The Colt by Fidget (1794 – after 1799) is a name used to refer to an otherwise nameless British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career that lasted from June 1797 to April 1798 he ran at least twice and won once. On his racecourse debut in the summer of 1797 he won The Derby. He was unplaced on his only other confirmed race.

Background

The Fidget Colt was a brown horse bred by his owner the

5th Duke of Bedford Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (23 July 1765 – 2 March 1802) was an English aristocrat and Whig politician, responsible for much of the development of central Bloomsbury. Life Francis Russell, eldest son of Francis Russell, Marquess of ...

. Until 1913 there was no requirement for British racehorses to be named, and in the late eighteenth century it was common for horses to be known by their owner, colour, sex and pedigree rather than by an official name. The Duke of Bedford's previous Derby winner had been known as "the Florizel colt" or "the Brother to Fidget" during his three-year-old season, but was later given the name Eager. The Fidget Colt, however, was never given an official name: he was known only as "the Fidget colt" or "the colt by Fidget". The colt's dam, an unnamed mare by

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was a half-sister to the notable

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Young Giantess, who produced the Derby winner Eleanor and was the grand-dam of two others in Phantom and

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. Fidget was not a particularly important stallion: in the year of the Derby winner's birth Fidget was standing at Woburn in Bedfordshire at a fee of three guineas, making him the cheapest of the four stallions at the stud.

Racing career

1797: three-year-old season

On 2 June 1797 The Fidget Colt made his racecourse debut in the Derby at Epsom. Running as "D. of Bedford's br c by Fidget out of a sister to Pharamond" he started at odds of 10/1 in a field of seven runners, with Sir Frank Standish's Sir Peter colt (later named Stamford) sent off the 11/8 favourite. Ridden by

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, he won from the 20/1 outsider Escalus with Plaistow third and the favourite fourth.

1798: four-year-old season

On 11 April "D. of Bedford's c. by Fidget out of Caelia's dam" reappeared after a break of ten months at Newmarket Racecourse in the third class of the Oatlands Stakes. He carried a weight of 102 pounds in the handicap race over the two mile "Ditch In" course and finished seventh behind the 1796 St Leger winner Ambrosio.

Pedigree

*The Fidget Colt was inbred 3 x 3 to Herod and Matchem, meaning that both of these stallions appear twice in the third generation of his pedigree. The Fidget Colt therefore had only two great-grandfathers, instead of the usual four. Also, he was inbred 4 x 4 to Tartar and Cade due to them being the sires of the 3 x 3 inbreeding scenario.

References

{{Epsom Derby Winners 1794 racehorse births Epsom Derby winners Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Thoroughbred family 6-a Byerley Turk sire line