St Simon (horse)
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St. Simon (1881 – April 2, 1908) was an undefeated 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 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 ...
and one of the most successful
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 ...
s in the history of the
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 ...
. In May 1886 ''
The Sporting Times ''The Sporting Times'' (founded 1865, ceased publication 1932) was a weekly British newspaper devoted chiefly to sport, and in particular to horse racing. It was informally known as ''The Pink 'Un'', as it was printed on salmon-coloured paper ...
''' carried out a poll of one hundred experts to create a ranking of the best British racehorses of the 19th century. St. Simon was ranked fourth, having been placed in the top ten by 53 of the contributors.


Breeding

St. Simon was bred by Prince Gustavus Batthyany of
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and foaled at William Barrow's Paddocks near Newmarket. He was by
Galopin Galopin (1872–1899) was a Great Britain, British Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. In a racing career which lasted from June 1874 until October 1875 he ran nine times and won eight races. He was one of ...
, also owned by Batthyany, who won 10 out of 11 races including The Derby. Retired to stud in 1876, Galopin was not an immediate success, covering only 12 mares in his first crop. His stud fee dropped as low as 50 guineas before the success of first Galiard in the 1883
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 then St. Simon established his reputation. Galopin eventually became the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1888, 1889, and 1898. St. Simon's dam, St. Angela (by
King Tom King Tom was the Temne ruler of the land where the Province of Freedom, Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and ...
), was disappointing as a broodmare up to the time she produced St. Simon, her sixth foal, at age 16. Her other notable progeny was a full-sister to St. Simon named Angelica, who later became the dam of champion and major stallion Orme (1889 by Ormonde).Pryor, Peter, ''The Classic Connection'', Cortney Publications, Luton, 1979


Conformation

St. Simon was a brown colt with a small star on his forehead and a few white hairs on the inside of his
pastern The pastern is a part of the leg of a horse between the fetlock and the top of the hoof. It incorporates the Equine_forelimb_anatomy#Metacarpal_bones, long pastern bone (proximal phalanx) and the Equine_forelimb_anatomy#Middle_phalanx, short past ...
s and heels. Almost all the foals he sired were bay or brown, with the exception of a gray filly (Tsu Shima) and a gray colt (Posthumus), both out of gray mares. His final height was 16 or (sources differ), but his fine build made him look smaller. His offspring, especially his fillies, were usually slightly smaller than average. He had a fine head that was slightly dished, clean legs—although quite over at the knee—and a short back. He also had strong quarters and a very good shoulder, which according to the 1916 Bloodstock Breeders Review was "a study. So obliquely was he shoulderplaced that it appeared to extend far into his back, making the latter look shorter." His girth was said to be , and his cannon bone measured around.


Racing career


1883: two-year-old season

Prince Batthyany died in May 1883 while attending 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 ...
, won by his colt Galiard. This led to a dispersal sale of all his stock, at which St. Simon was purchased for 1,600 guineas by the 25-year-old Duke of Portland. Reportedly Batthyany's trainer John Dawson had painted the colt's hocks with a suspicious white substance, perhaps in an effort to discourage bidders.
Mathew Dawson Mathew Dawson (1820–1898) was a British racehorse trainer. In a career which lasted from 1840 until his death in 1898 he trained the winners of twenty-eight British Classic Races, a figure surpassed by only two other men. He was significa ...
, John Dawson's brother, inspected the colt and was satisfied he was sound. St. Simon was moved to Dawson's Heath House stables at Newmarket. The colt began his racing career under jockey Fred Archer at the five
furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...
Halnaker Stakes at Goodwood, winning by six lengths. The following day he won the six-furlong Maiden Plate (for which he was eligible because he was a maiden at the time of his entry) by a length, carrying . He then easily won a five-furlong race against Clochette and Fleta, the five-furlong Devonshire Nursery Plate (against 19 other horses), carrying by two lengths at a canter, and the seven-furlong Princes of Wales's Nursery Plate (Doncaster) carrying and winning by eight lengths against 21 other horses. St. Simon followed this by a win in a six furlong match against Duke of Richmond to end his two-year-old year considered the best of his age, despite not winning a major stakes race.


