Sancho (horse)
| Sancho | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Don Quixote |
| Grandsire | Eclipse |
| Dam | Highflyer mare |
| Damsire | Highflyer |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1801 |
| Country | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Colonel Harry Mellish |
| Owner | Colonel Harry Mellish |
| Trainer | Bartle Atkinson |
| Record | 12: 8-4-0 |
| Earnings | £5,954 |
| Major wins | |
|
St Leger Stakes (1804) Match against Hannibal (1805) Match against Pavilion (1805) Match against Bobtail (1805) Match against Sir David (1805) |
|
Sancho (1801–September 1809) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes in 1804. In a racing career which lasted from May 1804 until October 1806 he won eight of his twelve competitive races. Originally trained in Yorkshire, he was undefeated in four races as a three-year-old in 1805, culminating with his victory in the St Leger at Doncaster Racecourse. In the following season he was transferred to race in the south of England where he won a series of lucrative match races against some of the leading horses of the day. His five-year-old season proved disappointing and expensive for his owner as he was injured and beaten in both of his races. Sancho was retired from racing and showed considerable promise as a sire of winners in a brief stud career.
Sancho was a bay horse owned and bred Colonel Henry Mellish, a veteran of the Peninsular War, who engaged in duelling, prize-fighting and dog-fighting. His enthusiasm for racing of any kind was such that he once trained a pig to race and gambled on which of two raindrops would be the first to reach the bottom of a window-pane. Sancho was trained by the former jockey Bartle Atkinson.
Sancho's, sire Don Quixote was a chestnut son of Eclipse bred by Mr Taylor. Apart from Sancho, his most notable offspring was the successful breeding stallion Cervantes. Sancho's dam, an unnamed mare by Highflyer, was a sister of the St Leger winner Cowslip and of the influential broodmares Maid of All Work and Rachel.
At the time of Sancho's racing career, sweepstake races, in which a number of owners contributed a relatively small sum towards the prize money, were popular, but the most valuable events were match races with two runners. In these events, each of the owners put up half the prize, with the winner taking all. If a horse failed to appear for a race its owner usually had to pay a forfeit, typically amounting to half his original stake. Sancho, for instance, won 600 guineas for winning the St Leger in 1805, but 3000 guineas for winning a match race in the following year.
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