Rowena (horse)
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Rowena (foaled 1817) 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 ...
that won 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 ...
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 ...
at Newmarket in 1820. On her only other appearance, she finished second in the
Oaks Stakes 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 y ...
. She later became a successful broodmare.


Background

Rowena was a chestnut mare bred by her owner
George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton George Henry FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton (14 January 1760 – 28 September 1844), styled Earl of Euston until 1811, was a British Peerage, peer and British Whig Party, Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1782 to 1811 when h ...
at his stud at
Euston Hall Euston Hall is a country house, with park by William Kent and Capability Brown, in Euston, a small village in Suffolk, England, just south of Thetford. It is the family home of the Dukes of Grafton. The Hall Euston first appears in the Domesd ...
in
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
. Her sire Haphazard won 15 races between 1800 and 1804 before becoming a successful breeding stallion. His offspring included the
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 ...
winners Antar and Reginald, as well as 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 ...
winner
Filho da Puta Filho da Puta (14 April 1812 – 25 August 1835) was a Great Britain, British Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse. He won nine of his 12 races including the St. Leger Stakes and Doncaster Cup, Doncaster Gold Cup. He also sired St. Leger wi ...
. Rowena's dam Prudence was a daughter of Prunella, described as one of the most important broodmares in the history of the Thoroughbred breed. Prudence herself produced several major winners (all beginning with the letter "R") including the 2000 Guineas winner Reginald and the Riddlesworth Stakes winners Rebecca and Rufus. Rowena was Prudence's third foal, but the first to appear on a racecourse, her two older siblings having died young. Grafton sent the filly to be trained at Newmarket by
Robert Robson Robert Robson may refer to: * Robert Robson (horse trainer) (c.1765–1838), British racehorse trainer * Robert M. Robson (1921–2006), American attorney and politician in Idaho * Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – ...
, the so-called "Emperor of Trainers".


Racing career


1820: three-year-old season

Rowena made her racecourse debut in the 1000 Guineas on 20 April at Newmarket's First Spring meeting. Racing over the Ditch Mile course, she started the 7/4 favourite against five opponents for a race which, despite its title, carried prize money of 2,100
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 ...
. According to the ''Sporting Magazine'', Rowena "won easy", beating Mr Wyndham's unnamed filly that had been made the 5/2 second favourite. Ownership of the runner-up subsequently passed to Wyndham's father the
Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749, along with the subsidiary title Baron Cockermouth, in Cumberland, for Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, with remainder to his nephews Charles Wyndham, 2 ...
, who named her Caroline. Like most of the horses trained by Robson for the Duke of Grafton, the winner was 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 ...
. On 19 May, Rowena was sent to Epsom Downs Racecourse to contest the
Oaks Stakes 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 y ...
over one and a half miles in which her main rival was expected to be the
Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...
's Emmeline, the winner of the Riddlesworth Stakes at the Newmarket Craven meeting. The Epsom meeting was badly affected by stormy weather, with heavy rain and strong winds, resulting in a much reduced attendance for both the Derby on Thursday and the Oaks a day later. In a field of 13 runners, Rowena was made the favourite at odds of 6/4, with Emmeline next in the betting on 4/1. Rowena finished second to Caroline, which reversed the 1000 Guineas form to win 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, ...
with Bombasine third and Emmeline unplaced. Rowena does not appear to have raced after her defeat at Epsom.


Stud record

Rowena was retired from racing to become a broodmare at the Duke of Grafton's stud. After producing five foals, she was sold to Mr Greville and then passed into the ownership of
Lord Chesterfield Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (22 September 169424 March 1773) was a British statesman, diplomat, man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time. Early life He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Chesterfi ...
. Her first foal, Nigel, sired by
Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
, won several races in 1826, including a King's Plate at
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...
. Through her daughter Blanche of Deven, Rowena was the remote female ancestor of two Italian classic winners and the French horse Fantastic, whose wins included the Prix Royal Oak and the
Prix du Cadran The Prix du Cadran is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 4,000 metres (about 2 miles), and it is scheduled to t ...
.


Pedigree

*Rowena's pedigree contained a large amount of
inbreeding Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely genetic distance, related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genet ...
. She was inbred 3 × 3 to Highflyer, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the third generation of her pedigree. She was also inbred 3 × 4 to Eclipse, 4 × 4 to Snap and 4 × 4 × 4 to Herod.


References

{{1000 Guineas winners 1817 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-e Byerley Turk sire line 1000 Guineas winners