Coronation (British horse)

British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

This article is about the British Thoroughbred racehorse. For the French Thoroughbred racehorse, see Coronation (French horse).

Coronation

Coronation and Conolly. 1841 aquatint by Francis Calcraft Turner.

Sire| Sir Hercules
Grandsire| Whalebone
Dam| Ruby
Damsire| Rubens
Sex| Stallion
Foaled| 1838
Country| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour| Bay
Breeder| Abraham Rawlinson
Owner| Abraham Rawlinson
Trainer| Ben Painter
Isaac Day
Record| 7:6–1–0
Major wins
Epsom Derby (1841)
Ascot Derby (1841)

Coronation (foaled 1838) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from August 1840 to September 1841 he ran seven races. He began his career with a run of six successive victories including the 1841 Epsom Derby. He was retired after being narrowly defeated in the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster. Coronation later had moderate success as a stallion before he was exported to Russia.

## Background

[edit]

Coronation, a "blood" bay horse standing 16 hands high, was bred by his owner, Abraham Tysack Rawlinson of Chadlington in Oxfordshire, father of Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet and George Rawlinson.[1] The Farmer's Magazine described him as a "splendid looking animal" with a strong, tapering head, muscular shoulders and long legs.[2] Coronation was prepared for racing "with considerable ability" by Ben Painter[3] (or Painten),[2] Rawlinson's "stud groom" at Chadlington and Heythrop Park.[4] He was foaled in the year of Queen Victoria's coronation.

Coronation's sire, Sir Hercules, was an Irish-bred racehorse who ran third in the St Leger of 1829. He went on to become a highly successful and influential stallion.[5] He sired many important winners including Faugh-a-Ballagh (St Leger), The Corsair (2000 Guineas) and Birdcatcher, the male-line ancestor of most modern thoroughbreds.[6]

## Racing career

[edit]

### 1840: two-year-old season

[edit]

Coronation ran twice as a two-year-old in the summer of 1840. On his first appearance on 18 August he easily won a four-runner Sweepstakes for two- and three-year-old at Oxford Racecourse from a filly named Pelerine. He followed up by beating two opponents in a Sweepstakes at Warwick, winning by a neck from St Cloud,[7] at odds of 1/4. After the race he was described as "the finest two-year-old" of the season[8] and bookmakers offered him at odds of 18/1 for the following year's Derby.[9]

### 1841: three-year-old season

[edit]

On his three-year-old debut, Coronation won the Trial Stakes Warwick in impressive style[10] in a large, but undistinguished field. On 15 April, Coronation's odds for the Derby were cut from 10/1to 9/1.[11] In the final build-up to the Derby, Rawlinson entrusted the horse to a professional trainer, Isaac Day,[3] who was based at Northleach, Gloucestershire.[12]

At Epsom on 26 May, Coronation started 5/2 favourite for the Derby, having been backed down from 4/1 in the hours before the race,[13] in a record field of twenty-nine runners. He was ridden by Patrick Conolly (or Connolly), a jockey who had won the 1834 Derby on Plenipotentiary.[14] The weather was warm and sunny and the customary huge crowd – described by the Sunday Times as an "immense mob" combining every "rank, wealth, talent and beauty in the country" – was in attendance.[13] There was no Royal presence, but the nobility were represented by four Dukes, four Marquises and seven Earls.[15] After a long delay caused by six or seven false starts the race got under way and Conolly positioned Coronation just behind the leaders. The favourite was always traveling easily, and when the leading horses began to tire in the straight, Conolly sent him to the front. Coronation quickly went clear and was never challenged, winning easily by three lengths from Van Amburgh.[16] Following the race, the winner was surrounded by celebrating crowds and panicked, kicking out and killing one spectator.[17] In addition to the prize money of £4,275, Rawlinson took an estimated £8,000 in winning bets.[18]

At Royal Ascot on 8 June, in front of a crowd including the Queen Victoria, Coronation walked over in the Ascot Derby (a race now known as the King Edward VII Stakes) when the other entrants were withdrawn.[18] On 18 August, Coronation raced against older horses for the first time in the two and a quarter mile Oxford Cup. He won at odds of 1/5 beating Isaac, Executrix and Caravan.[7]

