Hambletonian, was one of the best

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 ...

racehorses of the late 18th century, having won all of his race starts, except one, and was later a good sire. His victories included two Doncaster Cups in the late 1790s and the St. Leger Stakes at

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

in 1795.

Background

Hambletonian was a

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 ...

colt that was bred by John Hutchinson and foaled in 1792. Hambletonian was by the useful sire,

King Fergus King Fergus (1775–1801) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won several races, but achieved greater success as a sire. He was British Champion sire in 1797 and his progeny included St Leger Stakes winner Hambletonian, who was only defe ...

and was a grandson of the two undefeated horses,

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

and

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 ...

, who was the sire of his dam Grey Highflyer.

Racing record

Hambletonian was named after the historic racing area of Hambleton Hills, which is on the edge of the

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...

, at the top of

Sutton Bank Sutton Bank is a hill in the former Hambleton District of the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire in England. It is a high point on the Hambleton Hills with extensive views over the Vale of York and the Vale of Mowbray. The A1 ...

. On 14 May 1794 Hambletonian won his first race there, "A sweepstake of 15 guineas each for three-year-old colts, 8 stone (51 kg), fillies 7 st. 11 lb. (49.5 kg) run over two miles" In August 1795, Sir Charles Turner at the York races, purchased Hambletonian, Beninghbrough (also by King Fergus) and Oberon from Hutchinson for 3,000 guineas. At the same meeting Hambletonian won two sweepstakes and on 22 September at the Doncaster meeting he won the St. Leger Stakes. The next day Hambletonian won his first Doncaster Cup and Beningbrough was victorious in the Doncaster Stakes.Thoroughbred Heritage: Hambletonian
Retrieved 2010-10-25 In 1796 at York Hambletonian lost his only race to The Derby winner, Spread Eagle, after running off the course. At the same meeting he won back £50 from Spread Eagle and two others. Later that year Hambletonian was sold to Sir Henry Vane-Tempest of nearby

Wynyard Park, County Durham Wynyard Hall is a large English country house near Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham. The house was the English family seat of the Vane-Tempest-Stewart family, Marquesses of Londonderry, an Anglo-Irish aristocratic dynasty, until it was sold t ...

, for whom he raced until 1800.Thoroughbred Bloodlines: Hambletonian
Retrieved 2010-10-25 At the York August meeting he won both the five-year-old and the six-year-old and over Subscription Purses. Hambletonian did not start during 1798. In a famous match with Mr. Cookson's Diamond over the four-mile Beacon Course at Newmarket on 25 March 1799, Hambletonian, ridden by

Francis Buckle Francis Buckle (1766–1832), known to the British horse racing public as "The Governor", was an English jockey, who has been described as "the jockey non-pareil" of the opening quarter of the 19th century, and the man who "brought respectabili ...

, won by a neck in a time of 7 minutes 15 seconds. He is said to have covered 21 feet in a single stride at the finish. Sir Henry had wagered 3,000 guineas on the outcome. The horse was afterwards the subject of the painting, ''Hambletonian Rubbing Down'' by the great equine artist,

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 ...

, who was then 75 years old. In 1800 Hambletonian won his only start in the Great Subscription Purse for six-year-olds and over at

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 ...

Stud record

Hambletonian retired to stud in 1801 standing at Seacroft-Hall, near

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, then from 1802 to 1808 he stood at Hornsey's stables in Middlethorpe, York for a fee of 10 guineas per mare. In the 1809 season he was at Wynyard, near Stockton-on-Tees, in 1810 and 1811 he returned to Middlethorpe, with his fee rising to 20 and 25 guineas, 1812 and 1813 at Wynyard and finally at Catterick, near

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, in 1814, the last year he was advertised, his fee had declined to 15 guineas. His most notable progeny included: * Anticipation, won sixteen races, including 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 ...

, twice; got excellent hunters * Camerton, won

Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3 ...

, exported to France in 1818 * Camillus, won Doncaster Cup, successful sireAustralian Stud Book: Hambletonian
Retrieved 2010-10-25 * Fair Helen (gr f 1808), second dam of the stallion and St Leger winner Margrave * Goosander, dam of the Epsom Derby winner Sailor and the Oaks Stakes winner Shoveler and taproot mare of Family 6-c * Lisette, dam of

2,000 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 Clearwell and a foundation mare of Family 19-b. * Whitelock, continued the sire line through Blacklock and on to the undefeated St Simon.Barrie, Douglas M., ''The Australian Bloodhorse'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1956 Hambletonian died 28 March 1818 and is buried in the grounds of Sir Henry's former home, Wynyard Park,

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 ...

Sire line tree

*Hambletonian **Camillus ***Oiseau ****Flamingo **** Rowton ****Revolution ***Magistrate ****Valentine ****Terror ***Consul **WhitelockPortrait: Whitelock
/ref> *** Blacklock ****Blue Beard **** Brutandorf *****Huntington *****

Physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

***** Gaylad *****Hetman Platoff ****Buzzard *****Bentley *****Phoenix *****Jersey *****Gorhambury *****Ratan ****Greylock ****Streatham ****Brownlock ****Cock Robin ****Crowcatcher ****Hazard ****Belzoni *****

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

Image: Vanguard
/ref> ****Laurel ****Malek ****Popsy ****Robin Hood ****Silverlock ****Sparkler ****The Deer ****Ben Lomond ****Black Heddon ****Clinton ****Jour De Noces ****Olympus ****Pelion ****Poor Fellow ****Splinter Bar ****

Velocipede A velocipede () is a human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels. The most common type of velocipede today is the bicycle. The term was probably first coined by Karl von Drais in French as ''vélocipède'' for the French translation ...

*****Valparaiso *****Ainderby *****Hornsea *****The Skater *****Blankney *****

Amato Amato ( Calabrian: ; ) is an Arbëreshë ''comune'' and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy. History Amato is one of the oldest towns in Calabria. It is mentioned by the Greek philosopher Aristotle and by the Roman P ...

*****Lightfoot *****Capote *****Confederate *****Morgan Rattler *****Wizard Of The North ***** Knight Of The Whistle *****Millipede *****

Meteor A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...

*****Amorino *****Antidote *****Winesour *****Joe Lovell *****Wood Pigeon *****Lyons *****King Of Trumps ****Young Blacklock *****Whitefoot *****Magpie *****Permit ****Agitator ****Bolivar ****Navarino ****Niger ****Robin Redbreast ****Tamboff ****Thatcher **** Tranby *****I Am Not Aware ****

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

*****Harpurley *****Picaroon ***** Charles the Twelfth *****Jack Sheppard ***** Yorkshire Lad *****Foxberry *****Barnton ***** Voltigeur ****Wodenblock ****Acis ****Apuntador ****Bryan ****Crescent ****Belshazzar *****Manderin *****Lunatic *****Vandyke *****Corporal Trim *****Florizel **Camerton ***Bay Camerton **AnticipationPortrait: Anticipation
/ref>

Pedigree

Hambletonian 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 ...

4S x 4D to the stallion Tartar, meaning that he appears fourth generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree. ^ Hambletonian is inbred 4S x 5D to the stallion

Regulus Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo (constellation), Leo and one of the List of brightest stars, brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation designated α Leonis, which is Latinisation of names, ...

, meaning that he appears fourth generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fifth generation (via Sister to South)^ on the dam side of his pedigree. ^ Hambletonian is inbred 4S x 5D to the stallion

Crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

, meaning that he appears fourth generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fifth generation (via Crab mare)^ on the dam side of his pedigree.

References