Felstead (horse)

Felstead
Sire	Spion Kop
Grandsire	Spearmint
Dam	Comedienne
Damsire	Lemberg
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1925
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Hugo Cunliffe-Owen
Owner	Hugo Cunliffe-Owen
Trainer	Oswald Bell
Record	9: 3-1-1
Earnings	£
Major wins
Epsom Derby (1928)

Felstead (1925–1946) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After failing to show any worthwhile form as a two-year-old he made exceptional improvement as a three-year-old to win the 1928 Epsom Derby at odds of 33/1 in record time. Soon after his win at Epsom, Felstead was injured in training and never ran again. He later had some success as a stallion.

Felstead, a bay horse standing 16.2 hands high with a white blaze and white socks on his hind legs was bred by his owner Sir Hugo Cunliffe-Owen at his Sunningdale Stud in Berkshire. Cunliffe-Owen paid 2,100 gns at the Newmarket sales in July 1924 for the mare Felkington who was then in foal (pregnant) to the Derby winner Spion Kop. The resulting foal was named Felstead and grew into a powerful-looking individual with "a rump on him which a heavyweight hunter could not better."

Felkington had been a successful racehorse and went on to be a highly successful broodmare: apart from Felstead she produced six other winners including the Gold Cup winner Finis. Spion Kop was a good sire of stayers, with his progeny including Kopi (Irish Derby), Bongrace (Doncaster Cup) and The Bastard (Yorkshire Cup, Leading sire in Australia). Felstead was inbred 3x4 to the New Zealand bred Carbine (see below), to whom he was said to bear a striking resemblance.

Felstead was sent into training with the Australian Oswald “Ossie” Bell at his Delamere House Stables in Lambourn. Bell's involvement and Carbine's southern hemisphere origins led the Sydney Sun to describe Felstead's Epsom victory as "Australia's Derby". The first LNER Class A3 steam locomotive, a development of the earlier Class A1, was named after the horse.

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