Octavius (horse)

Last updated
Octavius
Sire Orville
Grandsire Beningbrough
Dam Marianne
Damsire Mufti
Sex Stallion
Foaled 1809
Country United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour Brown
Breeder Robert Ladbroke
Owner Robert Ladbroke
Trainer Richard Boyce
Record 13:4-4-1
Major wins
Epsom Derby (1812)
Epsom Gold Cup (1813)

Octavius (18091831) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career that lasted from April 1812 to May 1814 he ran thirteen times and won four races. He recorded his most important success when winning the Derby. Octavius remained in training for two more seasons, his best subsequent performance coming when he won the Epsom Gold Cup as a four-year-old in 1813. At the end of 1814 Octavius was retired to stud where he had moderate 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.

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.

The Epsom Gold Cup was an English Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Epsom, Surrey.

Contents

Background

Octavius was sired by Orville a successful staying racehorse who excelled over extreme distances. At stud he was Champion sire in 1817 and 1822 and sired the Classic winners Emilius (Derby), Charlotte (1000 Guineas), Zoë (1000 Guineas) and Ebor (St Leger). [1] Octavius's dam, Marianne, went on to produce Caroline, the winner of the 1820 Epsom Oaks.

Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland

The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Galileo, who achieved his ninth title in 2017, when his progeny won over £15 million in prize money.

Emilius (horse) thoroughbred horse

Emilius (1820–1847) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from April 1823 to October 1824 he ran ten times and won seven races, including a walkover. As a three-year-old in 1823 he was undefeated in six starts, including the Derby. After a less impressive year in 1824 he was retired to stud and became a highly successful and important breeding stallion.

Epsom Oaks British Group 1 horse race tor 3-year-old filles over 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards (2,423 metres)

The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards, and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June. It is the second-oldest of the five Classic races, after the St Leger. Officially the Investec Oaks, it is also popularly known as simply The Oaks.

Octavius was owned during his racing career by his breeder, [2] the banker Robert Ladbroke, a friend of the Duke of York and Lord Egremont, whose horses were trained by Richard Boyce at Newmarket, Suffolk. [3]

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany British prince

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom and Hanover, and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A soldier by profession, from 1764 to 1803 he was Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück in the Holy Roman Empire. From the death of his father in 1820 until his own death in 1827 he was the heir presumptive to his elder brother, George IV, in both the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Hanover.

George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont British earl

George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of EgremontFRS of Petworth House in Sussex and Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, was a British peer, a major landowner and a great art collector. He was interested in the latest scientific advances. He was an agriculturist and a friend of the agricultural writer Arthur Young, and was an enthusiastic canal builder who invested in many commercial ventures for the improvement of his estates. He played a limited role in politics.

Newmarket, Suffolk market town in Suffolk, England

Newmarket is a market town in the English county of Suffolk, approximately 65 miles north of London. It is generally considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred horse racing and a potential World Heritage Site. It is a major local business cluster, with annual investment rivalling that of the Cambridge Science Park, the other major cluster in the region. It is the largest racehorse training centre in Britain, the largest racehorse breeding centre in the country, home to most major British horseracing institutions, and a key global centre for horse health. Two Classic races, and an additional three British Champions Series races are held at Newmarket every year. The town has had close royal connections since the time of James I, who built a palace there, and was also a base for Charles I, Charles II, and most monarchs since. The current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, visits the town often to see her horses in training.

Racing career

1812: three-year-old season

Unraced as a two-year-old, Octavius made his first appearance at the 1812 Newmarket Craven meeting. On 30 March he started at odds of 5/1 in a 100 guinea Sweepstakes over the Abingdon Mile course and won from an unnamed gelding by Beningbrough. [4] Just over two weeks later, Octavius contested the 2000 Guineas and started 4/1 second favourite. He finished third of the seven runners behind Cwrw and Cato. [5]

On 14 May at Epsom Octavius was fourth choice in the betting for the Derby at odds of 7/1 in a field of fourteen runners. Ridden by Bill Arnull, Octavius moved up to dispute the lead on the turn into the straight with the favourite Comus and Lord Egremont's unnamed Gohanna colt. Comus dropped back inside the last quarter mile leaving Octavius and the Gohanna colt to contest the finish "in desperate style", with Octavius prevailing by half a neck. [6] The filly Manuella, who started second favourite, was believed to have been "pulled" (deliberately prevented from winning) by her jockey Sam Chifney in order to lengthen her odds for The Oaks on the following day. [3]

Epsom Downs Racecourse horse racing venue in England

Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs.

