Gimcrack (1760 – after 1777) was an English

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.

Background

Gimcrack was a small

gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

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 ...

, standing at and sired by Cripple, a son of the

Godolphin Arabian The Godolphin Arabian (–1753), also known as the Godolphin Barb, was an Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( , DIN 31635, DMG ''al-ḥiṣān al-ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse with historic roots on the Arabian Peninsul ...

; his dam, Miss Elliot, was by (Grisewood's) Partner.

Lady Sarah Lennox Lady Sarah Lennox (14 February 1745 – August 1826) was the most notorious of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Sarah Cadogan. Early life Lady Sarah Lennox was born on 14 February 1745, the sixt ...

wrote of Gimcrack in a letter dated to 12 July 1765:

Racing career

Despite his small stature, Gimcrack was widely successful, winning 27 of his 36 races in a turf career spanning 7 seasons. His ownership changed hands a few times, being owned by

Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, 3rd Viscount St John (21 December 1732 – 5 May 1787), was a British peer and landowner. His father was John St John, 2nd Viscount St John, half-brother of Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke ( ...

before being resold to

Sir Charles Bunbury, 6th Baronet {{Infobox noble , name = Sir Charles Bunbury , title = 6th Baronet , image = File:Sir-Thomas-Charles-Bunbury-6th-Bt.jpg , caption = An engraving of Bunbury , alt = , CoA ...

, who owned Gimcrack from 1768 to 1769. He was resold again to

Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor ( ; 18 June 1731 – 5 August 1802) was an English landowner, Tory politician and peer who sat in the British House of Commons representing the parliamentary constituency of the City of Chester from 1 ...

, as Bunbury was unhappy with Gimcrack's racing performance later in his career. Gimcrack won his last race in 1771, at age 11, and he retired to the Grosvenor stud.

Stud record

Gimcrack sired the handy grey horse, Grey Robin, who defeated

Pot-8-os Potoooooooo or variations of Pot-8-Os (1773 – November 1800) was an 18th-century thoroughbred racehorse who won over 25 races and placed higher than some of the most prominent racehorses of his time. He went on to be an important sire, whose l ...

.Ahnert, Rainer L. (editor in chief), “Thoroughbred Breeding of the World”, Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970 His bloodline was more notable though in U.S. horse racing than in Britain, via his son,

Medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

. After his death, he was buried at

Haughton Hall Haughton Hall is an early 18th-century country house situated at Haughton Lane, Shifnal, Shropshire, England now converted for use as a hotel. It is a Grade II* listed building. The de Haughton family owned land at Haughton under the Lord of ...

in Shifnal, Shropshire. A brick and stone pillar marks his grave to the west of the old walled garden.

Legacy

Gimcrack is best known from the paintings of

George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Joshua Reynolds and Thoma ...

. The Gimcrack Club, in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

was founded in 1766 in his honour, and the

Gimcrack Stakes The Gimcrack Stakes is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Colt (horse), colts and geldings. It is run at York Racecourse, Yor ...

, also at York, is therefore also named after the horse.

Sire line tree

*GimcrackPortraits: Gimcrack
/ref> **Grey Robin **

Portraits: Medley
/ref> ***Gimcrack ***Young Medley ***Bellair II ***Grey Diomed ***Lamplighter ***Quicksilver ***Boxer ***Grey Medley ***Melzar ***Alfred

References

External links

''Gimcrack with John Pratt up on Newmarket Heath'' at the Fitwilliam Museum
1760 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 23 Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Godolphin Arabian sire line {{racehorse-stub