Cedric (racehorse)
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Cedric (1821 – 1829) 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. In a career that lasted from April 1824 to August 1826 he ran eleven times and won eight races. Cedric was unraced as a two-year-old, but in 1824 he proved himself the best British colt of his generation by winning seven of his eight races including The Derby and the Grand Duke Michael Stakes. After winning a notable
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on his first run as a four-year-old he lost his form and was well beaten in his remaining races. He was retired to
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at the end of 1826 but proved to be completely infertile.


Background

Cedric was a chestnut horse bred at
Maresfield Maresfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village itself lies 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north from Uckfield; the nearby villages of Nutley and Fairwarp; and the smaller settlements of D ...
in
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
by his owner
Sir John Shelley, 6th Baronet Sir John Shelley, 6th Baronet (18 December 1771 – 28 March 1852) was an English landowner, Member of Parliament and amateur cricketer. Career He was the son of Sir John Shelley, 5th Baronet by Wilhelmina, the daughter of John Newnham of Mare ...
. Shelley owned the stallion
Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingd ...
and used him to breed
Phantom Phantom, phantoms, or the phantom may refer to: * Spirit (metaphysics), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phanto ...
, the Derby winner of 1811. Shelley then bred Phantom to a daughter of Walton, with the unusually
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 ...
Cedric being the result. Phantom was British Champion sire in 1820 and 1824 and made his most enduring impact as the sire of the important broodmare Cobweb.


Racing career


1824: three-year-old season

Cedric did not race as a two-year-old and began his racing career at the 1824 Newmarket Craven meeting. On 22 April he made his debut in a 100
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over the Ditch Mile course and defeated his only opponent, a colt named Banquo. Later the same afternoon he ran second to 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 ...
Rebecca in the Dinner Stakes over the Rowley Mile. On the opening day of the next Newmarket meeting on 3 May he beat Cydnus to win a 200 guinea Sweepstakes, before reappearing three days later at the same course to win a match race, beating Lord Exeter's colt Progress. On 3 June Cedric started the 9/2 second favourite for the Derby at
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, with Thomas Thornhill's colt Reformer being made 5/2 favourite in a field of seventeen runners. Ridden by James "Jem" Robinson, Cedric won easily from the 16/1 outsider Osmond. Jem Robinson also won The Oaks on Cobweb and was married in the same week reportedly winning a very large bet on the completion of the triple event. Following his Derby win, Cedric was sent to
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where he won a three-horse Sweepstakes on the opening day of the meeting at odds of 1/4. A day later he started "long odds on" and won the one mile Winkfield Stakes from his only opponent. Cedric returned in autumn at Newmarket to face six other runners in the Grand Duke Michael Stakes on 4 October. He started 4/6 favourite and won from the
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's colt Orion, with Don Carlos third. Cedric's owners claimed another prize at the next Newmarket meeting, when the Derby winner was allowed to
walk over John Baxter Taylor and William Robbins (athlete)">William Robbins to refuse to race in protest. A walkover, also W.O. or w/o (originally two words: "walk over"), is awarded to the opposing team/player, etc., if there are no other players avail ...
in a Sweepstakes after the other runners were withdrawn.


1825: four-year-old season

Cedric returned as a four-year-old in a match race at Newmarket on 19 April in which he received two pounds in weight from the five-year-old Bizarre, a horse who 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 ...
in both 1824 and 1825. In what was described as "the most exciting" and "the truest run race ever witnessed" the two horses ran together throughout the contest before Cedric pulled ahead to win by half a length . Officially, Cedric and Bizarre were three and four years old for this race as Thoroughbreds had their official "birthday" on 1 May: the modern practice of advancing a horse's age by a year on 1 January was introduced in 1834. Cedric's defeat of the Gold Cup winner was described as confirming his position as "the best in England" at the time. In June, Cedric was sold by John Shelley to
John George Lambton John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, (12 April 1792 – 28 July 1840), also known as "Radical Jack" and commonly referred to in Canadian history texts as Lord Durham, was a British Whig statesman, colonial administrator, Governor General ...
for £2,500 and his training base moved to
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
. Cedric was off the racecourse for five months before reappearing in the
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 ...
over two miles five furlongs on 21 September. After winning his last seven races, Cedric started 5/2 second favourite, but finished unplaced behind Lottery. The Sporting Magazine's correspondent "Tyke" felt that Cedric was unsuited by the extreme distance.


1826: five-year-old season

On Tuesday 11 April, Cedric failed to appear for a match race, with Lambton paying a forfeit to the owners of his horse's opponent, Sligo. On 11 August Cedric ran in a two-mile race at
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in which he finished last of the four runners behind Actaeon. Cedric was then retired from racing.


Stud career

Cedric began his breeding "career" at his owner's Lambton Grange stud in
County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, where his initial fee for covering mares was £10, or £5 for a mare who had already produced a winner. His stud career was a complete failure as he proved to be infertile and failed to sire a single foal. Cedric died in 1829 of "inflammation" after standing three seasons at stud.


Pedigree

* Cedric is
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 ...
2S x 2D to the stallion
Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingd ...
, meaning that he appears second generation on the sire side of his pedigree and second generation on the dam side of his pedigree. * Cedric is inbred 4S x 4D x 4D to the stallion
Highflyer Highflyer, highflier or high flyer may refer to: * Highflyer (horse), a British Thoroughbred racehorse * High flyer (fishing), a vertical floating pole used to locate fishing lines * HMS Highflyer, HMS ''Highflyer'', various Royal Navy ships * Yamh ...
, meaning that he appears fourth generation once on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth generation twice on the dam side of his pedigree. †''Trumpator mare'' also appears in pedigrees as ''Sister 2 to Repeator''


References

{{Epsom Derby Winners 1821 racehorse births 1829 racehorse deaths Epsom Derby winners Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 9-d Byerley Turk sire line