Sweetbriar (foaled 1769) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

. He won all eight of the races he contested, including a

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 ...

against Craven Stakes winner Firetail. He later became a successful stallion, with his progeny including

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 ...

winner

Assassin Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

Background

Sweetbriar 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 Thomas Meredith and foaled in 1769. He was sired by

Great Subscription Purse The Great Subscription Purses were a series of Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse races in Great Britain run at York Racecourse, usually over a distance of 4 miles, that took place each year in August from 1751 to 1833. During the second half ...

winner Syphon, who also sired Sweetwilliam. His dam was a daughter of Shakespeare.

Racing career

Sweetbriar made his racecourse debut in October 1773 when he beat the

Earl of Ossory Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

's Chalkstone, Mr. Vernon's Milliner, Mr. Ogilvy's Consul and Lord Foley's Chesterton in a Sweepstakes of 50

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 at Newmarket. Chalkstone had started the 6/4 favourite, with Consul at 5/2 and Sweetbriar at 3/1. At Newmarket's second October meeting he beat Chalkstone again, this time in a

. At the Houghton meeting he beat Mr. Ogilvy's Porsenna, after starting favourite, as he had done in his match against Chalkstone. In the spring of 1774 he beat Chalkstone in 1000 guineas race at Newmarket. The

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outco ...

s sent them both of as joint-favourites. He then beat Mr. Foley's Craven Stakes winner Firetail after starting as the 1/3 favourite in another 1000 guineas match race at Newmarket. In October he beat the

Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke o ...

's Lamplighter in a 140 guineas race. Two days later Sweetbriar beat Telemachus and Joquille in a Sweepstakes of 20 guineas each. In his final start he walked over for the Newmarket Cup in October 1775 and retired unbeaten.

Stud career

Sweetbriar stood as a stallion for Grosvenor and mainly covered his mares. He did meet with some success though, siring 1782

winner

. He was also the sire of the mares Flyer and Hare. Flyer was the dam of

Rhadamanthus In Greek mythology, Rhadamanthus () or Rhadamanthys () was a wise king of Crete. As the son of Zeus and Europa (mythology), Europa he was considered a demigod. He later became one of the Greek underworld#Judges of the underworld, judges of the ...

and

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin language, Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. H ...

, who both won the Derby. Hare foaled Tippitywitchet, who was the dam of the top broodmare the Rubens mare.

Sire line tree

*SweetbriarBiography: Sweetbriar
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***Gunpowder

Pedigree

''Note: b. =

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 ...

, ch. =

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 ...

'' Sweetbriar 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 × 4D to the stallion

Bartlett's Childers Bartlett's Childers (originally known as Young Childers or Bleeding Childers; foaled 1716) was an important Thoroughbred sire in the 18th century. Background Bartlett's Childers was foaled in 1716. Bred by Leonard Childers, he was a son of the ...

, meaning that he appears third generation once on the sire side of his pedigree, and fourth generation twice on the dam side of his pedigree. Sweetbriar is inbred 4D × 4D to the mare Little Hartley Mare, meaning that she appears fourth generation twice on the dam side of his pedigree.

References