Brownhylda (1920 – after 1937) 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 ...

. She showed considerable promise as a two-year-old when she won three times and finished twice on two occasions. In the following year he won the

Epsom Oaks 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 ya ...

and the

Park Hill Stakes The Park Hill Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards ...

as well as finishing second in the

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 ...

. Her form declined thereafter and she failed to win again before being retired at the end of the following year. She produced only four known foals, but these did include the

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 ...

winner Firdaussi.

Background

Brownhylda was a "big, well-made, but rather plain" bay mare bred in the United Kingdom by F W Dunn. 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 ...

in the autumn of 1921 the filly was offered for sale at

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

and bought for 310

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 ...

by Richard "Dick" Dawson on behalf of the Vicomte de Fontarce. She was sent into training with Dawson at Whatcombe near

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire, it has been a ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. She was sired by

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United K ...

Stedfast, a top-class performer whose wins included the

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 ...

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 ...

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), a ...

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 me ...

and

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 ...

. Her dam Valkyrie, was distantly descended from the influential broodmare Preserve.

Racing career

1922: two-year-old season

As a two-year-old, Brownhylda won three of her seven races namely the Prince of Wales's Nursery at Doncaster, the Autumn Foal Stakes and the November Nursery at Newbury. She also finished second to the

Coventry Stakes The Coventry Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take plac ...

winner Drake in the Hurstbourne Stakes in July, and to the colt Twelve Pointer in the International Two-year-old Stakes at

Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom, licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London; it is 13 miles ...

1923: three-year-old season

In April 1923, Brownhylda finished unplaced behind

's filly Tranquil in the Berkshire Handicap at Newbury. On 8 of June Brownhylda started at odds of 10/1 in a twelve-runner field for the 145th running of the Oaks Stakes over one and a half 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 ...

. The overwhelming favourite for the race was Tranquil, who had won the

1,000 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, ...

over one mile at Newmarket. Ridden by Vic Smyth, Brownhylda tracked the leader before going to the front a furlong out and won in a closely contested finish, beating Shrove by a neck with the

Aga Khan Aga Khan (; ; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imām of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ilism, Ismāʿīli Shia Islam, Shias. The current holder of the title is the ...

's Teresina a head away in third. Tranquil finished fourth having been unable to obtain a clear run in the straight. The filly's winning time of 2:37.0 was a second faster than the one recorded by

Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

in winning the Derby two days earlier. In August Brownhylda contested the

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 ...

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 ...

and finished second to Lord Astor's filly Splendid Jay. In September the filly was moved up in distance for the Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster. With Smyth again in the saddle she started favourite and won from Concertina. In autumn she finished second to the

Queen's Vase The Queen's Vase is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 6 furlongs and 34 yards (2,847 metres), and it is schedu ...

winner Puttenden in the Lowther Stakes 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 ...

, and ran unplaced in the Liverpool Autumn Cup. At the end of the year Brownhylda was put up for auction at Newmarket but failed to meet her

reserve price In economics, a reservation (or reserve) price is a limit on the price of a good or a service. On the demand side, it is the highest price that a buyer is willing to pay; on the supply side, it is the lowest price a seller is willing to accept f ...

when the bidding stopped at 5,500 guineas. The ''

Sporting Chronicle The ''Sporting Chronicle'', known colloquially as ''The Chron'', was a Manchester-based, daily, national horse racing newspaper which operated in Great Britain for 112 years until its closure in 1983 due to unsustainable losses (£5.8 million si ...

'' commented that she looked "leggy" and unimpressive in the sales-ring.

1924: four-year-old season

Brownhylda remained in training as a four-year-old but made little impact on the track. She finished unplaced the

City and Suburban Handicap The City and Suburban Handicap is a Flat racing, flat Handicap (horse racing), handicap Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile 2 furlon ...

at Epsom in April and the Jubilee Handicap at Kempton in May. In the following month she slipped and fell approaching the final turn in the

Ascot Stakes The Ascot Stakes is a flat handicap 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 (4,014 metres), a ...

. Towards the end of the season she finished unplaced under a weight of 116 pounds in the Newbury Autumn Cup. At the end of the year, Brownhylda returned to the sales-ring at Newmarket and was bought for 5,100 guineas by representatives of the

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Brownhylda an "inferior" winner of the Oaks.

Breeding record

At the end of her racing career Brownhylda became a broodmare for the Aga Khan's stud. She produced at least four foals and one notable winner: *Witch's Cauldron, a chestnut filly, foaled in 1926, sired by Pot Au Feu. Dam of Longthanh (

Poule d'Essai des Pouliches The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) ...

) *The Phanar, colt, 1927 *Far And Sure, brown colt, 1928, 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 ...

* Firdaussi, chestnut colt, 1929, 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

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 ...

. Brownhylda failed to produce a foal in the next three seasons and was sent to France in 1937.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1920 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-c Epsom Oaks winners