Common (horse)
Encyclopedia
Common was a British Thoroughbred
racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from May to September 1891 he ran five times and won four races. He became the fifth, and the most lighty-raced horse to win the English Triple Crown
by winning the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket
, the Derby
at Epsom
and the St Leger at Doncaster
.
high bred at Crichel
in Dorset
by Henry Sturt, 1st Baron Alington
who owned him during his racing career in partnership with Sir Frederick Johnstone
. The colt was sent into training with John Porter
at Kingsclere
, and was ridden in all his races by George Barrett.
Common’s sire Isonomy
was one of the outstanding British racehorses of the 19th Century, winning the Ascot Gold Cup
in 1879 and 1880. He went on to become a successful stallion; apart from Common he sired Isinglass
, thus being the first of two horses to father two winners of the English Triple Crown. Common’s dam Thistle, who had been a successful racehorse, went on to produce the New Stakes winner Goldfinch and the filly Throstle who won the St Leger in 1894.
Common was then sent to Royal Ascot for the St. James's Palace Stakes
. Only one horse, Barbatello, opposed him and he won easily. His next race was the Eclipse Stakes
at Sandown Park Racecourse in which he faced older horses for the first time. Common started favourite at 1/2 ahead of the four-year-old filly Memoir, the winner of the 1890 Oaks
and St Leger, and Surefoot, beaten favourite in the 1890 Derby. Common disputed the lead with Gouverneur from the start until the closing stages when the two three-year-olds were joined by Surefoot. In a "most exciting" finish, Surefoot prevailed by half a length, with Gouverneur beating Common for second by a short head.
Shortly after his win in the St Leger, Common’s owners sold the colt for £15,000 to John Blundell Maple, the Conservative
M.P. and owner of the Childwick Bury Stud
, having previously turned down an offer of £14,000 from the Austrian government. Blundell Maple attempted to arrange a match race between Common and the Doncaster Cup winner Queen's Birthday over two mileas, but his challenge was not accepted. Porter refused to train for Blundell Maple and as a result, Common did not race again and was retired to stud.
in his first season to 19 guineas. He did sire one very good horse in the filly Nun Nicer who won the 1000 Guineas in 1898. Common died on 17 December 1912, at a stud near Chelmsford
, Essex
.
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 and sire. In a career that lasted from May to September 1891 he ran five times and won four races. He became the fifth, and the most lighty-raced horse to win the English 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...
by winning the 2000 Guineas 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...
, the Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
at Epsom
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half...
and the St Leger at Doncaster
Doncaster Racecourse
Doncaster Racecourse is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 31 Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy.- History :...
.
Background
Common was a “big, lathy, sinewy” brown horse, standing just over 16 handsHand (unit)
The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length, now used only for the measurement of the height of horses in some English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. With origins in ancient Egypt, it was originally based on the breadth of a human hand...
high bred at Crichel
Crichel House
Crichel House is a country house located near the village of Moor Crichel in Dorset, England. It is surrounded by of parkland, which includes a crescent-shaped lake covering ....
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
by Henry Sturt, 1st Baron Alington
Henry Sturt, 1st Baron Alington
Henry Gerard Sturt, 1st Baron Alington was a British peer and Conservative Party politician. The son of Henry Sturt, he was created 1st Baron Alington of Crichel on 15 January 1876....
who owned him during his racing career in partnership with Sir Frederick Johnstone
Sir Frederick Johnstone, 8th Baronet
Sir Frederick John William Johnstone, 8th baronet was an English racehorse owner and Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1885....
. The colt was sent into training with John Porter
John Porter (horseman)
John Porter was an English Thoroughbred flat racing trainer whose horses won the English Triple Crown three times.-Biography:Born in Rugeley, Staffordshire, the National Horseracing Museum says that John Porter "was undoubtedly the most successful trainer of the Victorian era."From 1854 to 1855,...
at Kingsclere
Kingsclere
Kingsclere is a large village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire, England. Kingsclere is located near to Watership Down, the setting of Richard Adams' 1972 novel Watership Down.-Geography:...
, and was ridden in all his races by George Barrett.
Common’s sire Isonomy
Isonomy (horse)
Isonomy was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1877 to 1880 he ran fourteen times and won ten races. As a three-year-old he deliberately bypassed the Classics in order that his owner could land a massive betting coup in the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket...
was one of the outstanding British racehorses of the 19th Century, winning 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....
in 1879 and 1880. He went on to become a successful stallion; apart from Common he sired Isinglass
Isinglass (horse)
Isinglass was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who dominated during his time in racing and won the English Triple Crown.-Racing record:...
