Book Law (1924 – 1944) was a British

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. The best female racehorse of her generation in Britain, she was noted for her courage and consistency and in her prime she was described as a "fighting machine". She showed great promise as a two-year-old in 1926 when she won the

Queen Mary Stakes The Queen Mary Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ...

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Gra ...

. In the following year she finished second in both 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 ...

and the

Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 y ...

, before embarking on a six-race winning streak which included the

Coronation Stakes The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is sche ...

Nassau Stakes The Nassau Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to Filly, fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at ...

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 ...

and

Jockey Club Stakes The Jockey Club Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres) ...

. As a four-year-old in 1928 she won the Burwell Stakes on her seasonal debut but then finished third in both the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards ...

and the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

, after which she was retired from racing to become a broodmare. Her foals included the top class colts Rhodes Scholar and Canon Law, the influential broodmare Highway Code and Archive, a racehorse of no account who sired

Arkle Arkle (19 April 1957 – 31 May 1970) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by Archive out of Bright Cherry, Arkle was the grandson of the unbeaten Flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was bred by Mary Baker of Mal ...

Background

Book Law was a bay mare bred in the United Kingdom by her owner

Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, DL (19 May 1879 – 30 September 1952) was an American-born English politician and newspaper proprietor. He was a member of the Astor family. He was active in minor political roles. He was devoted to charita ...

. She was sent into training with

Alec Taylor, Jr. Alec Taylor Jr. (1862–1943), known as the Wizard of Manton, was a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who followed in the footsteps of his highly successful father, Alec Taylor Sr. Family His father, Alec Taylor Sr., was a successful ho ...

at his stable at

Manton, Wiltshire Manton is a suburb of the town of Marlborough in Wiltshire, England, just off the A4 Bath Road. History A settlement of twelve households and an estate held by Miles Crispin were recorded at ''Manetone'' in the 1087 Domesday Book. In the 17th ...

. She was sired by Buchan, who won the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong a ...

and

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 m ...

as well as finishing second in the

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 (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...

and the

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

. As a breeding stallion he made his mark as a sire of fillies including

Short Story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

and the dams of Airborne and Sun Castle. Her dam Popingaol won two minor races but became a very successful broodmare whose other foals included

Pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

, Splendid Jay (

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile ...

), Book Debt (dam of Pay Up) and Fair Cop (female-line ancestor of Provoke).

Racing career

1926: two-year-old season

Book Law made her first impact in June 1926 when she contested the Queen Mary Stakes at

in which she was ridden by Robert A "Bobby" Jones and won at odds of 7/2. At

Sandown Park Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racin ...

in July she ran unplaced behind Priscilla in the

National Breeders' Produce Stakes The National Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years old. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 5 furlongs and 10 yards (), and it is scheduled t ...

. In autumn she finished third to Applecross in the Moulton Stakes at Newmarket. Towards the end of the year she was described as the best horse of her age and sex in England.

1927: three-year-old season

In a twenty-eight runner field for 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 ...

over the Rowley mile at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

on 29 April, Book Law dead-heated for second place with Endowment, two lengths behind the winner

Cresta Run The Cresta Run is a natural ice track in eastern-Switzerland used for skeleton-toboggan racing. Located in the winter sports town of St. Moritz, the run is one of the few in the world dedicated entirely to skeleton. It was built in 1884 nea ...

. On 3 of June Book Law started the 5/2 favourite Oaks Stakes over miles at

Epsom Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 includin ...

. She took the lead approaching the final turn but was overtaken in the closing stages and beaten a head by

Beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

in a "terrific race". Book Law was then dropped back in distance for the Coronation Stakes over one mile, which, with a first prize of £4,750, was the most valuable run that year at Royal Ascot. Ridden by Henri Jellis she started the 4/9 favourite and won from Lord Furness's Gay Baby. The filly maintained her good form through the summer of 1927, taking the Welsh Oaks at

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

and the Gratwicke Stakes at Goodwood before winning the Nassau Stakes (again at Goodwood) at odds of 2/5. On 7 September, with Jellis in the saddle, Book Law started the 7/4 favourite in a field of sixteen colts and fillies for the 152nd running of the St Leger over 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 List of British flat horse races#Group 1, 36 annual Group One, Group 1 flat races, the St Leger ...

