Princely Gift

Last updated
Princely Gift
Sire Nasrullah
Grandsire Nearco
Dam Blue Gem
Damsire Blue Peter
Sex Stallion
Foaled 1951
Country United Kingdom
Colour Bay
Breeder Alfer Allnatt
Owner Victor Sassoon
Trainer Noel Murless
Record 23:9-4-4
Major wins
Challenge Stakes (1954)
Hungerford Stakes (1955)
Portland Handicap (1955)
Awards
Timeform rating 137

Princely Gift (1951–1973) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from 1953 until 1955 he ran twenty-three times and won nine races. After showing good, but unexceptional form in his first two seasons, he improved significantly in the summer of 1955 and ended his career with a record-breaking win in the Portland Handicap. Having been awarded one of the highest Timeform figures of the decade, Princely Gift was retired to stud at the end of the season and had considerable success as a sire of winners.

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.

Horse racing Equestrian sport

Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been unchanged since at least classical antiquity.

The Portland Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 5 furlongs and 143 yards, and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.

Contents

Background

Princely Gift was a bay horse with no white markings bred by Major Alfred Allnat. He was one of the last crop of European foals sired by Nasrullah before the stallion was exported to the United States. His dam, Blue Gem was a daughter of The Derby winner Blue Peter, giving Princely Gift a pedigree more typical of a middle-distance horse rather than of the sprinter he became. As a yearling, Princely Gift was sent to the sales where he was bought for 5,000 guineas by Sir Victor Sassoon. The colt was sent into training with Noel Murless at Newmarket, Suffolk. [1]

Horse markings Colored areas, usually white, on a horse that differ from the body color

Markings on horses are usually distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life. Most markings have pink skin underneath most of the white hairs, though a few faint markings may occasionally have white hair with no underlying pink skin. Markings may appear to change slightly when a horse grows or sheds its winter coat, however this difference is simply a factor of hair coat length; the underlying pattern does not change.

Nasrullah was a Thoroughbred racehorse that was bred in Ireland and trained in the United Kingdom before becoming a champion sire in both Europe and North America. As a two-year-old, he won the Coventry Stakes and finished second in the Middle Park Stakes, ending the year as the top-rated colt of his generation. In the following season, he became increasingly difficult to manage, and his temperament compromised his racing career. He was the beaten favourite in the 2,000 Guineas and finished a close third in the Derby Stakes before winning the Champion Stakes. As a breeding stallion he stood in England, Ireland, and the United States and had great success in each location.

Epsom Derby British Group 1 horse race for 3-year-olds over 1m 4f 10yds

The Derby Stakes, officially the Investec Derby, popularly known as the Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey over a distance of one mile, four furlongs and 6 yards, on the first Saturday of June each year.

Racing career

As a two-year-old, Princely Gift showed some useful form, notably when finishing second, beaten a short head by the future 2000 Guineas winner Darius in the July Stakes. He also finished second in a valuable race at York and won the Clearwell Stakes at Newmarket. [2] In the Free Handicap, a ranking of the season's best British juveniles, he was given a weight of 121 pounds, twelve pounds below the top-rated Our Babu. At the end of the season he was sent to the sales but failed to reach his reserve price, and so remained in Sassoon's ownership. [3]

Darius was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for winning the Classic 2000 Guineas in 1954. In a racing career which lasted from the spring of 1953 until November 1955 he ran twenty-one times, won nine races and was placed on ten occasions. He was one of the best British two-year-olds of his generation, winning four races including the July Stakes and the Champagne Stakes. In the following year he won the 2000 Guineas and the St. James's Palace Stakes, finished second in the Eclipse Stakes and third in both The Derby and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He won three more races as a four-year-old including the Eclipse Stakes. After a disappointing run in the Washington, D.C. International Stakes he was retired to stud where he had considerable success as a sire of winners.

The July Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs, and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.

York Racecourse horse racing venue in England

York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It attracts around 350,000 racegoers per year and stages three of the UK's 36 annual Group 1 races – the Juddmonte International Stakes, the Nunthorpe Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks.

In 1954 Princely Gift established himself a good sprint handicapper by winning the Ditton Sprint at Sandown Park, giving the twenty-six time champion jockey Gordon Richards the last win of his career. [4] Towards the end of the season, Princely Gift began to show improved form and at Newmarket in October he recorded his first important weight-for-age win. Ridden by Lester Piggott, he won the six furlong Challenge Stakes at odds of 2/1. [5]

Handicap (horse racing)

A handicap race in horse racing is a race in which horses carry different weights, allocated by the handicapper. A better horse will carry a heavier weight, to give it a disadvantage when racing against slower horses.