Coronation's performances during the summer had been so dominant that the St Leger on 14 September was considered a formality, and attracted less interest than usual.[19] He started the 1/2 favourite against ten opponents, of whom only the Marquess of Westminster's colt Satirist (5/1) was given any chance against him. Coronation took the lead at half way and entered the straight traveling well and looking the likely winner. But Satirist, ridden by Bill Scott, produced a strong challenge, and the two colts raced side by side throughout the last furlong. In the closing strides Satirist gained a slight advantage, and Coronation was beaten by "half a neck".[19] According to his jockey, John Day, Coronation had been "treated like a spoiled child" in the build-up to the St Leger and went to Doncaster some way below peak fitness.[7]

## Stud career

[edit]

Coronation was not a great success as a stallion, but he did sire The Flea who won the 1000 Guineas in 1849. One of his daughters, British Queen, became a successful broodmare.[20] After a few seasons at stud in England, Coronation was exported to Russia.[21]

## Pedigree

[edit]

Pedigree of Coronation (GB), bay stallion, 1838  Sire
Sir Hercules (GB)
1826  | Whalebone
1807  | Waxy | Potoooooooo

|
|
|

Maria
Penelope | Trumpator
Prunella
Peri
1822  | Wanderer  | Gohanna
Catherine
Thalestris  | Alexander*
Rival
Dam
Ruby (GB)
1825  | Rubens
1805  | Buzzard  | Woodpecker
Misfortune
Alexander mare  | Alexander*
Highflyer mare
Williamson's Ditto mare
1812  | Williamson's Ditto | Sir Peter Teazle
Arethusa mare
Agnes  | Shuttle
sister to Hoity Toity (Family:26)[22]

* Coronation was inbred 4 × 4 to Alexander, meaning that the stallion, a son of Eclipse, appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Obituary Canon Rawlinson". Evening Mail. 8 October 1902. Retrieved 25 August 2022 - via British Newspaper Archive.
2. ^ a b The farmer's magazine – Google Books. 1841. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
3. ^ a b The Gentleman's magazine – John Nichols – Google Books. 1868. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
4. ^ Mortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane’s. ISBN 0-354-08536-0.
5. ^ Patricia Erigero Thoroughbred Heritage. "Sir Hercules". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
6. ^ "Birdcatcher". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
7. ^ a b c The Sporting review, ed. by 'Craven'. –. 1841. p. 357. Retrieved 2012-01-16 - via Internet Archive. "coronation."
8. ^ The Sporting magazine; or Monthly calendar of the transactions of the turf ... – Google Books. 1840. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
9. ^ The New sporting magazine – Google Books. 1841. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
10. ^ The New sporting magazine – Google Books. 1841. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
11. ^ "31 Aug 1841 – THE DERBY". Trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
12. ^ Horse-racing in England: a synoptical review – Robert Black –. Richard Bently and Son. 1893. Retrieved 2012-01-16 - via Internet Archive. "isaac day coronation."
13. ^ a b "09 Oct 1841 – THE "DERBY" DAY". Trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
14. ^ Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1990). Horse Racing: Records, Facts, Champions (Third ed.). Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-902-1.
15. ^ "20 Sep 1841 – SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. Epsom Races. WEDNESDAY, M". Trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
16. ^ "08 Oct 1841 – THE DERBY RACE. EPSOM, MAY 26". Trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
17. ^ The New sporting magazine. N.S. 1 (Jan.-June 1841). Babel.hathitrust.org. p. 446. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
18. ^ a b "Papers Past — New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator — 23 October 1841 — ENGLISH NEWS". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
19. ^ a b "27 Jan 1842 – DONCASTER RACES [From the Caledonian Mercury.]". Trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
20. ^ Patricia Erigero Thoroughbred Heritage. "Sir Hercules". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
21. ^ "Sir Hercules". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
22. ^ "Old Merlin Mare – Family 26". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2012-01-16.

* v
* t
* e

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
* 2016 Harzand
* 2017 Wings of Eagles
* 2018 Masar
* 2019 Anthony Van Dyck
* 2020 Serpentine
* 2021 Adayar
* 2022 Desert Crown
* 2023 Auguste Rodin
* 2024 City of Troy

Legend \- ₩ = Triple Crown Winners, ♥ = Filly
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