1884: three-year-old season

St. Simon was prevented from running in the
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because the death of Prince Batthyany had invalidated his entries. His three-year-old career began with an unofficial trial race at Newmarket in which he was matched against the leading older horse
Tristan Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; ; ), also known as Tristran or Tristram and similar names, is the folk hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. While escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed Tristan's uncle, King Mark of ...
at weight-for-age over one and a half miles at Newmarket. St. Simon won very easily by six lengths. St. Simon's first official race of the year was a walkover at the 10-furlong Epsom Gold Cup. He then won the 2½ mile
Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4 ...
by 20 lengths, despite having trailed in the beginning of the race, to beat Tristan and
Faugh-a-Ballagh Faugh-a-Ballagh (foaled 1841 in Ireland) was a Thoroughbred racehorse. A brother to Birdcatcher, Faugh-a-Ballagh was sold to E. J. Erwin in 1842. He ran once as a two-year-old at the Doncaster's Champagne Stakes, finishing third to The Cure an ...
. He was so strong that it took almost a whole lap for his jockey to pull him up. In the one-mile Newcastle Gold Cup, he beat his only other competitor, Chiselhurst, by eight lengths, but suffered some damage due to the hard ground. He then defeated former St. Leger winner Ossian by 20 lengths in the 2½ mile
Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3 ...
. Later that year, St. Simon was worked in a set with three colts — The Lambkin (who would win that year's St. Leger), Scot Free (winner of that year's 2,000 Guineas) and Harvester (who had dead-heated in the Epsom Derby) — beating them all with ease. The Newcastle Cup running caught up to him, producing serious leg problems. St. Simon was kept in training in 1885, and there were hopes of a meeting with the other leading colt of his generation St. Gatien. He did not recover, however, and never raced again, beginning his breeding career at the age of five.


Stud record

St. Simon retired to stud in 1886 and sired 423 live foals, who between them won 571 races and more than half a million pounds in stake-money from 1889 through the first decade of the twentieth century.Barrie, Douglas M., "The Australian Bloodhorse", Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1956 Among his progeny were 10 English Classic winners who won 17 classic races between them. The 10 Classic winners is the third-highest total of all time, behind
Stockwell Stockwell is a district located in South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. History The name Stockwell is likely to have originated from a local well, with "stoc" being Old Englis ...
and
Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...
, both with 12. The 17 Classic race wins by his offspring ties him for the all-time record with Stockwell. His classic winners were: Memoir, Semolina,
La Fleche (horse) La Fleche (1889–1916) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, broodmare. After being sold for a world record price as a yearling (horse), yearling in 1890, she was undefeated as a two-year-old in 1891, winning ...
, Mrs Butterwick, Amiable, Persimmon, St Frusquin, Diamond Jubilee, La Roche, and Winifreda. The latter three between them swept all five English Classics of 1900 — the only times a sire has accomplished this feat.


