Patron Saint (horse)

Last updated
Patron Saint
Sire St Girons
Grandsire St Simon
Dam VMC
Damsire Common
Sex Gelding
Foaled 1923 [1]
Country United Kingdom
Colour Bay
Owner F W Keen
Trainer Stanley Harrison
Major wins
Cheltenham Gold Cup (1928)

Patron Saint (foaled 1923) was a British racehorse who won the 1928 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeplechase horse race in Britain

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs, and during its running there are 22 fences to be jumped. The race takes place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Contents

Background

Patron Saint was a bay gelding bred in the United Kingdom. He was sired by St Girons (a son of St Simon) who also sired the Grand Sefton Steeplechase winner Inversible. Patron Saint's dam VCB was a distant descendant of Canezou, who won the 1000 Guineas in 1848 and later became an influential broodmare. [2]

The Grand Sefton Handicap Chase is a National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged six years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 5 furlongs, and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place in December.

During his racing career Patron Saint was owned by F W Rees and was trained near Bangor-on-Dee in Wales by Stanley Harrison. [3]

Bangor-on-Dee village in Wales

Bangor-on-Dee is a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is a village in the ancient district of Maelor in Wales, situated on the banks of the River Dee. The village is in the county borough of Wrexham; until 1974 it was in the exclave of Flintshire traditionally known as the Maelor Saesneg, and from 1974 to 1996 was in the county of Clwyd.

Racing career

The early spring of 1928 was exceptionally cold and led to fears that the Cheltenham Festival would be abandoned but a break in the weather allowed the meeting to take place. [3] Patron Saint was entered in the Gold Cup as a five-year-old meaning that he carried seven pounds less than his older rivals. With the leading chaser of the season Easter Hero absent, the 1926 Gold Cup winner Koko started the 4/5 favourite ahead of Patron Saint on 7/2 [4] whilst the most notable of the other five runners was the 1927 Grand National winner Sprig. [5] Ridden by Dick Rees, Patron Saint tracked Koko before being driven up on the inside to take a slight lead at the final fence. Koko still looked the more likely winner but broke a blood vessel [3] and dropped back to third, allowing Patron Saint to draw clear and win by four lengths from the thirteen-year-old veteran Vive. On his next start Patron Saint finished third on a flat race in which he was ridden by Noel Murless, later to become a leading trainer. [3]

Cheltenham Festival Horse racing festival

The Cheltenham Festival is a meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The meeting usually coincides with Saint Patrick's Day, and is particularly popular with Irish visitors.

Easter Hero (1920–1948) was an Irish-bred British-trained racehorse who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1929 and 1930 and made three unsuccessful attempts to win the Grand National. He showed little early promise and was passed from owner to owner before beginning to display ability in 1927. Wins in the Becher Chase and the Coventry Chase established him as a leading steeplechaser and he was bought by Alfred Loewenstein with the aim of winning the National. In his first attempt at the race he fell at the eighth and brought the field to a virtual halt after becoming trapped in the ditch in front of the fence.

Koko was an Irish racehorse who won the 1926 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He finished third in the race in 1928 when odds-on favourite and fell in 1929. He also ran twice without success in the Grand National.

Patron Saint was expected to defend his Gold Cup title in 1929 but missed the race after suffering a series of injuries and training problems. He returned in 1930 and won the Plodders Chase at Nottingham Racecourse, but had no further success. [3]

Nottingham Racecourse horse racing venue in England

Nottingham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated at Colwick Park, close to the River Trent and about 3 km east of the city centre.

Assessment and honours

In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Patron Saint a "poor" Gold Cup winner. [6]

Timeform publishing company in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England founded in 1948

Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England founded in 1948 to provide information to fans, bettors, and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by the sports betting exchange Betfair in December 2006. Since 2 February 2016, it has been owned by Paddy Power Betfair.

Pedigree

Pedigree of Patron Saint (GB), bay gelding, 1923 [1]
Sire
St Girons (GB)
1908		 St Simon (GB)
1881		 Galopin Galopin
St Angela
St Angela King Tom
Adeline
Acunha (GB)
1894		 Tristan Hermit
Thrift
PolentaColtness
Modena
Dam
VMC (GB)
1911		 Common (GB)
1888		 Isonomy Sterling
Isola Bella
ThistleScottish Chief
The Flower Safety
Hoot (GB)
1906		The OwlWisdom
Rattlewings
GracelessCommon
Grace Emily (Family 31) [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Patron Saint pedigree". Pedigree Online. 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  2. 1 2 "- Dick Burton's Mare - Family 31". Thoroughbred Bloodlines.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Harman, Bob (2000). The Ultimate Dream: The History of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN   1-84018-381-0.
  4. ↑ Abelson, Edward; Tyrrel, John (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN   978-1-873626-15-3.
  5. ↑ Green, Reg (1993). The History of the Grand National: A Race Apart. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN   0-340-58515-3.
  6. ↑ Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press,. ISBN   9781901570151.
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