Sir Tatton Sykes

Sir Tatton Sykes
Sir Tatton Sykes, painting by John Frederick Herring, Jr.
Sire	Melbourne
Grandsire	Humphrey Clinker
Dam	Margrave mare
Damsire	Margrave
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1843
Country	United Kingdom
Colour	Bay
Breeder	J. L. Hudson
Owner	Bill Scott
Trainer	William Oates
Record	11:4-4-0
Earnings	£5,855
Major wins
2000 Guineas (1846) St. Leger Stakes (1846)

Sir Tatton Sykes (1843–1860), who also raced under the name Tibthorpe, was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from spring 1846 to summer 1848 he ran eleven times and won four races. As a three-year-old in 1846 he won two of the three races which became known as the Triple Crown, taking the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the St Leger at Doncaster. He was considered by some to have been unlucky when he was narrowly defeated in the Epsom Derby. The rest of his career was a disappointment as he won only one race in the next two seasons. After being retired to stud he had some success as a sire of winners.

The colt who would become Sir Tatton Sykes was bred near Driffield by a farmer named Hudson. He was a bright bay horse standing 15.2 hands high with large, drooping ears, a white blaze and one white foot and was described as having a "quiet and docile" temperament. He was sired by Melbourne, a member of the Godolphin Arabian sire-line who went on to get the Triple Crown winner West Australian and the outstanding filly Blink Bonny. His dam, an unnamed mare by Margrave went on to produce the important broodmare Lady Elizabeth.

As a young horse he was bought for £10 by Bill Scott. Scott had recently quarreled with his brother John Scott, the leading racehorse trainer of the time, and had set up his own stable near Malton, North Yorkshire, with the day-to-day conditioning of the horses being handled by William Oates. Bill Scott, who rode many of his own horses, was one of the most successful jockeys of his era, although he was also noted for his heavy drinking and rough riding tactics. Scott named his bay colt Tibthorpe, after a village near Driffield.