Sir Visto
Encyclopedia
Sir Visto was a British Thoroughbred
racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1894 to 1896 he ran thirteen times and won three races. As a three-year-old in the 1895 he won both the Epsom Derby
and the St Leger
at Doncaster
. He failed to win in six subsequent races and was retired to stud at the end of the 1896 season.
by his owner Lord Rosebery
, a prominent Liberal
statesman who became Prime Minister
in 1894. Sir Visto's St Leger was the last of twenty-eight classic wins gained by his trainer Mathew Dawson. Dawson, who was over seventy at the time had "retired" from large-scale training in 1885, but continued to handle a small number of horses at his Melton House Stable.
Sir Visto's sire was the undefeated Irish champion Barcaldine
, a representative of the Godolphin Arabian
sire line, who also sired the double Classic winner Mimi. Sir Visto’s dam, Vista, was an excellent broodmare who also produced the Derby runner up Velasquez, and Bona Vista the 2000 Guineas winner who, as the grandsire of Phalaris
is the male-line ancestor of most modern thoroughbreds.
. He led into the final furlong and held off the late challenge of the filly Float by a short head with the future 1000 Guineas Galeottia in third.
At the end of the year, a writer in The Sportsman
noted that Sir Visto had "grown and gone on well", and had been seen working with the stable's 1894 Derby winner Ladas
.
On his three-year-old debut, Sir Visto ran in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket
on 1 May and started 5/1 third favourite of the eight runners. Ridden by Walter Bradford, he raced prominently and led at half way. In the last quarter mile he was overtaken, but ran on to finish third, three lengths behind the winner Kirkconnel and two behind the runner-up Laveno.
Two weeks later he finished third, beaten a neck and three quarters of a length, to The Owl and Solaro in an "exciting race" for the Newmarket Stakes, with Kirkconnel fourth
The race was filmed by the photographer and film pioneer Birt Acres
. The footage
was considered lost until its rediscovery in 1995.
On 4 July he carried top weight of 131 pounds
in the £10,000 Princess of Wales's Stakes
at Newmarket. He was never among the leaders and finished unplaced behind the odds-on favourite Le Var, to whom he was conceding sixteen pounds.
, took the lead in the straight with Sam Loates moving Sir Visto up to second. A furlong from the finish Sir Visto took the lead and held off the sustained challenge of the outsider Telescope to win an "exciting" and "well contested" race by three-quarters of a length. After the race he was described as looking "stiff and sore" and "much distressed", with observers suggesting that he was suffering from the combined effects of the hard race and his leg injury. Sir Visto never won another race.
On his last race of the year he ran in the £10,000 Jockey Club Stakes
at Newmarket on September 26. Lord Rosebery "declared to win" with Ladas, leaving Sir Visto to carry his second colours. Carrying 133 pounds he made no show and was unplaced behind Laveno, who was carrying seventeen pounds less.
as his principal target. He made his seasonal reappearance in the Ascot race on 18 June but although he looked impressive, with one commentator noting that he had "grown into a grand horse", he was never a danger and finished last of the six runners behind Love Wisely. He did rather better in his next race two weeks later when he finished fifth of the nine runners behind St Frusquin and Persimmon
in an exceptionally strong field for the Princess of Wales's Stakes.
On October 2 he produced his best performance in over a year when he finished two lengths second to Persimmon
in the Jockey Club Stakes
over ten furlongs. Carrying top weight of 142 pounds, he was never able to threaten the winner, but proved too good for the rest of a strong field which included Laveno and Kirkconnel Eleven days later he started 5/4 favourite for the Champion Stakes
(a much less valuable race) over the same course and distance, but finished third of the four runners, beaten three quarters of a length and three lengths by Labrador and Marco. On his final start, Sir Visto ran in the Cambridgeshire Handicap
at Newmarket on October 28, carrying 122 pounds. He finished twelfth of the twenty-four starters behind Winkfield's Pride, who carried 94 pounds, and was then retired to stud.
by his trainer Mat Dawson. Later in the season, after his win in the St Leger he was being described as the best stayer of a sub-standard generation.
Sir Visto earned £4,309 in win prize money at two, and £10,025 at three.
for his stud career, but made no impact as a stallion. His last foals were conceived in 1908, after which he was retired to Lord Rosebery’s stables at The Durdans near Epsom. He was euthanized in 1914
and buried at The Durdans where a stone still marks the spot.
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 1894 to 1896 he ran thirteen times and won three races. As a three-year-old in the 1895 he won both the Epsom 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...
and 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...
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 :...
