Sainfoin (1887 – October 1911) 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 that was the winner of the 1890

Epsom Derby 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 ...

and was the sire of

Rock Sand Rock Sand (1900–1914) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from the spring of 1902 until October 1904 he ran twenty times and won sixteen races. He was a leading British two-year-old of his generation an ...

, the tenth winner of the Triple Crown in 1903.

Pedigree

Sainfoin was sired by Springfield out of the mare Sanda and was foaled at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

Stud, owned by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, in 1887. Most of the yearlings produced by Hampton Court Stud were underfed and skinny, which resulted in little interest in Sainfoin as a racing prospect. He was sold as a yearling for 550 guineas to horse trainer John Porter and Sir Robert Jardine.

Racing career

Sainfoin's only start and win as a two-year-old was in the £928 Astley Stakes at

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

Racecourse. He carried 120 pounds and won easily by one and a half lengths from Garter, from whom he was receiving eight pounds. In 1890, he made his first appearance in the Esher Stakes, a handicap race at

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. The neighbouring resort of Shanklin and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake are sited just to the south of t ...

. After the race, Porter felt that the colt would have little chance in the Derby, and accepted an offer of £6,000 for him from Sir James Miller, an officer in the 14th King's Hussars. The sale contract however, contained a clause which stated that if Sainfoin won the Derby, his previous owners would receive half the prize money. On 8 May, Sainfoin won a two runner race for the Dee Stakes at

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. On 4 June he started at odds of 100/15 (approximately 6.7-1) in The Derby for which Surefoot was favourite. Surefoot was always expected to be favourite, especially after he had won 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 ...

and on the day of the race he was the subject of very heavy betting, so that he started at odds of 40/95. There was an unusually small field of eight runners and the race took place on heavy ground in driving rain. Sainfoin, ridden by John Watts, was prominent from the start and disputed the lead with his stable-companion Orwell after a mile. In the straight it became apparent that Surefoot was beaten and Sainfoin gained the advantage over Orwell and then held off the late challenge of Le Nord to win by three quarters of a length. The winning time was an unusually slow 2:49.8. Sainfoin did not win any races after the Derby at age four, securing a third place in the Imperial Plate and an unplaced finish at the 1891 City and Suburban Handicap. He was retired to stud in 1892.

Stud career

After Miller's death in 1906, Sainfoin was sold to Lord Carnarvon for 700 guineas and stood as stud at the Cloghran Stud in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. Sainfoin's most notable son was

, winner of the Triple Crown in 1903, but he was also the damsire (through Tout Suite) of 1926 leading sire and St. Leger winner

Hurry On Hurry On (7 May 1913 – 1936) was an undefeated British Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse and sire that revived the Matchem sire line.Leicester, Sir Charles, "Bloodstock Breeding", J.A. Allen & Co, London, 1969 English trainer Fred Darling c ...

. His name appears in the pedigrees of most top class modern thoroughbreds owing to his daughter, Bromus, who produced the influential stallion

Phalaris Phalaris () was the tyrant of Akragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily in Magna Graecia, from approximately 570 to 554 BC. History Phalaris was renowned for his excessive cruelty. Among his alleged atrocities is cannibalism: he was said to have eaten ...

. Sainfoin died in Carlow, Ireland in October 1911. His death was not reported to the press for more than a year. was named after Sainfoin in 1943.

References

{{Epsom Derby Winners 1887 racehorse births 1911 racehorse deaths Epsom Derby winners Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 2-g George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon