Alycidon
Encyclopedia
Alycidon was a Thoroughbred
racehorse who was foaled in 1945 and died in 1963. He was a top-class British stayer who became the Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
in 1955, despite having low fertility and a relatively short career at stud.
. Alycidon was a brother to the stakeswinner, Acropolis and a half-brother to Agricola (Newmarket Stakes, leading sire in New Zealand), Borealis (sire of stakeswinners) and others. He was inbred in the third and fourth generations (3x4) to Swynford.
at Newmarket
and later that year, in spite of starting at 20-1, he was beaten only by Black Tarquin in the St. Leger
. He won two more races that year and two more as a four-year-old before meeting with Black Tarquin again in the Ascot Gold Cup
. He won by five lengths after Black Tarquin had seemed not to stay the distance, and completed his career by adding the Goodwood Cup
and Doncaster Cup
- to make a tally of 11 wins worth £37,206.
winners Homeward Bound (£42,243) and Meld
(British Fillies Triple Crown
); Almeria plus these horses:
.
Following the LNER tradition of naming locomotive
s after winning racehorses, British Rail
ways "Deltic" Diesel locomotive no. D9009 (later no. 55 009) was named Alycidon after this horse on 21 July 1961, and remained in service until 2 January 1982.
Thoroughbred
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...
racehorse who was foaled in 1945 and died in 1963. He was a top-class British stayer who became the Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
The list below shows the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1751. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season.----- References :* -See also:...
in 1955, despite having low fertility and a relatively short career at stud.
Breeding
He was a good type of horse by the outstanding racehorse and useful sire, Donatello II, his dam Aurora was by the great sire, HyperionHyperion (horse)
Hyperion was a British bred Thoroughbred, a dual classic winner and an outstanding sire. Owned by Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, Hyperion won £29,509 during his career - a considerable sum at the time. His victories included the Epsom Derby and St...
. Alycidon was a brother to the stakeswinner, Acropolis and a half-brother to Agricola (Newmarket Stakes, leading sire in New Zealand), Borealis (sire of stakeswinners) and others. He was inbred in the third and fourth generations (3x4) to Swynford.
Racing record
After he had whipped around at the start of his first outings as a three-year-old, Alycidon always raced in blinkers, but there was nothing irresolute about his racing. His first important success came in the 1948 Princess of Wales's StakesPrincess of Wales's Stakes
The Princess of Wales's Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.-History:The event is named in...
at Newmarket
Newmarket Racecourse
The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...
and later that year, in spite of starting at 20-1, he was beaten only by Black Tarquin in the St. Leger
St. Leger Stakes
The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
. He won two more races that year and two more as a four-year-old before meeting with Black Tarquin again in the Ascot Gold Cup
Ascot Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
. He won by five lengths after Black Tarquin had seemed not to stay the distance, and completed his career by adding the Goodwood Cup
Goodwood Cup
The Goodwood Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late July or early August.-History:...
and Doncaster Cup
Doncaster Cup
The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September....
- to make a tally of 11 wins worth £37,206.
Stud record
Alycidon was retired to stud in 1950. His progeny enabled him to be top stallion in 1955 and placed on the sires list on several other occasions. He sired 19 stakeswinners for 34 stakeswins including the fine stayer Grey of Falloden (9 wins and £25,098) and other high-class fillies such as the Epsom OaksEpsom Oaks
The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June....
winners Homeward Bound (£42,243) and Meld
Meld (horse)
When Meld completed the British Fillies Triple Crown by defeating Nucleus in the 1955 St. Leger, she was only the fourth filly to do so in the 20th century...
(British Fillies Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
); Almeria plus these horses:
- AlcideAlcide (horse)Alcide was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. It is widely believed that Alcide would have won Epsom's 1958 Derby had not foul play prevented him from running. A form line through Nagami, who was third in the Derby and when racing against Alcide, gives credence to that theory...
, won St Leger Stakes, King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes - Alcimedes, Great Jubilee Handicap; a successful sire in New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
- Almeria, won Yorkshire Oaks
- Gaul, won King Edward VII Stakes etc.
- Gloria Nicky, won Cheveley Park Stakes
- Khalekan, (stakeswinner and sire in Australia)
- Twilight Alley, won Ascot Gold Cup
Honours
The Alycidon Stakes was named in honour of Alycidon in 1979, and its title was changed to the "Alycidon Glorious Stakes" in 1987, before this race was later known as the Glorious StakesGlorious Stakes
The Glorious Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late July or early August.-History:The event was established in 1979, and...
.
Following the LNER tradition of naming locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s after winning racehorses, British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways "Deltic" Diesel locomotive no. D9009 (later no. 55 009) was named Alycidon after this horse on 21 July 1961, and remained in service until 2 January 1982.