William "Bill" Arnull was a British jockey. He was from a famous family of jockeys, being the son of John Arnull and nephew of Sam Arnull and it is said he was the best of the three.

Filly young female horse

A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use:

Octavius's next run came on 26 August at Egham Racecourse where he carried top weight of 122 pounds in the Magna Charta Stakes. He started the 2/5 favourite but finished last of the four runners behind the Duke of York's colt Pointers. [7]

Egham town in the borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England

Egham is a town in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and has its own railway station. It adjoins, narrowly, junction 13 of the M25 motorway and is situated 19 miles (31 km) WSW of London. It can be considered a university town as it has on its higher part, Egham Hill, the campus of Royal Holloway, University of London. Not far from this town, at Runnymede, Magna Carta was sealed.

Pound (mass) unit of mass in imperial, US customary, and avoirdupois systems of units

The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally defined as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms, and which is divided into 16 avoirdupois ounces. The international standard symbol for the avoirdupois pound is lb; an alternative symbol is lbm, #, and or ″̶.

1813: four-year-old season

Octavius's first run as a four-year-old came in a division of the Oatlands Stakes at Newmarket on 21 April. Carrying 114 pounds and starting 4/1 second favourite, he finished unplaced behind Mantidamun. [8] At the next Newmarket meeting on 5 May, Octavius started favourite for the Port Stakes over two miles and finished second of the six runners behind Aquarius, with Pointers third. [9]

On 3 June Octavius returned to the scene of his most important success to contest the Epsom Gold Cup. He was last of the four runners in the early stages, but moved up to join the leaders on the turn into the straight and recorded his first win in a year by winning the two mile race from Sorcery and Defiance after an "extremely spirited" race . [10] At Ascot two weeks later Octavius ran twice without success. In the Swinley Stakes he ran a dead heat with the three-year-old Aladdin, but was beaten in a run-off after what the Sporting Magazine described as "a fine race". [11] On the following day, he was beaten by the six-year-old Offa's Dyke, his only opponent in a one mile Sweepstakes. [12] On 16 July, Octavius ran in his second dead-heat of the summer when he tied with the four-year-old Jesse in a one and a half mile race at Stockbridge Racecourse. On this occasion Ladbroke agreed to divide the prize with Jesse's owner without a deciding heat. [13]

1814: five-year-old season

As in the previous season, Octavius began 1814 with an unsuccessful run in a division of the Oatlands Stakes in April, finishing unplaced behind Pericles. [14] At Newmarket's First Spring meeting on 28 April, he ran in a King's Plate, a three mile staying race in which he carried 154 pounds and finished second to Aquarius. [15]

On 26 May Octavius returned to Epsom for the third time, but on this occasion he was unsuccessful, finishing unplaced behind Aquarius and Mantidamun in the Epsom Gold Cup. [16] He was then put up for sale at Tattersalls where he was bought for 630 guineas by Lord Egremont [3] and retired from racing.

Stud career

Octavius began his breeding career in 1815 at Lord Egremont's stud at Petworth. His stud fee of five and a half guineas made him a cheaper alternative to the other Petworth stallions Gohanna (20 guineas) and Canopus (10 guineas). [17] Octavius was not a great success as a stallion, but he did sire the Ascot Gold Cup winner Sir Huldibras, the good stayer Black-and-all-black (who was black) and Little John, who in turn sired the 1839 Derby winner Frederick. [18] He died at Petworth in 1831. [2]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Octavius (GB), brown stallion, 1809
Sire
Orville (GB)
1799
Beningbrough
1791
King Fergus Eclipse
Creeping Polly
Fenwick's Herod mare Herod
Pyrrha
Evelina
1791
Highflyer Herod
Rachel
TermagantTantrum
Cantatrice
Dam
Marianne (GB)
1798
Mufti
1783
Fitz HerodHerod
Miss Barforth
Infant mareInfant
Whittington mare
Maria
1783
TelemachusHerod
Skim mare
A-La-Grecque Regulus
Allworthy mare (Family:23-a) [19]

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References

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