Blenheim (horse)

Blenheim

Sire	Blandford
Grandsire	Swynford
Dam	Malva
Damsire	Charles O'Malley
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1927
Country	United Kingdom
Colour	Brown
Breeder	Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon
Owner	HH Aga Khan III
Trainer	Dick Dawson
Record	10: 5-3-0
Earnings	£14,533
Major wins
New Stakes (1929) Epsom Derby (1930)
Awards
Leading sire in North America (1941)
Last updated on 29 January 2010

Blenheim (1927–1958), also known as Blenheim II, was a British Thoroughbred race horse who won the Epsom Derby in 1930. As sire, he had a major influence on pedigrees around the world. Blenheim was highly tried, by European standards, as a two-year-old in 1929, winning four of his seven races. In the following season he was beaten in his first two races before recording an upset 18/1 win in the Derby. His racing career was ended by injury soon afterwards, and he was retired to stud, where he became an extremely successful and influential breeding stallion, both in Europe and North America.

Background

Blenheim was a brown horse standing 15.3 hands high with a white star and a white sock on his left hind leg, bred by Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon at his Highclere stud. He was sired by the good sire Blandford, a three-time British champion sire, whose other progeny included Bahram, Brantome, Trigo, Pasch and Windsor Lad. Blenheim's dam, Malva (1919–1941) who stood barely 15 hands, won three minor races for Lord Carnarvon before becoming a highly successful broodmare. She was the dam of seven winners, including the Coronation Cup winners King Salmon (sire of Herringbone) and His Grace.^[1]

As a yearling, Blenheim was sold for 4,100 guineas to the Aga Khan. He was sent into training with Richard Dawson at his Whatcombe stables near Wantage in Oxfordshire.

Race record

1929: two-year-old season

Blenheim began his racing career in April 1929 when he won a £200 plate at Newbury Racecourse. He then finished second in the Stud Produce Stakes at Sandown and won the Speedy Plate at Windsor. He was then moved up in class to contest the New Stakes over five furlongs at Royal Ascot. Ridden by Dawson's stable jockey Michael Beary he started at odds of 7/2 and won from Lord Woolavington's Press Gang.

In autumn he finished second to Fair Diana in the Champagne Stakes and then won the Hopeful Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse. On his final race of the season he started favourite for the Middle Park Stakes but finished second by half a length to Press Gang. It was noted that Blenheim may have been feeling the effects of his "punishing" schedule.^[2] He ended the season with earnings of £4,497.^[3]

1930: three-year-old season

Blenheim was slow to find his form as a three-year-old and began his 1930 campaign by running unplaced behind Christopher Robin in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury. Despite his poor performance in the trial, he was well-fancied for the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket two weeks later. He finished fourth of the twenty-eight runners behind Diolite, Paradine and Silver Flare.

A month later, Blenheim was moved up in distance to contest the Derby over one and a half miles at Epsom Downs Racecourse. Beary elected to ride the Aga Khan's more fancied runner Rustom Pasha, while the ride on Blenheim went to Harry Wragg, a jockey whose expertise at holding up horses for a late run had earned him the nickname "The Head Waiter".^[4] The race attracted its customary huge crowd, with the spectators including the King and Queen as well as the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York.^[3] Blenheim started an 18/1 outsider in a field of seventeen. Rustom Pasha led the field into the straight but weakened and dropped away in the straight. Blenheim was produced by Wragg with a perfectly timed run to take the lead inside inside the final furlong and won by a length from Iliad with Diolite in third. After the race Wragg described the winner as "a lovely little horse" and explained that although he had only made very gradual progress in the second half of the race he had always been confident of victory.^[5]

After the Derby, Blenheim was being prepared or a run in the Eclipse Stakes when he sustained a tendon injury. He did not recover sufficiently to resume racing and was retired to stud.^[6]

Assessment

In their book A Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Blenheim an “inferior” Derby winner.^[7]

Stud record

He entered stud in 1932^[8] at the Aga Khan's Haras Marly-la-Ville in Val-d'Oise, France, where he stood at a fee of 400 guineas. In his first crop of foals, he sired Mumtaz Begum (bred eight winners, including Nasrullah), followed the next year by Mahmoud, who won the 1936 Epsom Derby. In 1934, Donatello, one of Federico Tesio’s best horses who sired Crepello and Alycidon.^[9]