. He failed to win in six subsequent races and was retired to stud at the end of the 1896 season.
Background
Sir Visto was described as “a lengthy, rather plain bay with sickle hocks”, but an excellent mover. He was also described as looking powerful but "unfurnished" and "split-up". He was bred at the Crafton StudMentmore Towers
Mentmore Towers is a 19th century English country house in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. The house was designed by Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, in the revival Elizabethan and Jacobean style of the late 16th century called Jacobethan, for the banker and...
by his owner Lord Rosebery
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who...
, a prominent Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
statesman who became Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
in 1894. Sir Visto's St Leger was the last of twenty-eight classic wins gained by his trainer Mathew Dawson. Dawson, who was over seventy at the time had "retired" from large-scale training in 1885, but continued to handle a small number of horses at his Melton House Stable.
Sir Visto's sire was the undefeated Irish champion Barcaldine
Barcaldine (horse)
Barcaldine was an outstanding, undefeated British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He succeeded in carrying on the Matchem sire-line which would have died out in Europe without his sons and grandsons...
, a representative of the Godolphin Arabian
Godolphin Arabian
The Godolphin Arabian , also known as the Godolphin Barb, was an Arabian horse who was one of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock...
sire line, who also sired the double Classic winner Mimi. Sir Visto’s dam, Vista, was an excellent broodmare who also produced the Derby runner up Velasquez, and Bona Vista the 2000 Guineas winner who, as the grandsire of Phalaris
Phalaris (horse)
Phalaris was a British bred Thoroughbred racehorse, later a Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland and a Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland...
is the male-line ancestor of most modern thoroughbreds.
1894: two-year-old season
Sir Visto made his first appearance at Epsom at the Derby meeting in June. Ridden by John Watts, he was not particularly fancied and finished unplaced behind Saintly in the Woodcote Stakes. Later reports claimed that he was only "half-fit" for the race. He was then off the course for four months before reappearing in the valuable Imperial Produce Stakes at KemptonKempton Park Racecourse
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, which is a western suburb of London 16 miles from the city centre. The site is set in of land....
. He led into the final furlong and held off the late challenge of the filly Float by a short head with the future 1000 Guineas Galeottia in third.
At the end of the year, a writer in The Sportsman
The Sportsman (1865 newspaper)
The first British newspaper titled The Sportsman began publishing from 1865, some six years after the Sporting Life. It ran until 1924....
noted that Sir Visto had "grown and gone on well", and had been seen working with the stable's 1894 Derby winner Ladas
Ladas (horse)
Ladas was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1893 to 1894 he ran eleven times and won seven races. He was the outstanding British two-year-old of 1893 when he was unbeaten in four starts. In the following year he won the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Derby...
.
Spring
Before the season began, Sir Visto was identified as one of the "most-fancied" Derby contenders in what was regarded as an unusually open year, with no dominant champion. Lord Rosebery was reported to have described the colt as a stayer who would be well suited by the Derby distance of one and a half miles.On his three-year-old debut, Sir Visto ran in 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...
on 1 May and started 5/1 third favourite of the eight runners. Ridden by Walter Bradford, he raced prominently and led at half way. In the last quarter mile he was overtaken, but ran on to finish third, three lengths behind the winner Kirkconnel and two behind the runner-up Laveno.
Two weeks later he finished third, beaten a neck and three quarters of a length, to The Owl and Solaro in an "exciting race" for the Newmarket Stakes, with Kirkconnel fourth
Summer
At Epsom on 29 May, Sir Visto started at odds of 9/1 in a field of fifteen for the Derby. The race took place on a bright, breezy day in front of a crowd including the Prince of Wales. Chibiabos made the early running before Beckhampton took over and led the field into the straight. Sir Visto, ridden by Sam Loates, had been held up at the back of the field and began to make steady "almost unobserved" progress in the last half mile. Curzon and Kirkconnel moved past Beckhampton two furlongs from the finish and raced alongside each other with the race apparently between them until Sir Visto appeared on the stands-side traveling with a "remarkable rapidity" to take the lead fifty yards from the line. He won by three-quarters of a length from Curzon with Kirkconnel half a length further back in third.The race was filmed by the photographer and film pioneer Birt Acres
Birt Acres
Birt Acres was a photographer and film pioneer.Born in Richmond, Virginia to English parents, he invented the first British 35 mm moving picture camera, the first daylight loading home movie camera and projector, Birtac, was the first travelling newsreel reporter in international film history and...
