Reveller 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

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. His most significant win came in the 1818

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 ...

, but he remained in training until 1823, winning numerous races in the North of England. He had a long rivalry with another northern champion, Doctor Syntax.

Background

Reveller was a strongly-built bay horse bred by a Mr Shard. As a yearling he was sold to

Henry Peirse Henry Peirse (1695 – 2 October 1759) of Bedale in Yorkshire was an English landowner and Member of Parliament. He was born the eldest son of John Peirse of Lazenby, Yorkshire and inherited the manor of Bedale from his grandfather. In the 1730 ...

Bedale Bedale ( ), is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Bedale Beck is a tributary of the River Swale, which forms one of the Yorkshire Dales. The dale has a predominant agriculture sector and its related small traditional t ...

, who owned him throughout his racing career. He was sired by Comus, a horse who finished third in the Epsom Derby before becoming a successful stallion based near

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

in Yorkshire. Among his other progeny were the 2000 Guineas winner

Grey Momus Grey Momus (1835 – 1856) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from August 1837 to 1839 he competed twenty-one times and won fourteen races. Grey Momus first attracted attention as a two-year-old when he re ...

and the St Leger winning filly Matilda. He was also the male-line ancestor of the Triple Crown winner West Australian. Reveller's dam Rosette won seven races for Peirse, who owned and bred her. She was killed in 1816 when Reveller was a yearling after receiving a kick from Jack Spigot's dam, a blind mare.

Racing career

Reveller began his racing career in August 1818 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 ...

where he won a six runner Produce 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 ...

, he started at odds of 4/1 in a field of 21 runners for the "Great St Leger". He won the race from his stable companion Ranter, with The Marshall in third. The first three horses were all sired by Comus. Later in the same week Reveller walked over for the Gascoigne Stakes, when all of his rivals were withdrawn by their owners. Reveller retained his unbeaten record throughout 1819, when he won all four of his races. At York in August he won a Produce Sweepstakes and the Great Subscription Purse for four-year-olds. He returned to Doncaster for the St Leger meeting where he won a Produce Sweepstakes and the four mile Doncaster Stakes. In 1820 at York he ran in two Great Subscription Purses. He won the first of them but in the second he lost for the first time when he was defeated by Juggler. 1821 saw the beginning of the rivalry between Reveller and the ten-year-old Doctor Syntax. Racing outside Yorkshire for the first time, Reveller defeated Doctor Syntax at level weights in the three mile

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

Gold Cup on 4 July, but at Preston, a week later the form was reversed, Doctor Syntax defeating Reveller in the Preston Gold Cup. Reveller returned to Yorkshire to win a third Great Subscription Purse at York, but was beaten by Borodino in the Doncaster Stakes. On his final appearance of the year he won the Lincoln Gold Cup. In 1822 Reveller again beat Doctor Syntax at level weights in the Lancaster Gold Cup on 2 July, but in this season he was able to confirm the form by beating his eleven-year-old rival in the Preston Gold Cup on 5 September. Doctor Syntax, who had won the race for the previous seven years finished second with the 1821 St Leger winner Jack Spigot, carrying a

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

less than his veteran rivals, in third. On his final racecourse appearance on 9 July 1823, Reveller returned to Preston and claimed a walkover victory in the Gold Cup.

Stud record

Reveller was retired to stud where he became a successful sire or winners. His best progeny included 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 ...

winner Lucetta and the 1000 Guineas winner

Galantine In French cuisine, galantine () is a dish of boned, stuffed meat, most commonly poultry or fish, that is usually poached and served cold, often coated with aspic. Galantines are often stuffed with forcemeat, and pressed into a cylindrical shap ...

. He was also the broodmare sire of the dual Ascot Gold Cup winner The Emperor.

Tribute

A pub in the village of Yafforth in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

was named after the horse. The pub closed in the late 1990s but a nearby street is named Revellers Mews. It is a widely held belief that Reveller is buried beneath the 15th tee at Bedale Golf Club. The land on which the golf course sits was the estate of the Peirse family. The hole is named Reveller in honour of the horse.

Pedigree

* Reveller 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 × 3D to the stallion

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 ...

, meaning that he appears fourth generation on the sire side of his pedigree and third generation on the dam side of his pedigree. * Reveller is inbred 4D x 4D to the stallion Herod, meaning that he appears twice fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

References

{{St Leger Winners 1815 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 19 Godolphin Arabian sire line St Leger winners