Camel (1822 – 6 November 1844) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

. He won five of his seven races, including the Port Stakes in 1825, but his appearances were limited by leg problems. Throughout his racing career he was owned by Charles Wyndham. After retiring from racing Camel became a successful

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

, siring St. Leger winners Touchstone and Launcelot and becoming British Champion sire in 1838.

Background

Camel was a

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 and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

colt bred by

George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont Royal Society#Fellows, FRS (18 December 1751 – 11 November 1837) of Petworth House in Sussex and Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, was a British Peerage of Great Britain, peer, a major landowner and a ...

, and foaled in 1822. He was sired by

Whalebone Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and ...

, who won the Newmarket Stakes and

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 ...

in 1834. After retiring from racing he was a successful

, becoming Champion sire twice. Amongst his other progeny were Derby winners Lap-dog and

Spaniel A spaniel is a Dog type, type of gun dog. Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of denser brush. By the late 17th century, spaniels had been specialized into water and land breeds. The extinct English Water Spaniel was used to retriev ...

, as well as the top sire

Sir Hercules Sir Hercules (1826–1855) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse, and was later a successful sire. Pedigree Sir Hercules was by the great sire Whalebone, winner of The Derby, out of Peri (1822) by Wanderer. Peri was bred to Whalebone at the ...

. Camel'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, aqua ...

was an unnamed daughter of

Selim Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin **Salim (poet) (1800–1866), Kurdish poet **Saleem (playwright), Palestinian-American gay Muslim playwright, actor, DJ, and dancer * ...

. Camel was owned by Egremont's son Charles Wyndham.

Racing career

Camel was due to race the colt Peter Proteus in a match race at Newmarket on 21 April 1825, but Peter Proteus paid a forfeit and was withdrawn. They following day he contested the Newmarket Stakes, facing eight rivals. Cramer was the pre-race favourite at 6/4, with Camel second favourite at 3/1. The race was won by 17/1 outsider Crockery, with Camel finishing second. On 3 May he started as the 5/4 favourite for a £50 race for three-year-olds over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket. Ridden by W. Arnull, Camel won the race from Adeliza. At Newmarket's Second October meeting he beat Dahlia, Mortgage and

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 ...

winner

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 ...

in a race for one-third of a subscription of 25 sovereigns each. At the beginning of November he beat Tarandus in a match race over furlongs at Newmarket. Two days later Camel lost a match against the

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

Scandel. Camel only raced once in 1826, when he started as the 7/4 favourite for the Port Stakes at Newmarket. Ridden as usual by Arnull, he won the race from Redgauntlet, with Lionel Lincoln finishing in third place. Two others finished behind Lionel Lincoln, but were not placed by the judge. He was scheduled to run in the Garden Stakes in October, but was withdrawn from the race, which was won by Bizarre. He raced only once again in 1827, after suffering with leg problems since his win in the Port Stakes. This was at Newmarket in October, where he beat Redgauntlet easily by two lengths over one mile.

Stud career

Camel initially stood as a stallion at Earl Grosvenor's Eaton Stud near

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. In 1830 he stood for a fee of ten guineas and half a guinea for the

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and Groomsman, ...

. He became a successful stallion and was the

leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of Horse racing, racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current (2023) cham ...

in 1838. His most important progeny were: * Touchstone (1831) – won the St. Leger in 1834. He sired many classic winners, including Cotherstone,

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Surplice A surplice (; Late Latin ''superpelliceum'', from ''super'', "over" and ''pellicia'', "fur garment") is a liturgical vestment of Western Christianity. The surplice is in the form of a tunic of white linen or cotton fabric, reaching to the kn ...

and Newminster. *

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

(1834) – won 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 ...

. * Prism (1836) – foaled The Oaks winner

Refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one transmission medium, medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commo ...

. * Black Bess (1837) – was the dam of

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 ...

winner Hernandez. * Launcelot (1837) – won the St. Leger in 1840. * Fiammetta (1838) – won the Poule d'Essai. * Misdeal (1839) – won the St. James's Palace Stakes. Camel died on 6 November 1844.

Pedigree

''Note: b. =

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, bl. =

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 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 and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

, ch. =

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

'' * Camel 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 an ...

4x4 to Highflyer. This means that the stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of her pedigree.

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em 1822 racehorse births 1844 racehorse deaths British Champion Thoroughbred Sires Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 24