He was sold after that year's breeding season for £45,000 to an American syndicate that included Claiborne Farm, Calumet Farm, Greentree Farm and Stoner Creek Stud before being exported to America in 1936.^[8] Where he was known as Blenheim II. In America he sired the 1941 U.S. Triple Crown champion, Whirlaway and Jet Pilot, who won the 1947 Kentucky Derby and $198,740. Blenheim was also the damsire of Hill Gail, Mark-Ye-Well, Kauai King, Ponder and Le Paillon. Blenheim was American Champion sire in 1941.^[10]

Blenheim died in 1958 and was buried at Claiborne Farm.^[11]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Blenheim (GB), brown stallion, 1927^[12]
Sire Blandford	Swynford	John O'Gaunt	Isinglass
		John O'Gaunt	La Fleche
		Canterbury Pilgrim	Tristan
		Canterbury Pilgrim	Pilgrimage
	Blanche	White Eagle	Gallinule
		White Eagle	Merry Gal
		Black Cherry	Bendigo
		Black Cherry	Black Duchess
Dam Malva	Charles O'Malley	Desmond	St. Simon
		Desmond	L'Abbesse de Jouarre
		Goody Two-Shoes	Isinglass
		Goody Two-Shoes	Sandal
	Wild Arum	Robert le Diable	Ayrshire
		Robert le Diable	Rose Bay
		Marliacea	Martagon
		Marliacea	Flitters (Family 1-e)^[1]

Blenheim was inbred 4 x 4 to Isinglass, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

1 2 "Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Prunella - Family 1-e". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
↑ "NOTES AND COMMENTS". Evening Post. 18 December 1929. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
1 2 "STORY OF THE RACE". Evening Post. 5 June 1930. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
↑ "The Head Waiter". Glasgow Herald. 12 November 1946. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
↑ "THE DERBY". Evening Post. 12 July 1930. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
↑ Ahnert, Rainer L. (editor in chief), Thoroughbred Breeding of the World, Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970
↑ Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press,. ISBN 1-901570-15-0.
1 2 Pryor, Peter, The Classic Connection, Cortney Publications, Luton, 1979
↑ Leicester, Sir Charles, Bloodstock Breeding, J.A. Allen & Co, London, 1969
↑ "Leading Sires of America". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
↑ Thoroughbred Heritage: Blenheim Retrieved 2010-1-29
↑ "Blenheim pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-17.