The Champion Jockey of flat racing in Great Britain is the jockey who has ridden the most winning horses during a season. The list below shows the Champion Jockey and the number of winners for each year since 1840. The seasonal record of jockeys' winners was published for the first time in 1846. The championship was sponsored for the first time in 2009 by online casino 32Red and is currently sponsored by Stobart Group.

Sir Gordon Richards was an English jockey. He was the British flat racing Champion Jockey 26 times and is often considered the world's greatest ever jockey. He remains the only flat jockey to have been knighted.

Princely Gift's early form in 1955 was unremarkable, and he ran poorly in the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot. [3] From this point on he showed his best form and won his three remaining races impressively. In July he won the Chichester Stakes at Goodwood and in the following month he added a victory in the Hungerford Stakes over seven furlongs at Newbury Racecourse. At Doncaster in September he was assigned a weight of 130 pounds Portland Handicap. [6] He won easily by four lengths, setting a new course record. [3]

The Wokingham Stakes is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs, and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.

Goodwood Racecourse horse racing venue in England

Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in late July and early August, which is one of the highlights of the British flat racing calendar, and is home to three of the UK's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the Sussex Stakes, the Goodwood Cup and the Nassau Stakes. Although the race meeting has become known as 'Glorious Goodwood', it is sponsored by Qatar and officially called the 'Qatar Goodwood Festival'.

Newbury Racecourse Horse Racing, Conference and Events venue in England

Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the Lockinge Stakes.

Assessment

The independent Timeform awarded Princely Gift a peak rating of 137 in 1955, making him their highest-rated older horse of the season and the equal third highest British-trained horses of the 1950s. Despite his lofty rating, he was not the top sprinter of the year, that honour going to the three-year-old Pappa Fourway. (139). [7]

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.

Pappa Fourway (1952–1978) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the outstanding specialist sprinters of the twentieth century and one of the best horses trained in the North of England. After winning four times as a two-year-old in 1954 he was the dominant European sprinter of 1955 when he was undefeated in eight races including the King's Stand Stakes, July Cup and Diadem Stakes. He was retired to stud in the United States where he had modest success as a sire of winners.

In their book A Century of Champions, based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Princely Gift the second best British or Irish-trained horse of his generation, behind The Derby winner Never Say Die. He was also rated the eleventh-best British or Irish-trained sprinter of the 20th century. [3]

Stud record

Princely Gift proved to be a highly successful breeding stallion. His best winners included Floribunda, So Blessed (July Cup, Nunthorpe Stakes), Faberge (second in the 2,000 Guineas, sire of Rheingold and Giacometti), Tesco Boy (six times Leading sire in Japan), [8] Tribal Chief (New Stakes, sire of Mrs McArdy) and Sun Prince (St. James's Palace Stakes, Queen Anne Stakes). Princely Gift died in 1973. [1]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Princely Gift (GB), bay stallion, 1951 [9]
Sire
Nasrullah (GB)
1940		 Nearco (ITY)
1935		 Pharos Phalaris
Scapa Flow
NogaraHavresac
Catnip
Mumtaz Begum (FR)
1932		 Blenheim Blandford
Malva
Mumtaz Mahal The Tetrarch
Lady Josephine
Dam
Blue Gem (GB)
1943		 Blue Peter (GB)
1936		 Fairway Phalaris
Scapa Flow
Fancy FreeStefan the Great
Celiba
Sparkle (GB)
1935		 Blandford Swynford
Blanche
Gleam Galloper Light
Eagerford (Family 13-a) [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 Mortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane’s. ISBN   0-354-08536-0.
  2. ↑ "Princely Gift's chance". Glasgow Herald. 30 October 1953. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press,. ISBN   1-901570-15-0.
  4. ↑ "ONLY THING SIR GORDON DIDN'T KNOW IN RACING GAME". Sunday Times (Perth). 29 Aug 1954. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  5. ↑ Abelson, Edward; Tyrrel, John (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN   1-873626-15-0.
  6. ↑ "Princely Gift taken despite his weight". The Bulletin (Glasgow). 8 September 1955. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
  7. ↑ Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1990). Horse Racing: Records, Facts, Champions (Third Edition). Guinness Publishing. ISBN   0-85112-902-1.
  8. ↑ "Leading Sires of Japan". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
  9. ↑ "Princely Gift pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
  10. ↑ "Rutilia - Family 13-a". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
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