Macaroni (horse)

Macaroni
Macaroni, painted by Harry Hall in 1863.
Sire	Sweetmeat
Grandsire	Gladiator
Dam	Jocose
Damsire	Pantaloon
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1860
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster
Owner	Richard Naylor
Trainer	James Godding
Record	8: 7-1-0
Earnings	£10,615
Major wins
2000 Guineas (1863) Epsom Derby (1863) Doncaster Cup (1863)

Macaroni (1860–1887) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from October 1862 to September 1863 he ran eight times and won seven races. In 1863 he won all seven of his races including the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Epsom Derby and the Doncaster Cup.

Macaroni was bred by Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster at his Eaton stud in Cheshire. In 1861 Macaroni was one of several yearlings at the stud to be affected by an outbreak of an equine respiratory disease known as Strangles, which adversely affected his physical development and persuaded the Marquis to sell him. Macaroni was part of a lot of six yearlings bought for £700 by the Liverpool banker Richard Naylor, who had recently started his own stud at Hooton Park on the Wirral Peninsula.

Naylor sent the young horses to be trained by James "Jem" Godding at his Palace House stable at Newmarket, Suffolk. At the time, Newmarket was falling out of favour as a base for preparing horses for the Classics, and many leading owners and trainers had shifted their operations to centres in Berkshire and Sussex.

Macaroni’s sire, Sweetmeat, a descendant of the Byerley Turk, was a very good racehorse, being unbeaten in sixteen races in 1845. In addition to Macaroni, he sired the Epsom Oaks winners Mincemeat and Mincepie as well as Parmesan who sired the Derby winners Favonius and Cremorne.