External links

Blenheim II's pedigree and stats

Epsom Derby winners

1780 Diomed 1781 Young Eclipse 1782 Assassin 1783 Saltram 1784 Serjeant 1785 Aimwell 1786 Noble 1787 Sir Peter Teazle 1788 Sir Thomas 1789 Skyscraper 1790 Rhadamanthus 1791 Eager 1792 John Bull 1793 Waxy 1794 Daedalus 1795 Spread Eagle 1796 Didelot 1797 colt by Fidget 1798 Sir Harry 1799 Archduke 1800 Champion 1801 Eleanor ♥ 1802 Tyrant 1803 Ditto 1804 Hannibal 1805 Cardinal Beaufort 1806 Paris 1807 Election 1808 Pan 1809 Pope 1810 Whalebone 1811 Phantom 1812 Octavius 1813 Smolensko 1814 Blucher 1815 Whisker 1816 Prince Leopold 1817 Azor 1818 Sam 1819 Tiresias 1820 Sailor 1821 Gustavus 1822 Moses 1823 Emilius 1824 Cedric 1825 Middleton 1826 Lap-dog 1827 Mameluke 1828 Cadland 1829 Frederick 1830 Priam 1831 Spaniel 1832 St. Giles 1833 Dangerous 1834 Plenipotentiary 1835 Mundig 1836 Bay Middleton 1837 Phosphorus 1838 Amato 1839 Bloomsbury 1840 Little Wonder 1841 Coronation 1842 Attila 1843 Cotherstone 1844 Orlando 1845 The Merry Monarch 1846 Pyrrhus The First 1847 Cossack 1848 Surplice 1849 The Flying Dutchman 1850 Voltigeur 1851 Teddington 1852 Daniel O'Rourke 1853 West Australian ₩ 1854 Andover 1855 Wild Dayrell 1856 Ellington 1857 Blink Bonny ♥ 1858 Beadsman 1859 Musjid 1860 Thormanby 1861 Kettledrum 1862 Caractacus 1863 Macaroni 1864 Blair Athol 1865 Gladiateur ₩ 1866 Lord Lyon ₩ 1867 Hermit 1868 Blue Gown 1869 Pretender 1870 Kingcraft 1871 Favonius 1872 Cremorne 1873 Doncaster 1874 George Frederick 1875 Galopin 1876 Kisber 1877 Silvio 1878 Sefton 1879 Sir Bevys 1880 Bend Or 1881 Iroquois 1882 Shotover ♥ 1883 St. Blaise 1884 St. Gatien Harvester 1885 Melton 1886 Ormonde ₩ 1887 Merry Hampton 1888 Ayrshire 1889 Donovan 1890 Sainfoin 1891 Common ₩ 1892 Sir Hugo 1893 Isinglass ₩ 1894 Ladas 1895 Sir Visto 1896 Persimmon 1897 Galtee More ₩ 1898 Jeddah 1899 Flying Fox ₩ 1900 Diamond Jubilee ₩ 1901 Volodyovski 1902 Ard Patrick 1903 Rock Sand ₩ 1904 St. Amant 1905 Cicero 1906 Spearmint 1907 Orby 1908 Signorinetta ♥ 1909 Minoru 1910 Lemberg 1911 Sunstar 1912 Tagalie ♥ 1913 Aboyeur 1914 Durbar 1915 Pommern ₩ 1916 Fifinella ♥ 1917 Gay Crusader ₩ 1918 Gainsborough ₩ 1919 Grand Parade 1920 Spion Kop 1921 Humorist 1922 Captain Cuttle 1923 Papyrus 1924 Sansovino 1925 Manna 1926 Coronach 1927 Call Boy 1928 Felstead 1929 Trigo 1930 Blenheim 1931 Cameronian 1932 April the Fifth 1933 Hyperion 1934 Windsor Lad 1935 Bahram ₩ 1936 Mahmoud 1937 Mid-day Sun 1938 Bois Roussel 1939 Blue Peter 1940 Pont l'Eveque 1941 Owen Tudor 1942 Watling Street 1943 Straight Deal 1944 Ocean Swell 1945 Dante 1946 Airborne 1947 Pearl Diver 1948 My Love 1949 Nimbus 1950 Galcador 1951 Arctic Prince 1952 Tulyar 1953 Pinza 1954 Never Say Die 1955 Phil Drake 1956 Lavandin 1957 Crepello 1958 Hard Ridden 1959 Parthia 1960 St. Paddy 1961 Psidium 1962 Larkspur 1963 Relko 1964 Santa Claus 1965 Sea Bird 1966 Charlottown 1967 Royal Palace 1968 Sir Ivor 1969 Blakeney 1970 Nijinsky ₩ 1971 Mill Reef 1972 Roberto 1973 Morston 1974 Snow Knight 1975 Grundy 1976 Empery 1977 The Minstrel 1978 Shirley Heights 1979 Troy 1980 Henbit 1981 Shergar 1982 Golden Fleece 1983 Teenoso 1984 Secreto 1985 Slip Anchor 1986 Shahrastani 1987 Reference Point 1988 Kahyasi 1989 Nashwan 1990 Quest for Fame 1991 Generous 1992 Dr Devious 1993 Commander in Chief 1994 Erhaab 1995 Lammtarra 1996 Shaamit 1997 Benny the Dip 1998 High-Rise 1999 Oath 2000 Sinndar 2001 Galileo 2002 High Chaparral 2003 Kris Kin 2004 North Light 2005 Motivator 2006 Sir Percy 2007 Authorized 2008 New Approach 2009 Sea the Stars 2010 Workforce 2011 Pour Moi 2012 Camelot 2013 Ruler of the World 2014 Australia 2015 Golden Horn

Legend - ₩ = Triple Crown Winners, ♥ = Filly

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