Mango (foaled 1834) 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
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
and
sire best known for winning the
classic
A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...
St Leger Stakes
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 ...
in 1837. He won nine of his thirteen races in a racing career which lasted from October 1836 until October 1838. Mango was well-beaten in his only race as a two-year-old and finished unplaced in
The Derby but won three races 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. In September he won an exceptionally rough race for the St Leger at
Doncaster Racecourse
Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's List of British flat horse races#Group 1, 36 annual Group One, Group 1 flat races, the St Leger ...
and then won the
Newmarket equivalent a month later. Mango won twice in the following year, but became increasingly temperamental and difficult to manage. He was retired to stud at the end of 1838 but proved a failure as a sire.
Background
Mango was a powerfully-built, dark-coated
brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black.
In the ...
horse with a small white star who stood 15
hands, three and a half inches high. According to the ''New Sporting Magazine'' he was an honest, but lazy horse who required "considerable exertion on the part of his jockey" to show his best form. According to the ''General Stud Book'' he was bred by
Charles Greville although other sources state that he was bred by Thomas Thornhill and then sold to Greville.
Mango's sire,
Emilius, won the Derby in 1823 and went on to become a successful stallion at the Riddlesworth stud which was owned and run by Thomas Thornhill. Apart from Preserve, Emilius's best winners included
Priam
In Greek mythology, Priam (; , ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra.
Etymology
Most scholars take the e ...
,
Plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...
,
Oxygen
Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
, Riddlesworth (
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 ...
) and
Preserve: he was British
Champion sire in 1830 and 1831.
Mango's dam Mustard, a daughter of the Oaks winner
Morel
''Morchella'', the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order Pezizales ( division Ascomycota). These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges ...
was bred and owned by Thornhill. She showed some racing ability, finishing third in the Prendergast Stakes as a two-year-old, before becoming a successful broodmare. In addition to Mango, her fifth foal, she produced his full-sister
Preserve, and is regarded as the
Foundation mare of Thoroughbred family 1-c.
Mango was originally trained 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 ...
by Richard Prince, but later moved to the stable of Montgomery Dilly.
Racing career
1836: two-year-old season
Mango made his first racecourse appearance in the Clearwell Stakes at
Newmarket on 18 October. He was not among the favourites and finished unplaced behind Colonel Peel's chestnut filly who won from the future
1000 Guineas
The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...
winner
Chapeau d'Espagne.
1837: three-year-old season
On 11 April 1837, Mango was scheduled to begin his second season in a sweepstakes over Newmarket's Ditch Mile course. When the other horses were withdrawn by their owners however, Mango was allowed to
walk over the course to claim the prize. On 25 May, Mango was one of seventeen runners to contest the fifty-eighth running of the
Derby Stakes at
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs.
The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 including ...
. Despite the fact that he had finished unplaced in his only competitive race, Mango was strongly supported in the betting and started the
11/2 third favourite but finished unplaced behind the 40/1 outsider
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...
.
On 6 June Mango was matched against Chapeau d'Espagne in the
Ascot Derby. He started the 6/4 favourite, took the lead after a mile and won by 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, ...
won from Edgar, with the 1000 Guineas winner in third place. Later the same day, Mango won a plate donated by the
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
when he defeated Velure, a filly owned by
Lord Exeter Two days later, Mango won his third race of the meeting when he beat Rat-Trap in a sweepstakes over the Old Mile course. On 30 June he appeared at
Stockbridge Racecourse where he defeated Wisdom in a one and a half mile match.
On 19 September Mango, ridden by the teenager Sam Day, was one of thirteen three-year-olds to contest the Great St Leger Stakes at
Doncaster Racecourse
Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's List of British flat horse races#Group 1, 36 annual Group One, Group 1 flat races, the St Leger ...
. He started the 13/2 fourth choice in the betting behind Epirus, Mahometan and Cardinal Puff. The race appears to have been an eventful one. Shortly after the start Epirus slipped and fell into a ditch at the side of the course, seriously injuring his jockey
Bill Scott, who suffered a
compound fracture An open fracture, also called a compound fracture, is a type of bone fracture (broken bone) that has an open wound in the skin near the fractured bone. The skin wound is usually caused by the bone breaking through the surface of the skin. An open fr ...
of the
collar bone
The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavicle is the ...
. Sam Day tracked the leaders on Mango, but approaching the final furlong he seemed unlikely to figure in the finish when a
greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets.
Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...
ran onto the course, impeding two of the leaders.
In the closing stages, Mango was driven through a gap in the leading rank, settled the race in three strides and won by a length Mr Fairlie's colt Abraham Newland. The result was enthusiastically received by the large and unruly crowd. Both Greville and his associate
Lord George Bentinck
Lord William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (27 February 180221 September 1848), better known as Lord George Bentinck, was an English Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and racehorse owner noted for his role (with Benj ...
were reported to have won £10,000 on the race.
Fifteen days after his classic victory, Mango (having returned from Yorkshire in a horse-drawn
"van")
started 4/6 favourite for Newmarket's version of the St Leger, despite having sustained a minor injury a few days before the race. Ridden by
John Barham Day he appeared beaten in the closing stages but produced a strong finish to win by half a length from Troilus, with Rat-trap third and Dardanelles fourth. The forty-four-year-old Day was reported to be "dreadfully exhausted by his exertions" on the winner.
After the race there were insinuations that Mango's connections had exaggerated the severity of his injury in order to obtain better odds, but nothing was proved. Mango's run of six consecutive wins came to an end at the next Newmarket meeting when he failed to concede fourteen
pounds to Velure in the Garden Stakes. On the same day, Greville received a forfeit when Mr Greatrex's colt failed to appear for a 300
guinea
Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
match against Mango over the five
furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...
s.
1838: four-year-old season
Mango began his four-year-old season at the Craven meeting in April when his owner received a 100 guinea forfeit as
George Osbaldeston's Mahometan failed to appear for a two-mile match. Three days later at the same meeting Mango won the
Claret Stakes, easily beating Hibiscus, his only opponent, by three lengths. At the next Newmarket meeting Mango won a sweepstakes over the four-mile Beacon Course, but again gave John Barham Day a difficult time, dodging, swerving and "rebeling" against the jockey before winning by two lengths. Later at the same meering he failed to appear for a match against Velure, leaving Greville to pay a 150 guinea forfeit. After a break of five months, Mango returned to action at the First October meeting but he failed to add to his successes, being beaten by
Lord Suffield's mare Arsenic in a five furlong match. He was entered in a match against Lord Suffield's
Caravan at the Second October meeting, but was withdrawn by Greville and retired to stud.
Stud record
Mango began his career as a breeding stallion at
Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...
Paddocks where he stood at a fee of 11 guineas a mare. Mango's stud record was very disappointing as he sired no major winners and few horses of any consequence. One of his sons, Portumnus, won three races for Greville at Newmarket in 1843, but two of these were
walkover
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 ...
s.
Pedigree
* Mango 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 ...
4D x 4D to the stallion
Buzzard, meaning that he appears fourth generation twice on the dam side of his pedigree.
*^ Mango is inbred 4S x 5S x 6D x 5D 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 and fifth generation once (via Sir Peter Teazle)^ on the sire side of his pedigree and sixth generation once (via Alexander mare)^ and fifth generation once (via
Delpini)^ on the dam side of his pedigree.
*^ Mango is inbred 4S x 5D to the stallion
King Fergus, meaning that he appears fourth generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fifth generation (via Tipple Cyder)^ on the dam side of his pedigree.
References
{{St Leger Winners
1834 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 1-c
St Leger winners