaneously created Baron Be ...

, in 1828 and was briefly exported to France. Lord Henry bought Turcoman and the colt Link Boy (winner of the 1827 Goodwood Cup) specifically to race against the five-year-old French mare Vittoria (sired by Milton out of Geane), owned by the Duke of Guiche. Vittoria later produced the winners Romulus (

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over ...

Nautilus The nautilus (, ) is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in ...

(

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

and three-time

Prix du Cadran The Prix du Cadran is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 4,000 metres (about 2 miles), and it is scheduled to ta ...

) and Vegogne (

Prix de Diane The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 2,100 met ...

). Turcoman won a 2000-meter match race on the

Champ-de-Mars The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the ...

against the horse Flamingo, but the win was disputed. Lord Henry sold Turcoman to Mr. Payne two days before he received notice of a rematch race from Guiche. Payne returned Turcoman to Great Britain for the 1829 season.

Breeding career

After returning from France, Turcoman stood at Finnebrogue House, near

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...

for much of the 1830s and 40s, commanding a fee of between four and five guineas. Turcoman died of a kidney ailment on 12 April 1846 while under the ownership of a Mr. Stanier, who lived at Horton, near

Wem, Shropshire Wem may refer to: * HMS ''Wem'' (1919), a minesweeper of the Royal Navy during World War I *Weem, a village in Perthshire, Scotland * Wem, a small town in Shropshire, England *Wem (musician), hip hop musician WEM may stand for: * County Westmeath ...

References

{{2000 Guineas Winners 1824 racehorse births 1846 racehorse deaths 2000 Guineas winners