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Rosedrop (1907–1930) 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 and
broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
. She won one minor race as a two-year-old in 1909 before emerging as a top-class performer in the following year. She won the
Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 ya ...
, Atalanta Stakes and Great Yorkshire Stakes as well as finishing third in the
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 ...
and the Park Hill Stakes. After her retirement from racing she became a broodmare in England, and later in the United States. By far the best of her offspring was Gainsborough who won the 13th U.K. Triple Crown Champion and became a very successful breeding stallion.


Background

Rosedrop was a chestnut mare bred in England by John Doyle and owned during her racing career by Sir William Bass, 2nd Baronet who bought her as a yearling for 700
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 ...
. She was sent into training with Alec Taylor, Jr. at Manton, Wiltshire. She was sired by St. Frusquin who won the Middle Park Plate,
Dewhurst Plate Dewhurst can refer to: People * Christopher John ("Jack") Dewhurst (1920–2006), British gynecologist * Colleen Dewhurst (1924–1991), Canadian-born actress * David Dewhurst (born 1945), American politician * Dorothy Dewhurst (1886–1959), E ...
,
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 ...
,
Princess of Wales's Stakes The Princess of Wales's Stakes is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to Thoroughbred horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Cour ...
and
Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...
and was described as one of the best horses of the 19th century. His other progeny included St. Amant, Quintessence, and Mirska. Her dam Rosaline showed so little promise that her owner
Jack Barnato Joel Isaac "Jack" Barnato Joel (29 September 1862 – 13 November 1940) was a British -South African mining magnate and a champion horse breeder. Early life Isaac Barnato Joel was born on 29 September 1862 into a Jewish family, being one of three ...
donated her to charity auction in aid of the Fresh Air Fund at which she was sold for 25
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 ...
by William Allison. Allison sold the mare by John Doyle for 200 guineas and on Doyle's death she was acquired for 900 guineas by J. Simons Harrison in a deal which also included her filly foal (Rosedrop). She came from a successful family, being descended from the influential British broodmare May Queen (foaled 1868).


Racing career


1909: two-year-old season

Until 1913, there was no requirement for British racehorses to have official names and two-year-olds were allowed to run without names until 1946. The practice of running horses unnamed had once been common, but had largely fallen out of use by the early 20th Century. Rosedrop however was not officially named until 1910, and ran as a juvenile under the descriptive title of ''Sir W. Bass's chestnut filly by St Frusquin - Rosaline''. The filly ran twice as a two-year-old in 1909, recording one win in the Rangemore Maiden Stakes at Derby Racecourse.


1910: three-year-old season

The filly was still unnamed when he ran in the
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 ...
over the Rowley Mile at
Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...
on 29 April and finished third of the thirteen runners behind Winkipop and Maid of Corinth (who was also owned by Bass). She was then officially given the name ''Rosedrop''. It was reported that the filly finished unplaced in a minor race in May. On 3 June Rosedrop was moved up in distance to contest the 132nd Oaks Stakes over one and a half miles at
Epsom 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 includin ...
. Winkipop started favourite with Rosedrop on 7/1 in an eleven-runner field which also included Maid of Corinth. Ridden by Charlie Trigg she dominated the race from the start and won "in a common canter" by four lengths from Evolution, with Pernelle a neck away in third. 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 ...
eleven days later Rosedrop was matched against male opposition in the Gold Vase over two miles and finished unplaced behind the colt Charles O'Malley. In July she coped well with the exceptionally wet conditions to win the Atalanta Stakes at
Sandown Park Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racin ...
. At the Newbury summer meeting she led for most of the way in the Kingclere Stakes but was caught in the last stride and narrowly beaten by the colt Lonawand, to whom she was conceding weight. Rosedrop reversed the form in the Great Yorkshire Stakes 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 ...
in August, winning from Willonyx (later to win 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 ...
) with Lonawand in third place. On 7 September 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 ...
Rosedrop took on colts in the St Leger but made little impact and finished unplaced behind
Swynford Swynford (January 1907 – 18 May 1928) was a British Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Bred at the Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, 16th Lord Derby's stud in Lincolnshire, England he was sired by John O'Gaunt (horse), John O'Gaunt, a so ...
. Later at the same meeting she finished second to Yellow Slave in the Park Hill Stakes. Rosedrop ended the year with earnings of £6,353.


1911: four-year-old season

Rosedrop remained in training as a four-year-old in 1911. On 10 May at Newmarket she was put up for auction and bought for 4,500 guineas by Alfred W. Cox. She did not race in 1911 and was retired at the end of the year.


Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Rosedrop a "poor" winner of the Oaks.


Breeding record

At the end of her racing career Rosedrop became a broodmare for Lady James Douglas. She was later exported to the United States. She produced at least six foals and two winners between 1914 and 1927: *La Tosca, a bay filly, foaled in 1914, sired by Bayardo * Gainsborough, bay colt, 1915, by Bayardo. Won 13th U.K. Triple Crown Champion. *Baydrop, bay colt, 1918, by Bayardo *Cottingham, chestnut colt, 1920, by
Lemberg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
*Mere Play, chestnut colt, 1925, by Fair Play. Winner in the United States. *Rosern, chestnut filly, 1927, by
Mad Hatter The Hatter (called Hatta in ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is often referred to as The Mad Hatter ...
. Failed to win in ten races in the United States. Rosedrop died in 1930.


Pedigree


References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1907 racehorse births 1930 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 2-n Epsom Oaks winners