Flying Childers
| Flying Childers | |
|---|---|
Flying Childers
|
|
| Sire | Darley Arabian |
| Dam | Betty Leedes |
| Damsire | Wharton's Careless |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1714 |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Colonel Leonard Childers of Cantley Hall |
| Owner | 2nd Duke of Devonshire |
| Record | 6 starts, 6 wins |
| Awards | |
| Leading sire in GB and Ireland (1730, 1736) | |
| Honours | |
| Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster Racecourse | |
| Last updated on 23 August 2009 | |
Flying Childers was a famous undefeated 18th century Thoroughbred racehorse, foaled in 1714 at Carr House, Warmsworth, Doncaster, and is often cited as the first truly great racehorse in the history of Thoroughbreds.
Flying Childers was sired by the great Darley Arabian, one of the three foundation stallions of the Thoroughbred breed. His dam Betty Leedes, was by (Old) Careless and she was inbred to Spanker in the second and third generations (2x3). Betty Leedes was also the dam of the unraced, but successful sire, Bartlett's or Bleeding Childers who was also by the Darley Arabian. (Old) Careless was by the great stallion Spanker, and both were thought to be the best racehorses of their generation. Betty Leedes was one of the few outside mares allowed to breed to the Darley Arabian, who was mostly kept as a private sire by his owner.
Flying Childers gained the name of his breeder, Colonel Leonard Childers, in addition to his owner, the Duke of Devonshire, often being referred to as either Devonshire Childers or Flying Childers or sometimes simply Childers. Although the Duke received many offers for the colt, including one to pay for the horse's weight in gold, he remained the animal's owner throughout his life.
First racing at age six, the 15.2 hand colt won his maiden race, held April 1721 at Newmarket, to defeat Speedwell. He then won his second race in October, also at Newmarket, in a walk over, and his third race against Almanzor. It is said he completed this race, over the Round Course at Newmarket, in 6 minutes, 40 seconds and that he reached a speed of 82 1/2 feet per second or 1 mile per minute. This was claimed to make Flying Childers the only horse on record as having matched the top speed of the unbeaten Eclipse. By way of comparison, this would be nearly 40 seconds faster than the unbeaten Frankel ran the Newmarket Rowley Mile in his famous 2,000 Guineas victory of 2011, over 30 seconds faster than the current mile track record and very close to the five furlong track record set by Lochsong in 1994.
As a seven-year-old, he won his one start, a race at Newmarket where he beat Chaunter. In 1723, he won both his starts by walk over, one in April at Newmarket, the other a matchrace against Bobsey, who forfeited. Flying Childers then retired to stud.
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