St. Giles (horse)

St. Giles
St. Giles. Painting by John Frederick Herring, Sr.
Sire	Tramp
Grandsire	Dick Andrews
Dam	Arcot Lass
Damsire	Ardrossan
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1829
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	Robert Ridsdale
Owner	Robert Ridsdale & John Gully
Trainer	J. Webb John Barham Day
Record	11:5-0-1
Major wins
Epsom Derby (1832)

St. Giles (1829 – circa 1839) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from October 1831 to July 1835 he ran eleven times and won five races. After showing little form as a two-year-old, he made marked improvement to win his first three races of 1832, culminating with a highly-controversial success in the Epsom Derby. His only subsequent wins came in two minor races in 1835 and he was eventually sold and exported to stand as a stallion in the United States.

St. Giles was a dark chestnut horse bred by Mr Cattle, a farmer from Sheriff Hutton in Yorkshire. He was bought from his breeder by Robert Ridsdale, a professional gambler with a reputation for dishonesty and corruption. Ridsdale owned the colt in partnership with John Gully, a former champion prize-fighter and gambler who went on to become a Member of Parliament.

St. Giles was sired by Tramp, who won several important races in 1813 and 1814 and went on to become a very successful stallion, siring important winners including Dangerous (Epsom Derby) and Barefoot (St Leger). St. Giles's dam, Arcot Lass was one of the few mares to produce two Derby winners, being also the dam of Bloomsbury.

St. Giles was unnamed and ran as "Mr. Ridsdale's ch. c. by Tramp out of Arcot Lass" when he made his debut in the Two-Year-Old Plate at Newmarket in October 1831. He started favourite at odds of 5/2 but finished unplaced behind the filly Miss Mary Anne. At the end of the month he returned to Newmarket for the Nursery Stakes, a handicap race over one mile in which he carried 104 pounds. Running for the first time as "St. Giles" he finished fourth of the six runners behind a colt named Gratis.