Rubens (1805 – February 1829) was a

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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 ...

. During his career he won three races, including the

Craven Stakes The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 met ...

in 1810. After retiring from racing he became a successful stallion and was the

leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of Horse racing, racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current (2023) cham ...

in 1815, 1821 and 1822. His progeny included

Landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

, Pastille, Whizgig and the Rubens mare.

Background

Rubens 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 bred by the

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and foaled in 1805. His dam was the

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 ...

Alexander mare who also foaled Castrel, Craven Stakes winner

Selim Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin **Salim (poet) (1800–1866), Kurdish poet **Saleem (playwright), Palestinian-American gay Muslim playwright, actor, DJ, and dancer * ...

and

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 ...

winner

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

. All three of these foals were full-siblings to Rubens. Their sire was dual Craven Stakes winner Buzzard. As well as these siblings, Buzzard also sired St. Leger Stakes winner

Quiz A quiz is a form of mind sport in which people attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief Educational assessment, assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abil ...

Racing career

1808: Three-year-old season

On 2 June 1808 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 ...

and racing for the

, Rubens started as the 10/3 second favourite for 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 ...

where he face nine rivals. The race was won by 25/1 outsider Pan, who beat the favourite Vandyke. Chester finished in third place, with Rubens in fourth. Rubens was then purchased by 3rd Earl of Darlington and at

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

in August he was one of four horses who contested the Pavilion Stakes. Derby runner-up Vandyke was the 5/6 favourite, with Rubens second favourite at 3/1. Rubens won the race from Vandyke. He was also intended to run in four match races during the season, but his opponents in each of these paid a forfeit and the races never took place. The forfeits were from Bradbury, a colt by Gohanna, Dreadnought and Jock.

1809: Four-year-old season

In April 1809 at the Newmarket First Spring meeting he won a Sweepstakes of 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 ...

each over one

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

, after starting as the 4/7 favourite. Chester was second and Zoroaster finished in third place of the five runners. The following month he lost to Vandyke in a 200 guineas match race at Newmarket. In October he was intended to race against 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 ...

at Newmarket, but Darlington paid a forfeit. Three days later he also paid a forfeit to Currycomb.

1810: Five-year-old season

On 23 April 1810 he beat odds on favourite Plover to win the Craven Stakes at Newmarket. A colt by Dick Andrews finished last of the three runners. Runens' final race was in a Handicap Sweepstakes of 200 guineas each at Newmarket in May. He finished the race in third, behind winner Spaniard and runner-up Cecilia. Rubens was then sold to General Leveson Gower and retired to stud.

Stud career

Rubens was a stallion at

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, where in 1811, he stood for an initial fee of twelve guineas and one guineas for the

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. In 1818 he moved to Newmarket and his fee was 25 guineas. He stood in or around Newmarket for a number of years, but in between he stood at Eaton Stud near Chester in 1820. He was a successful stallion and was the

Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of Horse racing, racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current (2023) cham ...

in 1815, 1821 and 1822. His progeny included

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 ...

winners

and Pastille 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 ...

winner Whizgig. He was also the damsire of Epsom Derby winners

Coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

, Dangerous and

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 ...

. His unnamed daughter, the 1819 Rubens mare, was the dam of Phosphorus and two other

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 ...

winners. Rubens died in February 1829.

Sire line tree

*RubensBuzzard Sire Line
/ref>
/ref> **Raphael **Bobadil **Gainsborough **Sovereign **Strephon **Doctor Eady **Tandem **Taniers **Peter Lely ***Poussin **Titian **Holbein **Wiseacre **Roderick **Sir Edward Codrington

Pedigree

* Rubens 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 ...

3S x 4D to the stallion Herod, meaning that he appears third generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

References

{{reflist 1805 racehorse births 1829 racehorse deaths British Champion Thoroughbred Sires Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 2-n