Hermit (horse)

Hermit
Hermit as painted by Harry Hall (1870s).
Sire	Newminster
Grandsire	Touchstone
Dam	Seclusion
Damsire	Tadmor
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1864
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	William Blenkiron
Owner	Henry Chaplin
Trainer	George Bloss
Record	23: 8–9–0
Earnings	£41,261
Major wins
Epsom Derby (1867) St. James's Palace Stakes (1867)
Honours
Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland (1880–1886) Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland (5 times)
Last updated on 14 February 2011

Hermit (1864–1890), sometimes known, incorrectly as "The Hermit", was a 19th-century British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from April 1866 until July 1869 he ran 23 times and won eight races. He was a leading two-year-old in 1866 and won the 1867 Epsom Derby, despite breaking down in training shortly before the race. He continued to race until the age of five, but never recovered his form after running three times in three days at Doncaster in September 1867. After his retirement he had a long and highly successful career at stud.

Hermit was a "yellowish" chestnut stallion standing about 15.2 hands (62 inches, 157 cm) high with a narrow white blaze. He was by the stallion Newminster who won the St Leger in 1851 before going on to a successful stud career in which his other notable winners included Musjid (Epsom Derby) and Lord Clifden (St Leger, Champion sire). Hermit's dam was Seclusion a winning daughter of Tadmor. Hermit's sire and dam were both bleeders and passed the condition on to Hermit. By contemporary accounts, Hermit was a good-natured horse with a gentle disposition.

He was bred by William Blenkiron at the Middle Park stud in Kent and offered for sale as a yearling at Eltham on 17 June 1865. He was bought for 1,000 guineas by Captain James Machell on behalf of Henry Chaplin. Machell acted as Chaplin's racing manager although the day-to-day training of the colt was handled by George Bloss.