Sam (horse)

Sam
"Sam with Sam Chifney up" by Benjamin Marshall.
Sire	Scud
Grandsire	Beningbrough
Dam	Goosander
Damsire	Hambletonian
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1815
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour	Brown
Breeder	Thomas Thornhill
Owner	Thomas Thornhill
Trainer	R. Perren Samuel & William Chifney
Record	9:3-2-3
Major wins
Epsom Derby (1818)

Sam (1815 – after 1827) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from April 1818 to May 1819 he ran nine times and won three races. In May 1818 he defeated fifteen opponents to record his most important win in the Epsom Derby. His only other wins came in a walkover and a match race. After running without success as a four-year-old, Sam was retired to stud but made no impact as a sire of winners.

Sam was described as a "low, lengthy and plain sort of horse, with a sour countenance, and a delicate constitution," sired by the Doncaster Cup winner Scud out of the mare Hyale. Hyale produced several other winners and was a half-sister to Goosander, a highly successful broodmare who produced the Epsom Oaks winner Shoveler and the Derby winner Sailor. Sam was bred by his owner, Thomas Thornhill at his stud at Riddlesworth, Norfolk, and trained by Thornhill's father-in-law, Mr Perren.

Sam was named after his regular jockey Sam Chifney, Jr. Chifney was one of the outstanding jockeys of his era, and one of the first to hold horses up in the early stages of a race before finishing strongly: he became famous for this tactic which became known as the "Chifney Rush". He eventually became the joint-trainer of the colt that bore his name.

Sam was unraced as a two-year-old and made his debut at Newmarket on 13 April 1818 when he ran in the Riddlesworth Stakes, a race for three-year-olds which at that time was regarded as being equal in status to the Classics. He started at odds of 9/1 and finished unplaced behind Prince Paul. Three days later he was able to record his first "win" when he was allowed to walk over for a 100 guinea sweepstakes after his only rival, a colt by Walton owned by the Duke of Rutland, was withdrawn from the race.