Pocahontas (horse)

Pocahontas (1837–1870) was an English Thoroughbred racehorse and the dam of three sires who had a great influence on the breed. Although mares are not generally considered to be as influential as sires, Thoroughbred Heritage refers to Pocahontas as "one of the most influential Thoroughbreds of all time, male or female."

Bred at the Royal Stud at Hampton Court, Pocahontas was by Glencoe, winner of the 2,000 Guineas, Goodwood Cup, Ascot Gold Cup, and The Whip, and later a renowned sire in America. Pocahontas' dam, Marpessa, won the Nursery Stakes at Newmarket as a two-year-old and the Goodwood Stakes as a three-year-old. She was bred to Glencoe in 1836 and produced her first foal, the filly Pocahontas. She later produced Idas (2,000 Guineas winner), Jeremy Diddler, and Boarding School Miss.

After the death of King William IV, the stud at Hampton Court was dispersed. Marpessa and Pocahontas (still a foal) were bought for 230 guineas by Lord Stradbroke. As a yearling, Pocahontas was sold to Mr. Greatorex for 62 guineas. Pocahontas was quite small (maturing only to 14 hands 3 inches 59 inches (150 cm) high) but was said to have had good shoulders and hindquarters, with straight legs. However, she was known for her rather difficult temperament and (like her mother) was a roarer.

Pocahontas raced once as a two-year-old, finishing third at the Criterion Stakes (after Gibraltar and Crucifix, who won in a dead heat). She raced again as a three-year-old; she was the favorite in the Oaks but finished fourth, partly due to her poor behavior. She finished fifth in the Goodwood Stakes, racing against some of the best males at that time. Pocahontas raced three times as a four-year-old; although she was unplaced in the Goodwood Cup and the Cesarewitch Handicap, she placed second three times during her four- and five-year-old seasons. Between the Goodwood Cup and the Cesarewitch, Pocahontas was sold to Mr. William Theobald (owner of Stockwell Stud). She was winless in her nine starts; this may have been because she was competing against high-quality male horses, or because of her roaring.