Notable progeny

St. Simon was the
Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of 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) champion is Fra ...
nine times. His notable progeny include: * 1887:
Memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
(
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 ...
,
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 ...
) * 1887:
Semolina Semolina is the name given to roughly milled durum wheat mainly used in making pasta and sweet puddings. The term ''semolina'' is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or ma ...
(
1,000 Guineas Stakes 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 (1 ...
) * 1887: Signorina (champion two-year-old filly) * 1888: Simonian (
Leading sire in France The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in France for each year since 1887. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season. Due to the huge prize money of the Prix de l'Arc de Tr ...
twice) * 1889:
La Fleche LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...
(Fillies' Triple Crown, Ascot Gold Cup, Champion Stakes, Cambridgeshire Handicap, 2nd Epsom Derby) * 1890: Mrs Butterwick (Epsom Oaks) * 1890: Soult (NZ Champion Sire five times) * 1891:
Amiable Amiable (1891–1915) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1894 Epsom Oaks and 1,000 Guineas Stakes despite having severe stringhalt in both hind limbs. Amiable raced until she was three years old, retiring in 1895 to the Duke ...
(1,000 Guineas, Epsom Oaks) * 1891: Florizel II (
St. James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts. It is run at Ascot Racecourse, Ascot ...
,
Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3 ...
, Jockey Club Cup, leading broodmare sire) * 1893:
Persimmon The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese and Japanese kaki persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki''. In 2022, China produced 77% of the world's p ...
(Epsom Derby, St.Leger, Ascot Gold Cup, Champion Sire four times) * 1893: St. Frusquin (2,000 Guineas, Eclipse Stakes, 2nd Epsom Derby, Champion Sire twice) * 1896: Desmond (Champion Sire) * 1897:
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(Triple Crown, Eclipse Stakes, Argentina Champion Sire four times) * 1897: La Roche (Epsom Oaks) * 1897: Winifreda (1,000 Guineas) * 1898: Pietermaritzburg (
Jockey Club Stakes The Jockey Club Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres) ...
, Argentina Champion Sire) * 1898: William the Third (Ascot Gold Cup, Doncaster Cup) * 1900: Chaucer (two time leading broodmare sire.
Selene In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...
, the dam of Hyperion, was by Chaucer, as was Scapa Flow, dam of
Pharos The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria, was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (280–247 BC). It has been estimated to have been at least ...
and Fairway) * 1900: Rabelais (Leading sire in France three times) St. Simon was also the leading broodmare sire in Great Britain and Ireland six times. As a broodmare sire, his notable progeny include: * Cheery, dam of Bromus, and granddam of
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 ...
* Concertina, dam of
Plucky Liege Plucky Liege (1912–1937) was a British Thoroughbred racemare who produced eleven winners, including an Epsom Derby winner at the age of twenty-three and three British Classic race winners. The performances of these horses led to her becoming o ...
, one of the most important
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 ...
s of the 20th century * Festa, dam of Febula, Fels and Fervor in Germany * Ondulee, dam of highly influential broodmare Frizette * Roquebrune, dam 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 ...
* Signorina, dam of Signorino, Signorinetta * Simonath, dam of Flamboyant and granddam of
Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...
St. Simon's sire line has continued to modern times through Rabelais down to Ribot, the two-time winner of the Arc de Triomphe and a major sire in England and the United States. Ribot left behind many successful sons to carry on the line, although the number of male-line descendants has dwindled in the 21st century. However, St. Simon is a pervasive influence in the breed through other lines of descent. For example,
Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by '' Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...
, inbred 5 x 4 × 4 × 5 to St. Simon, would found the most dominant Thoroughbred sire-line of the following century. Nearco's grandson Northern Dancer, another enormously influential sire, has fifteen crosses to St. Simon in the first eight generations of his pedigree. Pedigree expert Anne Peters refers to his bloodline as "one of the most widespread and omnipresent in the Thoroughbred gene pool today." St. Simon died when he was 27 years old and his skeleton belongs to the
British Museum of Natural History The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...
.


Pedigree

* St Simon 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 ...
4S x 4S to the stallion
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
, meaning that he appears fourth generation twice on the sire side of his pedigree.


See also

* List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses *
List of racehorses This list includes racehorses that exist in the historical record. Racehorses For competition horses, such as show jumping, show jumpers and dressage, dressage horses, see . A * Ace Impact: Undefeated winner of the 2023 Prix de l'Arc de Tri ...


References


External links

* JaWikipedia - St. Simon
Bloodlines - St. Simon


{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Simon (Horse) 1881 racehorse births 1908 racehorse deaths British Champion Thoroughbred Sires British Champion Thoroughbred broodmare sires Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Undefeated racehorses Thoroughbred family 11-c