Potoooooooo

Potoooooooo (Pot-8-Os)
Potoooooooo, or Pot-8-Os
Sire	Eclipse
Grandsire	Marske
Dam	Sportsmistress
Damsire	Regulus
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1773
Country	Great Britain
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon
Owner	Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor
Record	40 starts - 34 wins
Major wins
1200 Guineas Stakes (1778) Clermont Cup (1779, 1780, 1782) Jockey Club Plate (1780, 1781, 1782) October Cup (1780) Newmarket Whip (1781, 1783) Craven Stakes (1782)

Potoooooooo or variations of Pot-8-Os (1773 – November 1800) was a famous 18th-century Thoroughbred racehorse who won over 30 races and defeated some of the greatest racehorses of the time. In his later life, he was also a highly influential sire.

Potoooooooo (also spelled Pot-8-Os, Pot8Os, Pot8O's or Pot 8 Os in various sources) was a chestnut colt bred by Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon, in 1773. He was sired by the undefeated Eclipse. He was the first foal out of Sportsmistress, who was sired by Warren's Sportsman and traced to Thwaites' Dun Mare from family number 38 on her dam's side.

The origin of his name has several different versions. According to one, Abingdon intended to call the young colt "Potato" and instructed the stable boy to write the name on a feed bin. The stable boy facetiously spelled the name as "Potoooooooo" (Pot followed by 8 "o"s), which so amused Abingdon that he adopted the spelling. Subsequent writers have used a variety of spellings that reflect the intended pronunciation, "Potatoes". In The Jockey Club's online database equineline.com, the name is spelled as Pot8O's. The General Stud Book uses Potoooooooo.

Potoooooooo raced from 1776 to 1783, accumulating from 28 to 34 wins from an estimated 40 starts, mostly in 4 mile races on Newmarket's Beacon course. In 1776, he won a 100 guinea sweepstakes at Newmarket's first spring meeting. In 1777 at age four, he finished second in two Newmarket races for 4 year old colts, third at Nottingham, and fifth in the Great Subscription Purse at York.

In 1778 at age five, Potoooooooo was entered in the 1200 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket's first spring meeting. During the race, Abingdon sold the horse to Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor for 1,500 guineas. Potoooooooo won the race and subsequently raced under Grosvenor's yellow and black silks. His subsequent wins that year included the 140 guineas subscription purse at the second spring meeting, a subscription at Ipswich, a £50 purse at Swaffham and another subscription race at Newmarket's second October meeting.