Bona Vista (1889–1909) 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. As a two-year-old he won the

Woodcote Stakes The Woodcote Stakes is a conditions flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 6 furlongs and 3 yards (1,210 metres) at Epsom Downs ...

Epsom Downs Epsom Downs is an area of chalk upland near Epsom, Surrey; in the North Downs. Part of the area is taken up by the racecourse, the gallops are part of the land purchased by Stanly Wootton in 1925 and are open to users such as ramblers, model ...

. As a three-year-old he won the Newmarket Biennial Stakes, before 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 ...

by one and a half

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 ...

. He was trained by William Jarvis and owned by

Charles Day Rose Sir Charles Day Rose, 1st Baronet (23 August 1847 – 20 April 1913) was a British-Canadian businessman, race horse breeder, yachtsman, and Liberal politician. Member of parliament for Newmarket and President of the Royal Aero Club, he has b ...

. After retiring from racing Bona Vista became a successful stallion, siring Ascot Gold Cup winner Cyllene. Through his son Cyllene and grandson

Polymelus Polymelus (1902–1924) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for five years (1914, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1921). Among his most famous descendants are Secretariat and Northern Dan ...

, Bona Vista's sire line is the most dominant in Thoroughbred racehorses today.

Background

Bona Vista, sometimes spelled Bonavista, was a chestnut

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

bred by

Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death o ...

, and foaled in 1889. He was sired by

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

and Champion Stakes winner

Bend Or Bend Or (1877–1903) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1880 Epsom Derby. His regular jockey Fred Archer, winner of thirteen consecutive British jockey titles, said Bend Or was probably the greatest horse he had ever ridden. No ...

. After retiring from racing Bend Or became a successful stallion. His most successful son was the unbeaten

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

winner, Ormonde. He also sired the champion sire Kendal and Eclipse Stakes winner

Orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as ...

. Bend Or was also the

leading broodmare sire in Great Britain and Ireland The list below shows the leading sire of broodmares in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1899. This is determined by the amount of prize money won during the year in Great Britain and Ireland by racehorses that were foaled by a daughter ...

for two years. Bona Vista's

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

Vista Vista usually refers to a distant view. Vista may also refer to: Software *Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007 * VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...

, a daughter Macaroni. She won several races, including the Great Metropolitan Handicap, and had already foaled 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 ...

winner Sir Visto and Eclipse and Champion Stakes winner Velasquez before producing Bona Vista.

purchased Bona Vista as a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

at Newmarket in 1890 for 1250

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

. This was just above the reserve of 1200 guineas set by the Earl of Rosebery, who apparently regretted selling the colt. Bona Vista was put into training with William Jarvis.

Racing career

1891: Two-year-old season

Bona Vista made his first race start on 26 May 1891 in the

over six furlongs at

. Ridden by J. Woodburn, he started as the

even money Even money is a wagering Proposition bet, proposition with even odds - the bettor stands to lose or win the same amount of money. Beyond gambling, ''even money'' can mean an event whose occurrence is about as likely to occur as not. Even money is ...

favourite. With a quarter of a mile left to run the colt Rioter took the lead, but then struggled. Bona Vista and

Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christianity, Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a prog ...

overtook Rioter and Bona Vista won the race by a length from Pilgrim's Progress. Rioter finished in third place and El Diablo fourth. Bona Vista faced Pilgrim's Progress again at Royal Ascot in the New Stakes. He started the race as the evens favourite, but could only finish third, five lengths behind winner Goldfinch. Bona Vista's final start of the season came in the Chesterfield Stakes in July at Newmarket. He started as the second favourite, behind La Fleche, who was receiving seven pounds from Bona Vista. La Fleche led the race in the early stages, with Bona Vista second. In the closing stages Bona Vista was overtaken by Lady Hermit, but neither could catch leader La Fleche, who won by two lengths from Lady Hermit. Bona Vista was three quarters of a length behind the runner-up in third place.

1892: Three-year-old season

Bona Vista started his three-year-old campaign in the Biennial Stakes, run over one mile at Newmarket, where he only faced three rivals. In the early stages Curio led the race from Platoon, the pair being clear of Bona Vista and Tanzmeister. The field remained in that order until they were into the second half of the race, when the four horses bunched up. The four raced right up to the finish line, with Bona Vista winning by a head from Tanzmeister and Curio a head behind Tanzmeister in third. Derby, the Paddock

After this narrow victory Bona Vista started the

at the price of 10/1 and faced thirteen opponents. After the start St. Angelo immediately went to the front, racing on the left hand side of the course, he led Galeopsis and Scarborough. Bona Vista was leading the horses that were racing down the centre of the track. Shortly after half-way St. Angelo was still leading from Galeopsis, with Bona Vista in third being followed by

Sir Hugo Sir Hugo (1889–1910) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1891 to 1894 he ran eight times and won three races. As a three-year-old in 1892 he won The Derby at odds of 40/1. He was a consistent perfo ...

, Goldfinch and El Diablo. Sir Hugo and Goldfinch soon faded and this left Curio behind the three leaders. Bona Vista took the lead with about one furlong left to run and under jockey W. Robinson he pulled steadily away to win by one and a half lengths from St. Angelo. Half a length behind St. Angelo was Curio, who just beat Galeopsis for third place. These for were well clear of Goldfinch, who pulled up lame, and led the rest of the field home. The 9/2 favourite El Diablo eventually finished in eight place. On 1 June, Bona Vista returned to the place of his first race, Epsom Downs, for the

Derby Stakes 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 ...

. La Fleche was the strong pre-race favourite, priced at 11/10. Rueil was second favourite at 100/9, then Bona Vista at 100/8 and St. Damien at 100/7. In the early stages of the race Sir Hugo led the race, with Llanthony, Persistive and Galeopsis also prominent. By the time the field reached the mile post Thessalian led the race from St. Damien, with Bona Vista near the middle of the pack. Bona Vista never got to the leaders and finished back in eleventh place. The race was won by 40/1 outsider Sir Hugo, who held of La Fleche by three quarters of a length. At Royal Ascot, Bona Vista competed in the

Prince of Wales's Stakes The Prince of Wales's Stakes 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 1 mile 1 furlong and 212 yards (2,004 ...

. After the field had settled down after the start

Watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. It is one of the oldest known leaf v ...

led the field, with Bona Vista not amongst the front runners. Bona Vista never reached the leaders and finished in seventh place. Watercress won the race by one length from Tanzmeister. Bona Vista was entered for the

St. Leger Stakes 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 ...

, but was withdrawn due to a ligament injury.

Race record

''Note: F =

Furlong 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 hor ...

s, L =

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 ...

Stud career

Bona Vista initially stood for at Hardwicke Stud in Berkshire for a fee of 25 guineas. In 1897 he was purchased for 15,000 guineas by Prince Louis Esterhazy to stand at stud in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, where he was champion sire five times. Through his son Cyllene, and Cyllene's son

, Bona Vista's sire line is the most dominant in Thoroughbred racehorses today. Bona Vista's most notable progeny were: Bona Vista died in Hungary in 1909, at the age of twenty.

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'' * Bona Vista 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 ...

4x4 to

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

. This means that the mare appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{2000 Guineas Winners 1889 racehorse births 1909 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 4-f 2000 Guineas winners