Witch Elm (1904–1923) was a
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 owned by the
William Hall Walker
William Hall Walker, 1st Baron Wavertree (25 December 1856 – 2 February 1933) was a British businessman, Conservative Party politician, art collector, and an important figure in thoroughbred racehorse breeding.
Background
Walker was a younge ...
and trained by Jack Robinson. She was a daughter of
Orme, who won the
Eclipse Stakes twice and her
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
was Cannie Lass, who was a daughter of
Ayrshire.
Racing career
She won five races out of the nine she contested as a two-year-old, including the
Cheveley Park Stakes
The Cheveley Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it ...
and the West of Scotland Foal Stakes at
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...
.
Amongst her other races were a fifth place in the National Breeders' Produce Stakes at
Sandown
Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built-up area of ...
and a third place in the Lancashire Breeders' Produce Stakes at Liverpool. As a three-year-old she easily 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 (1,60 ...
from Fragility
after starting the 4/1 favourite, but could not repeat this classic winning form over longer distances.
Breeding career
Witch Elm did not produce any top racehorses, but some of her descendants became classic winners in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
In 1919 Witch Elm produced the filly Lady Clarence, who was sired by
Queen Alexandra Stakes
The Queen Alexandra Stakes is a flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot each June over a distance of 2 miles, 5 furlongs and 143 yards (4,355 ...
winner Royal Realm. Witch Elm died in 1923 at the National Stud.
Pedigree
''Note: b. = Bay, br. = Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...
'', ch. = Chestnut
* Witch Elm was
inbred
Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...
3x4 to
Galopin
Galopin (1872–1899) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from June 1874 until October 1875 he ran nine times and won eight races. He was one of the best British two-year-olds of 1874, winning his fir ...
. This means that he appears once in the third generation and once in the fourth generation of her pedigree.
References
{{1000 Guineas winners
1904 racehorse births
1923 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 4-c
1000 Guineas winners