St Louis (horse)
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St Louis (1919 – after 1933) was an Irish-bred, British-trained
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
sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...
. He finished unplaced on his only start as a juvenile but made rapid improvement over the winter and 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 ...
in April 1922. He finished fourth when favourite for the Epsom Derby and then won a minor race at
Wolverhampton Racecourse Wolverhampton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. The track was the first to be floodlit in Britain and often holds meetings in the evening. The track surface has been Tapeta sinc ...
but was withdrawn from the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 ...
after running poorly in a trial race. After failing to win on his only run as a four-year-old he was retired to stud, but had no success as a breeding stallion.


Background

St Louis was a "grand" bay horse with a white blaze bred at the Confey Stud in
County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...
by J J Maher. As a
yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the ...
he was offered for sale and bought for 2,600
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 the trainer
Peter Gilpin Peter Valentine Purcell Gilpin (''né'' Purcell; 12 December 1858 – 9 November 1929), known as P. P. Gilpin, was an Irish racehorse trainer. He was Champion Trainer in 1904 and his most notable winner was the filly Pretty Polly who won the ...
on behalf of
Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough (14 March 1861 – 22 September 1949) was a British industrialist and Conservative Party politician. He was a founder of the Military Massage Service and the Cambridgeshire Battalion of The Suffolk R ...
. Gilpin trained the horse at his Clarehaven stable in
Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 14 miles west of Bury St Edmunds and 14 miles northeast of Cambridge. In 2021, it had a population of 16,772. It is a global ...
. He was one of the best horses sired by Louvois who won the 2000 Guineas and was awarded second place in 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 ...
in 1913. St Louis's dam Princess Sterling was an influential broodmare whose female-line descendants included
Noblesse The Scottish Noblesse means nobility in Scotland, including both those with peerage titles as well as those without. The concept was prominently advocated for by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney during his tenure as Carrick Pursuivant of Arms and l ...
who was in turn the ancestor of
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, Warning and Commander in Chief.


Racing career


1921: two-year-old season

St Louis made only one appearance on the track as a two-year-old and made little impression as he finished unplaced in a minor race.


1922: three-year-old season

Ridden by the American jockey George Archibald, St Louis stated at odds of 6/1 in a 22-runner field for the 114th running of the 2000 Guineas 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 26 April. Racing on soft ground he took the lead from
Captain Cuttle Captain Cuttle was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He ran only six times in a career which was restricted by chronic injury problems. He was the outstanding British colt of his generation, winning The Derby and the St James's Palace ...
in the final furlong and drew away to win easily by three lengths from
Solomon Joel Solomon Barnato Joel (23 May 1865 – 22 May 1931) was a British-South African business magnate. He moved to Cape Colony in the 1880s where he made his fortune in connection with diamonds, later becoming a financier with interests in mining, b ...
's Pondoland with the fading Captain Cuttle four lengths back in third. Lord Queenborough donated £200 of the prize money to two racing charities, namely the Rous Memorial Fund and the Bentinck Benevolent Fund. St Louis's success saw him elevated to favouritism for the
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 ...
. On 29 May St Louis started favourite for the Derby over one and a half miles put appeared to be unsuited by the firmer ground and finished fourth behind Captain Cuttle, Tamar and Craigangower. St Louis was off the course until August, when he started at odds of 1/9 against four moderate opponents in the
Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
Breeder's Foal Plate over ten furlongs. With Archibald in the saddle he won very easily by five lengths from Clincher, to whom he was conceding 20 pounds in weight. The colt was strongly fancied for the
St Leger Stakes 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 ...
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 ...
in September, but in his final prep race he came home last of the three runners behind Express Delivery in the Great Yorkshire Stakes over one and a half mile 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 ...
, and was withdrawn from the Leger a few days later. St Louis's earnings of £11,084 for the year made him the fifth most successful racehorse of the season.


1923: four-year-old season

St Louis remained in training but was beaten on his only start. When he was put up for auction at the end of the year he failed to reach his reserve price of 4,200 guineas and was retained by his owner.


Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated St Louis a "poor" winner of the 2000 Guineas.


Stud record

St Louis was retired to become a breeding stallion at Lord Queenborough's Snarehill Stud in
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. He sired no major winners and his last reported foals were born in 1933.


Pedigree

* St Louis was
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 ...
3 × 4 to St Simon, meaning that this stallion appeare in both the third and fourth generations of his pedigree. He was also inbred 4 × 4 to Sterling


References

{{2000 Guineas Winners 1919 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 14-f 2000 Guineas winners