Squirrel 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. He won seven of his nine races, including the 1400 Guineas Stakes and

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams cons ...

s against Dapper and Jason. He was also a successful stallion, siring

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 ...

winner Firetail. However he was more well known for producing broodmares, siring the dams of seven

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winners including

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winner

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, along with the dam of champion sire Trumpator. Squirrel was owned by Jenison Shafto.

Background

Squirrel was a

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 ...

colt bred by William Cornforth and foaled in 1754. He was sired by Traveller, who won several races. As a sire he served few mares until Dainty Davy, and Squirrel himself, made it to the racecourse and turned out to be good horses. Squirrel'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 ...

was Grey Bloody Buttocks, a daughter of

Bloody Buttocks Bloody Buttocks was a British Thoroughbred sire who was the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1739. He was owned by John Crofts. Background Bloody Buttocks was a grey Arabian horse bred by Mr. Crofts, but his pedigree was never publi ...

. He was sold to Jenison Shafto.

Racing career

Squirrel's first race was at

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, where he finished runner-up to Mr. Swinburn's Belford. In October 1758 in the first running of the 1400 Guineas Stakes over the four-mile, one-and-a-half furlong Beacon Course at Newmarket. He won the race, where the opposition included the

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's Primrose and Mr. Panton's Posthumous. Later in the same meeting he beat Kiddleston, Standby, Crab, Shock, Bosphorus, Dormouse, Perseus and Rake to win 120 guineas. He returned to the track in May 1759, when he won a 300 guineas

against Mr. Panton's Mystery over the Beacon Course. At

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he finished second to Silvo and in October at Newmarket he beat Spider in a match race for 200 guineas over the Rowley Mile. At Newmarket in April 1760 be beat the

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's Dapper over the Beacon Course for 500 guineas. In July he won the Ladies' Plate, which was run in four-mile heats, beating Juniper and Posthumous. In the spring of 1761 he easily beat Sir James Lowther's Jason in a match race of the Beacon Course worth 1000 guineas. Later in the spring he was due to face another of Lowther's horses, Barham, for another 1000 guineas match, but before the race he became

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in his

fetlock Fetlock is the common name in horses, large animals, and sometimes dogs for the metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints (MCPJ and MTPJ). Although it somewhat resembles the human ankle in appearance, the joint is homologous to the ...

and the race did not take place. He was then taken out of training and retired to stud.

Stud career

Squirrel became a successful stallion and during his career at stud his progeny earned over £56,000 on the racecourse. He stood at Packenham Hall 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 ...

and his progeny included: * Lady Bolingbroke (1766) – foaled the Oaks winner Tetotum. * Squirrel mare (1767) – foaled the Oaks winner Ceres and the dam of

winners

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and

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. * Flora (1768) – produced 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 ...

winners Spadille and Young Flora. * Firetail (1769) – won a number of 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 1773. * Brim (1771) – foaled the 1786 Derby winner

. * Brunette (1771) – was the dam of champion sire Trumpator. * Cypher (1772) – was the dam of Oaks winner

Trifle Trifle is a layered dessert of English origin. The usual ingredients are a thin layer of Lady fingers or sponge cake soaked in sherry or another fortified wine, a fruit element (fresh or jelly), custard and whipped cream layered in that ascen ...

. * Dasher (1772) – running from 1776 to 1779, he won several race at Newmarket, Chelmsford, Odiham,

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, Ascot Heath and Andover. * Squirrel mare – foaled the Oaks winner

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. Squirrel died in 1780.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1754 racehorse births 1780 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Thoroughbred family 4