Ridge Wood

Ridge Wood
Sire	Bois Roussel
Grandsire	Vatout
Dam	Hanging Fall
Damsire	Solario
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1946
Country	United Kingdom
Colour	Bay or Brown
Breeder	Sledmere Stud
Owner	Geoffrey Smith
Trainer	Noel Murless
Record	12: 7-1-2
Earnings	£21,658
Major wins
Oxfordshire Stakes (1949) St Leger Stakes (1949)
Awards
Timeform rating 124

Ridge Wood (1946–1956) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes in 1949. The colt was rejected by his prospective owner as a yearling and failed to win as a two-year-old in 1948. Even after winning five of his first six races as a three-year-old he was not regarded as a top-class performer even by his trainer, who only ran him in the St Leger when a more fancied stable companion was injured. After winning the Leger as a 14/1 outsider, Ridge Wood was defeated in his only subsequent start and was retired to stud, where he was a failure as a breeding stallion. He died at the age of ten in 1956.

Ridge Wood was a dark bay or brown horse with one white foot bred by the Sledmere Stud of Driffield, East Yorkshire. He was sired by Bois Roussel, a French-bred horse who won the 1938 Epsom Derby before becoming a successful breeding stallion. His other progeny included the St Leger winner Tehran and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Migoli. Ridge Wood's dam Hanging Fall was not a successful racehorse but came from a good family, being a great-granddaughter of the influential broodmare Dinner. Other direct descendants of Dinner have included High Top, Old Vic, Four Course (1000 Guineas) and Acatenango.

As yearling he was offered for sale at Doncaster where he was bought for 4,000 guineas by the trainer Noel Murless. Murless offered the colt to his patron Lord Feversham who rejected him in favour of a more expensive colt by Nearco later named Krakatao. The option to buy Ridge Wood was taken up by Geoffrey Smith and the colt was sent into training with Murless at Hambleton in Yorkshire.

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