Poet Prince

Last updated
Poet Prince
SireMilton
GrandsireMarcovil
DamWelsh Princess
DamsireHapsburg
Sex Gelding
Foaled1932 [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
Colour Chestnut
OwnerDavid Sherbrooke
Trainer Ivor Anthony
Fulke Walwyn
Major wins
Stanley Chase (1940)
Cheltenham Gold Cup (1941)

Poet Prince (foaled 1932) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1941 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He had earlier won the Stanley Chase at Aintree and went on to contest two more Gold Cups. He was unplaced when well-fancied in 1942 and finished fourth in 1945 at the age of thirteen.

Thoroughbred Horse breed developed for racing

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are considered "hot-blooded" horses that are known for their agility, speed, and spirit.

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.

Aintree Racecourse horse racing venue in England

Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, England. The racecourse is best known for annually holding the world-famous Grand National steeplechase.

Contents

Background

Poet Prince was a chestnut gelding with a broad white blaze [2] bred in the United Kingdom. He was sired by Milton, a representative of the Godolphin Arabian sireline whose wins included the Criterion Stakes in 1918 and the Ribblesdale Stakes in the following year. His dam, Welsh Princess was a great-granddaughter of Wedding Eve, an Irish broodmare whose other descendants have included the Kentucky Derby winner Ponder. [3]

Godolphin Arabian 18th-century Arabian stallion and foundation sire of the Thoroughbred horse breed

The Godolphin Arabian, also known as the Godolphin Barb, was an Arabian horse or Barb horse who was one of three stallions that founded the modern Thoroughbred. He was named after his best-known owner, Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin.

The Criterion Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July.

The Ribblesdale Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards, and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.

As a young horse Poet Prince had breathing problems and was not regarded as a serious racing prospect. He was acquired for only 40 guineas by David Sherbrooke, a veterinary surgeon who also competed as an amateur jockey. He was initially sent into training with Ivor Anthony at Wroughton in Wiltshire. [2]

Wroughton village in the United Kingdom

Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 road between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junctions 15 and 16. The village is about 2.2 miles (3.5 km) south of Swindon town centre on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town of Marlborough is about 11 miles (18 km) to the south via the B4005 at Chiseldon and the A346 road. The World Heritage Site at Avebury is about 7 miles (11.3 km) to the south.

Wiltshire County of England

Wiltshire is a county in South West England with an area of 3,485 km2. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The county town was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but Wiltshire Council is now based in the county town of Trowbridge.

Racing career

Poet Prince showed good form in the early part of his racing career and won the Stanley Chase at Aintree Racecourse in the spring of 1940. [4] Despite his success at the course, he never contested the Grand National. [5]

Grand National English horse race held at Aintree every year

The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over an official distance of about 4 miles and 2½ furlongs,, with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps. It is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2017. An event that is prominent in British culture, the race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year.

On 20 March 1941, Poet Prince was one of ten horses to contest the sixteenth running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. David Sherbrooke had intended to ride the horse himself but was injured in a fall on the previous day and the ride went to Roger Burford. [4] The 1940 winner Roman Hackle favourite ahead of Savon with Poet Prince third choice in the betting at odds of 7/2 [6] whilst the other fancied runners included Red Rower (also trained by Ivor Anthony) and The Professor. In the race Poet Prince tracked Red Rower before taking the lead at the final obstacle. He drew away on the run-in and won by three lengths from Savon, with Red Rower a short head away in third place. [7]

Roman Hackle was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1940 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After winning several races over hurdles he was switched to steeplechasing in 1939 and made an immediate impact by winning the Broadway Novices' Chase. In the following year he won the Gold Cup as a seven-year-old but did not build on his early promise. In two subsequent bids for the Gold Cup he ran poorly when favourite in 1941 and fell in 1942. His British career ended when National Hunt racing in Britain was suspended in September 1942 but he went on to win races in Ireland.

Red Rower was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1945 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He raced during the Second World War when opportunities for National Hunt horses were severely limited. After winning the Lilley Brook Chase in 1940 he finished third to stable companion Poet Prince in his first attempt at the Gold Cup in the following year. In 1942 he won the Grand Annual Chase and started favourite for the Gold Cup but was beaten into second place by Medoc II. On the resumption of National Hunt racing after a two-year break he finally won the Gold Cup at the age of eleven in 1945.

A horse length, or simply length, is a unit of measurement for the length of a horse from nose to tail, approximately 8 feet (2.4 m).

Poet Prince ran well in hurdle races in the early part of the next season. [8] On 21 March 1942 he made an attempt to win a second Gold Cup when he faced stronger opposition in a race run in thick fog. Ridden again by Burford he finished unplaced behind the French-bred Medoc II. [7] National Hunt racing in Britain was suspended in September 1942. The first Cheltenham Festival for three years was held in 1945 and Poet Prince, now trained by Fulke Walwyn, returned to contest his third Gold Cup at the age of thirteen. He traveled very well for most of the way and looked the likely winner two fences out but then began to struggle and dropped back to finish fourth behind Red Rower. [7] [4]

Hurdling (horse race)

A hurdle race in Great Britain and Ireland is a National Hunt horse race where the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles that are over three and a half feet high. They are typically made of a series of panels made of brush and are flexible. Hurdle races always have a minimum of eight hurdles and a minimum distance of two miles (3 km).

Medoc II was a French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1942 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He won races at the Cheltenham Festival in 1938, 1940 and 1941 before defeating a strong field in the Gold Cup but his later career was severely limited by wartime restrictions.

Fulke Thomas Tyndall Walwyn CVO was a British jockey and a celebrated racehorse trainer, who was particularly successful in National Hunt racing.

Assessment and honours

In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Poet Prince a "poor" Gold Cup winner. [9]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Poet Prince (GB), chestnut gelding, 1932 [1]
Sire
Milton (GB)
1916
Marcovil (GB)
1903
Marco Barcaldine
Novitiate
Lady VillikinsHagioscope
Dinah
Misfit (GB)
1909
Collar St Simon
Ornament
Miss LetticeAmphion
Vetch
Dam
Welsh Princess (GB)
1924
Hapsburg (GB)
1911
Desmond St Simon
L'Abbesse de Jouarre
AltesseAmphion
Marchioness
Welsh Bride (GB)
1912
PictonOrvieto
Hecuba
Irish BrideSt Gris
Wedding Eve (Family: 23) [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Poet Prince pedigree". Pedigree Online. 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  2. 1 2 "1940s - Cheltenham". Cheltenham Racecourse official site.
  3. 1 2 "Piping Peg's Dam - Family 23". Thoroughbred Bloodlines.
  4. 1 2 3 John Saville (2009). "Insane and Unseemly: British Racing in World War II". Matador.
  5. Green, Reg (1993). The History of the Grand National: A Race Apart. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN   0-340-58515-3.
  6. Abelson, Edward; Tyrrel, John (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN   978-1-873626-15-3.
  7. 1 2 3 Harman, Bob (2000). The Ultimate Dream: The History of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN   1-84018-381-0.
  8. "English Sporting Letter". Townsville Daily Bulletin . 2 May 1942.
  9. Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press. ISBN   9781901570151.