Riddlesworth (1828–1843) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

. He raced in April and May 1831, in a career that lasted less than seven weeks. He won four of his five starts, including the Riddlesworth Stakes,

2000 Guineas Stakes 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 year ...

and

Newmarket Stakes The Newmarket Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) on ...

. On his final start he finished second in the

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

. Riddlesworth was owned by

George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey, GCH, PC (19 August 1773 – 3 October 1859), previously George Villiers and styled Viscount Villiers until 1805, was a British courtier and Conservative politician from the Villiers family. He adde ...

, and trained by James Edwards. As a stallion he stood in Germany and the United States, but didn't leave many notable foals.

Background

Riddlesworth was a

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

colt, with a white blaze, bred by

, and foaled in 1828. He was sired by Emilius, who had won the Riddlesworth Stakes and

Derby Stakes 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 ...

in 1823. After retiring from racing Emilius became a successful

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

and was champion sire of Great Britain and Ireland in 1830 and 1831. Amongst his other offspring were Derby winners

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 ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

winner

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

, Oaks winner

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 ...

and

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 ...

winners Preserve,

Barcarolle A barcarolle ( ; from French, also barcarole; originally, Italian barcarola or barcaruola, from 'boat') is a traditional folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, or a piece of music composed in that style. In classical music, two of the most fa ...

and

Extempore ''Ex tempore'' (Latin for "out of the moment“) is a law latin legal term that means 'at the time'. A judge who hands down a decision in a case soon or straight after hearing it is delivering a decision ''ex tempore''. Another way a judge may de ...

. Riddlesworth's

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

Fillagree was a daughter of Soothsayer. She also foaled 1000 Guineas winner

Charlotte West Western Charlotte or Charlotte West may refer to: *Charlotte West (horse), a British thoroughbred racehorse *Charlotte West (electoral district) Charlotte West was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, C ...

and 1000 Guineas and Oaks winner

Cobweb A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning 'spider') is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spider w ...

. Riddlesworth was Fillagree's eighth foal. He was trained by James Edwards.

Racing career

Riddlesworth started his racing career on 4 April 1831 in the Riddlesworth Stakes at the Newmarket Craven Meeting. He was ridden by George Edwards and started as the 1/2 favourite. He justified favouritism and won the race. Anthony was second and Egbert third. Three days later he beat Vestris to win the one-mile Dinner Stakes, this time being ridden by James Robinson. On 19 April only six horses started the

at Newmarket. Riddlesworth was the 1/5 favourite, again was again ridden to victory by James Robinson. Sarpedeon finished second, with Bohemian third and Ciudad Rodrigo fourth. Three says later he faced seven rivals in the

Newmarket Stakes The Newmarket Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) on ...

. He was again sent off as the odds-on favourite and duly won. Incubus was second, three lengths behind Riddlesworth, and well clear of the rest of the field. On 19 May at

Epsom Downs Epsom Downs is an area of chalk downland, chalk upland near Epsom, Surrey; in the North Downs. Part of the area is taken up by the Epsom Downs Racecourse, racecourse; the gallops are part of the land purchased by Stanly Wootton in 1925 and are ...

he started as the 4/6 favourite for the

. His closest rivals in the betting were Vestris at 12/1, Blunderer at 16/1 and Bras de Fer at 20/1. Twenty-three horses started the race, which was won by 50/1 outsider

Spaniel A spaniel is a Dog type, type of gun dog. Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of denser brush. By the late 17th century, spaniels had been specialized into water and land breeds. The extinct English Water Spaniel was used to retriev ...

. Riddlesworth finished second and was the only other horse placed. He was sold to Sir Mark Wood for 2500 guineas, at which point he was favourite for 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 ...

. On the 25 August it was reported that he was ill, and he drifted out to as big as 30/1 in the betting for the St. Leger. He never started again and retired having earned 4640

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

in prize money during his career.

Assessment

Riddlesworth was considered to be the best horse of his year. Commenting on some peoples suggestion that it was a "bad year for horses", one reporter for the

Sporting Magazine ''The Sporting Magazine'' (1792–1870) was the first English sporting periodical to devote itself to every type of sport. Its subtitle was "Monthly Calendar of the Transactions of the Turf, the Chase and Every Other Diversion Interesting to the ...

wrote: "I, who am not a fashionable man, contend that it is the superiority of Riddlesworth that makes them only look so."

Stud career

Riddlesworth was purchased by Sir Mark Wood and then exported to Germany in 1832. After being briefly brought back to England he was sold to Dr. John Nott and sent to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in the United States. Riddlesworth's daughter Sally Riddlesworth was the direct female-line ancestor of King's Courier. King's Courier won the

Doncaster Cup The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles 1 furlong and 197 yards (3,600 m ...

in 1900. Riddlesworth died in early 1843 at J.L Bradley's stable in Lexington, Kentucky of pneumonia.

Pedigree

''Note: b. =

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 ...

, bl. =

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, br. =

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 ...

, ch. =

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

'' Riddlesworth 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 Trumpator, meaning that he appears fourth generation twice on the dam side of his pedigree. ^ Riddlesworth is inbred 4S x 5S x 5D 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 Sir Peter Teazle (1784 – 18 August 1811) was a good British bred Thoroughbred racehorse, a Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland nine times, and carried on the sire line of Herod. Breeding Sir Peter Teazle was a brown horse bred and own ...

)^ on the sire side of his pedigree and fifth generation twice (via Delpini and Prunella)^ on the dam side of his pedigree.

References