. The footage
The Derby (1895 film)
The Derby is an 1895 British short black-and-white silent documentary film, produced and directed by Birt Acres for exhibition on Robert W. Paul's peep show Kinetoscopes, featuring the end of the May 29 1895 Epsom Derby viewed from a raised position close to the finishing line with the main stand...
was considered lost until its rediscovery in 1995.
On 4 July he carried top weight of 131 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
in the £10,000 Princess of Wales's Stakes
Princess 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. He was never among the leaders and finished unplaced behind the odds-on favourite Le Var, to whom he was conceding sixteen pounds.
Autumn
In the St Leger on 11 September Sir Visto started 9/4 favourite in a field of eleven. His connections were given a cause for concern on the day before the race when the colt was left unattended and became cast in his box. He sustained a minor injury to a foreleg but was allowed to run. As at Epsom, Sir Visto was held up towards the rear of the field as the pace was set first by Lord Chester and then Matchmaker. The filly Butterfly, winner of the Coronation StakesCoronation Stakes
The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.-History:...
, took the lead in the straight with Sam Loates moving Sir Visto up to second. A furlong from the finish Sir Visto took the lead and held off the sustained challenge of the outsider Telescope to win an "exciting" and "well contested" race by three-quarters of a length. After the race he was described as looking "stiff and sore" and "much distressed", with observers suggesting that he was suffering from the combined effects of the hard race and his leg injury. Sir Visto never won another race.
On his last race of the year he ran in the £10,000 Jockey Club Stakes
Jockey Club Stakes
The Jockey Club Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs at Newmarket, and the final part of the race is on the Rowley Mile...
at Newmarket on September 26. Lord Rosebery "declared to win" with Ladas, leaving Sir Visto to carry his second colours. Carrying 133 pounds he made no show and was unplaced behind Laveno, who was carrying seventeen pounds less.
1896: four-year-old season
Sir Visto was kept in training as a four year old in 1896 with the Gold CupAscot 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....
as his principal target. He made his seasonal reappearance in the Ascot race on 18 June but although he looked impressive, with one commentator noting that he had "grown into a grand horse", he was never a danger and finished last of the six runners behind Love Wisely. He did rather better in his next race two weeks later when he finished fifth of the nine runners behind St Frusquin and Persimmon
Persimmon (horse)
Persimmon was an outstanding British-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse and sire who won the Epsom Derby in 1896. This was the first horse race ever filmed, by Robert W. Paul and Birt Acres....
in an exceptionally strong field for the Princess of Wales's Stakes.
On October 2 he produced his best performance in over a year when he finished two lengths second to Persimmon
Persimmon (horse)
Persimmon was an outstanding British-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse and sire who won the Epsom Derby in 1896. This was the first horse race ever filmed, by Robert W. Paul and Birt Acres....
in the Jockey Club Stakes
Jockey Club Stakes
The Jockey Club Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs at Newmarket, and the final part of the race is on the Rowley Mile...
over ten furlongs. Carrying top weight of 142 pounds, he was never able to threaten the winner, but proved too good for the rest of a strong field which included Laveno and Kirkconnel Eleven days later he started 5/4 favourite for the Champion Stakes
Champion Stakes
The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in October...
(a much less valuable race) over the same course and distance, but finished third of the four runners, beaten three quarters of a length and three lengths by Labrador and Marco. On his final start, Sir Visto ran in the Cambridgeshire Handicap
Cambridgeshire Handicap
The Cambridgeshire Handicap is a flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlong , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September or early October.The event...
at Newmarket on October 28, carrying 122 pounds. He finished twelfth of the twenty-four starters behind Winkfield's Pride, who carried 94 pounds, and was then retired to stud.
Assessment and earnings
After his win in the Derby was rated fourteen pounds inferior to LadasLadas (horse)
Ladas was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1893 to 1894 he ran eleven times and won seven races. He was the outstanding British two-year-old of 1893 when he was unbeaten in four starts. In the following year he won the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Derby...
by his trainer Mat Dawson. Later in the season, after his win in the St Leger he was being described as the best stayer of a sub-standard generation.
Sir Visto earned £4,309 in win prize money at two, and £10,025 at three.
Stud career
Sir Visto was retired to his birthplace at MentmoreMentmore Towers
Mentmore Towers is a 19th century English country house in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. The house was designed by Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, in the revival Elizabethan and Jacobean style of the late 16th century called Jacobethan, for the banker and...
for his stud career, but made no impact as a stallion. His last foals were conceived in 1908, after which he was retired to Lord Rosebery’s stables at The Durdans near Epsom. He was euthanized in 1914
and buried at The Durdans where a stone still marks the spot.