King Fergus
| King Fergus | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Eclipse |
| Grandsire | Marske |
| Dam | Creeping Polly |
| Damsire | Othello |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1775 |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Mr Carver |
| Owner | Dennis O'Kelly John Croke |
| Major wins | |
| 500 guineas sweepstakes at Bath (1779) | |
| Awards | |
| Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland (1797) | |
King Fergus (1775–1801) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won several races, but achieved greater success as a sire. He was British Champion sire in 1797 and his progeny included St Leger Stakes winner Hambletonian, who was only defeated once in his 19 race career.
King Fergus was a chestnut colt bred by Mr Carver and foaled in 1775. He was sired by the undefeated Eclipse. Eclipse was also one of the leading sires of the time, with his progeny also including Pot-8-Os, Saltram, Serjeant and Young Eclipse. King Fergus was the ninth foal of Creeping Polly, a daughter of Othello. King Fergus grew to stand 16 hands high and was "remarkably full of bone, great sinews, well shaped, and free from blemishes."
King Fergus only raced once as a three-year-old, finishing second to Miss Wickham at Bath. At Bath on 27 September 1779 he started as the 1/5 favourite to win a 500 guineas sweepstakes and beat Cinderwench to win the four-mile race. In October he was due to race Sir John Lade's Bet Boucher over two miles, but Lade paid a forfeit.
In 1780, on the Monday of Newmarket's second spring meeting, he beat Sir John Lade's Knight Errant. Two days later at Newmarket he raced against Dorimant and Pot-8-Os in a 140 guineas race. King Fergus was leading as they passed the stands, but cast a shoe. Pot-8-Os won, with King Fergus in second place. In May 1780, at Epsom, he won a £50 race comprising three four-mile heats. He beat Epsom, Jugurtha, Don Joseph, Chance, Neptune, Holyhock and Foppington, with King Fergus starting as the favourite (priced at about 8/11). In October he beat the Duke of Cumberland's Pomona of three miles to win 200 guineas. Later in the month he beat Lord Derby's Guildford (who had started as the 1/2 favourite) to win 200 guineas. Two days later he beat five rivals to win a subscription stakes of five guineas each. Lord Grosvenor's Truth had started as the 4/6 favourite, with King Fergus at 7/4.
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