. The race had been deprived of some interest by the absence of the Derby winner Call Boy, whose entry had been rendered void by the death of his owner. Racing on heavy ground Book Law was always in close contention before going to the front early in the straight. She repelled a challenge from the Derby runner-up Hot Night and drew away to win by three lengths with five lengths back to Son and Heir in third place. Three weeks after her Leger success, Book Law ended her second season with a run in the jockey Club Stakes over fourteen furlongs at Newmaarket in which she was matched against older horses. Starting at odds of 4/6, she won by three quarters of a length from the four-year-old Foliation. By the end of 1927 she was being described as the best three-year-old in England of either sex. He earnings of £22,316 made her easily the most financially successful horse of the year. When Alec Taylor the Manton stable was taken over by his assistant Joseph Lawson

1928: four-year-old season

Book Law began her second season by winning the Burwell Stakes over miles at Newmarket in May. At Epsom in June she started favourite for the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards ...

but began to struggle soon after half way and finished third behind the Italian-bred five-year-old Apelle. Both Lord Astor and Henri Jellis were bitterly disappointed by her performance, but it was subsequently found that she had been suffering from a "kidney infection". The filly missed an intended run in the

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 ...

but returned on 20 July for the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

at Sandown and finished third to Fairway and

Royal Minstrel Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

. Book Law's retirement was announced shortly after her defeat at Sandown. She ended her career with earnings of £31,875, making her the fourth most successful female racehorse in British turf history up to that time behind

Sceptre A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a Staff of office, staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of regalia, royal or imperial insignia, signifying Sovereignty, sovereign authority. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and M ...

(£38,283), Pretty Polly (£36,638) and

La Fleche LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

(£34,703).

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Book Law an "average" winner of the St Leger.

Stud record

Book Law was retired from racing to become a broodmare for Lord Astor's stud. Book Law died in November 1944 in a paddock accident at the Cliveden Stud. She produced at least ten foals between 1930 and 1944: *Canon Law, a bay colt, foaled in 1930, sired by

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Won

St James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts. It is run at Ascot Racecourse, Ascot ...

. *Law Maker, brown colt, 1931, by

Phalaris Phalaris () was the tyrant of Akragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily in Magna Graecia, from approximately 570 to 554 BC. History Phalaris was renowned for his excessive cruelty. Among his alleged atrocities is cannibalism: he was said to have eaten ...

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

, bay colt, 1933, by

Pharos The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria, was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (280–247 BC). It has been estimated to have been at least ...

. Won

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

. *Light Sentence, chestnut filly, 1934 by Pharos. *Legal Fare, bay colt, 1935, by

Manna Manna (, ; ), sometimes or archaically spelled Mahna or Mana, is described in the Bible and the Quran as an edible substance that God in Abrahamic religions, God bestowed upon the Israelites while they were wandering the desert during the 40-year ...

*Sun Lore, bay colt, 1938, by Hyperion. Winner. *Highway Code, bay filly, 1939, by Hyperion. Winner. Female-line ancestor of Swale,

Shadeed Shadeed (1982–2005) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from October 1984 to November 1985, he ran seven times and won four races. In 1985, he was the highest-rated three-year-o ...

and Forty Niner. *Hampton Hall, bay or brown colt, 1940,

Dastur A dastur ( ), sometimes spelt dustoor, is a term for a Zoroastrian high priest who has authority in religious matters and ranks higher than a mobad or herbad. In this specific sense, the term is used mostly among the Parsis of India. The term has ...

*Archive, bay colt, 1941, by

Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by '' Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...

. Sire of

. *Handley Cross, colt (later gelded), 1944, by Foxhunter

Pedigree

References

{{St Leger Winners 1924 racehorse births 1944 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-n St Leger winners