, thus being the first of two horses to father two winners of the English Triple Crown. Common’s dam Thistle, who had been a successful racehorse, went on to produce the New Stakes winner Goldfinch and the filly Throstle who won the St Leger in 1894.
Spring: 2000 Guineas
Common was very immature as a two-year-old and Porter decided not to race him. In the spring of 1891 Common showed significant progress and produced impressive performances in training. Before he appeared on the racecourse his potential was noted by the Sporting Times who described him as an "exceedingly fine" colt. In a gallop viewed by his owners together with the Prince of Wales he easily defeated his stable companions Gone Coon and Orion, leading Porter to name the colt as a likely Classic winner. In the 2000 Guineas on 29 April he started at odds of 9/1 in a field of nine, with the French-trained Gouverneur and Peter Flower heading the betting. Shortly before the start his odds had drifted out from 7/1 with one commentator suggesting that the public were put off by his unappealing name. The runners made an even break and raced in a line across the wide Newmarket straight. Two furlongs from the finish Peter Flower showed in front but was immediately overtaken by Common who pulled clear "without an effort" and won very easily by three lengths from from Orvieto, with Peter Flower in third.Summer: Epsom Derby
At Epsom on 27 May, Common started 10/11 favourite in a field of eleven for the Derby. The conditions for the race were difficult, with mist, hail, driving rain and very soft ground. Gouverneur, whose rider's orange jacket made him one of the more visible runners, led the field in the early running, with Common first being sighted in fifth place just after half way. The French colt turned into the straight in front, with Common improving in fourth. Barrett produced Common to dispute the lead two furlongs from the finish. After racing alongside Gouverneur for a few strides, Barrett, riding in the "coolest manner" sent him clear to win "in a canter" by two lengths. Common had been heavily backed and his win was enthusiastically received despite the conditions. The rain had been so heavy that the sodden jockeys returned from the race up to three pounds heavier, and Barrett's face was described as having "enough mud on it to plant potatoes in."Common was then sent to Royal Ascot for the St. James's Palace Stakes
St. James's Palace Stakes
The St. James's Palace Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
. Only one horse, Barbatello, opposed him and he won easily. His next race was the Eclipse Stakes
Eclipse Stakes
The Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 7 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early July.-History:The event is named after Eclipse, a...
at Sandown Park Racecourse in which he faced older horses for the first time. Common started favourite at 1/2 ahead of the four-year-old filly Memoir, the winner of the 1890 Oaks
Epsom 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....
and St Leger, and Surefoot, beaten favourite in the 1890 Derby. Common disputed the lead with Gouverneur from the start until the closing stages when the two three-year-olds were joined by Surefoot. In a "most exciting" finish, Surefoot prevailed by half a length, with Gouverneur beating Common for second by a short head.
Autumn: St Leger
Common was then sent to Doncaster for the St Leger on 10 September in an attempt to complete the Triple Crown. His main challenger appeared to be the filly Mimi who was bidding to complete her own version of the Triple Crown, having won both the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks. Common started 4/5 favourite ahead of Mimi on 5/1 and the heavily-backed French colt Reverend on 11/2. Reverend took an early lead, and set a strong pace in an attempt to expose any weaknesses in Common's stamina. The French colt maintained his lead into the straight, just ahead of Common and the outsider St Simon of the Rock. Common came under pressure and appeared to be beaten but responded well and a furlong from the finish the three colts were level. In the closing stages Common began to pull ahead and after a "splendid race" he crossed the line a length in front of Reverend, with St Simon of the Rock a neck away in third. The race was described by one London correspondent as "one of the finest that have been witnessed in the North for many years."Shortly after his win in the St Leger, Common’s owners sold the colt for £15,000 to John Blundell Maple, the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
M.P. and owner of the Childwick Bury Stud
Childwick Bury Stud
Childwick Bury Stud is a Thoroughbred horse breeding farm near St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.Originally built in 1888 by Sir John Blundell Maple as part of his Childwick Bury estate, he bred and raced Thoroughbreds and built Childwick Bury Stud into a very successful horse breeding operation...
, having previously turned down an offer of £14,000 from the Austrian government. Blundell Maple attempted to arrange a match race between Common and the Doncaster Cup winner Queen's Birthday over two mileas, but his challenge was not accepted. Porter refused to train for Blundell Maple and as a result, Common did not race again and was retired to stud.
Assessment
Porter said of Common that if he had stayed in training he would have “proved one of the greatest Cup horses of modern times."Stud career
Common was not a success at stud, a fact illustrated by his stud fee, which fell from 200 guineasGuinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
in his first season to 19 guineas. He did sire one very good horse in the filly Nun Nicer who won the 1000 Guineas in 1898. Common died on 17 December 1912, at a stud near Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.