Ellangowan (horse)
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Ellangowan (1920 – 1943) 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
sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...
. He raced only once as a two-year-old but showed considerable promise when finishing third in a top-class event at Kempton. In the following spring he came in third in the
Craven Stakes The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 met ...
before recording his biggest win 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 ...
. Although be made no impact in 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 ...
or 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 ...
, he had further major victories in the
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 ...
and 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 ...
. He failed to win in 1924 and was retired to stud, but had little success as a breeding stallion.


Background

Ellangowan was a bay horse bred and owned by
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...
. During his racing career he was trained by
Jack Jarvis Sir John Layton Jarvis (27 December 1887 – 20 June 1968) was a British Horse trainer, trainer of racehorses. Born into a racing family, Jarvis had a brief but successful career as a jockey before taking up training. He was one of the most pr ...
at the Park Lodge at
Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 14 miles west of Bury St Edmunds and 14 miles northeast of Cambridge. In 2021, it had a population of 16,772. It is a global ...
. The colt was named after a location in
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
's novel ''
Guy Mannering ''Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer'' is the second of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1815. According to an introduction that Scott wrote in 1829, he had originally intended to write a story of the supernatural, ...
''. He was one of the best horses sired by Lemberg, whose wins included 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 ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. Lemberg also sired 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 ...
winner
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and was Champion sire in 1922. Ellangowan's dam Lammermuir also produced Lady Nairne, the dam of
Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
: she was a daughter of Montem, a broodmare whose other descendants included Sweet Solera, Aunt Edith and Blind Luck.


Racing career


1922: two-year-old season

On his only start as a juvenile in 1922 Ellangowan finished third behind Twelve Pointer and Brownhylda 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

Ellangowan began his second season by running third behind Light Hand and Twelve Pointer in the
Craven Stakes The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 met ...
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 ...
in April. On 2 May 1923 Ellangowan, ridden by
Charlie Elliott Charles Standish Elliott (24 April 1912 – 1 January 2004) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1932 and 1953, an international umpire and a part-time footballer. Elliott was born in Bolsover, Derbyshire. ...
, started at odds of 7/1 in an eighteen-runner field for the 115th running of the 2000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile. Twelve Pointer started favourite, while the other fancied runners included
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 ...
and
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. In a closely contested finish Ellangowan prevailed by a head from Knockando, with the 50/1 outsider D'Orsay half a
length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
away in third place and
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 ...
fourth. The colt's victory was reportedly greeted with "a great outburst of enthusiasm" by the crowd, possibly prompted by the popularity of his owner, who had been in very poor health. An unusual feature of the result was that the racecourse judge initially announced that Legality (carrying very similar colours to Knockando) had finished second and the mistake was not corrected until many
bookmakers A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out gambling, bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Harry Ogden, stood at Newmarket Racecourse, Newmark ...
had paid out. Ellangowan was well-fancied for the Epsom Derby but after tracking the leaders he dropped out of contention in the straight and finished eighth behind Papyrus. At
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 June the colt was dropped back in distance for the St James's Palace Stakes and, with Elliott again in the saddle, won at odds of 3/1 from the favourite Chosroes. Ellangowan was entered in the St Leger at Doncaster Racecourse on 12 September but was not among the placed horses in a race won by the filly Tranquil In the Kingsclere Plate at Newbury seventeen days later the colt was beaten a length by Twelve Pointer, to whom he was conceding five pounds in weight. In October Ellangowan attempted to record his third major success of the year in the Champion Stakes over ten furlongs at Newmarket in which he started at odds of 11/4 in a four-runner field. After looking beaten in the last quarter mile he rallied strongly in the final furlong to win by a neck from Legality with Twelve Pointer a neck away in third. Ellangowan ended the season with winnings of £14,885, making him the second most financially successful horse of 1923 in England.


1924: four-year-old season

Ellangowan remained in training as a four-year-old but failed to win on his only start.


Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Ellangowan an "inferior" winner of the 2000 Guineas.


Stud record

At the end of his racing career Ellangowan was acquired by the partnership of Jack Javis, John Fox and Rowland Rank and was retired to become a breeding stallion. His most successful offspring included Tartan, who won the Britannia Stakes in 1933. Ellangowan was euthanised in September 1943.


Pedigree

* Ellangowan 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 ...
4 × 4 to Isonomy, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.


References

{{2000 Guineas Winners 1920 racehorse births 1943 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 11-f 2000 Guineas winners