Touchstone (horse)

Touchstone
Painter: John Frederick Herring, Sr. (1795–1865)
Sire	Camel
Grandsire	Whalebone
Dam	Banter
Damsire	Master Henry
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1831 died 1861 30 year
Country	Great Britain
Colour	Brown
Breeder	Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster
Owner	Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster
Trainer	John Scott
Record	21: 15–2–2
Earnings	£5,475
Major wins
Dee Stakes (1834) St. Leger Stakes (1834) Doncaster Gold Cup (1835, 1836) Ascot Gold Cup (1836, 1837)
Awards
Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland (1842, 1843, 1848, 1855)
Last updated on May 7, 2009

Touchstone (1831–1861) was a British bred Thoroughbred racehorse and a Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland on four occasions. He was owned and bred by Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster who bought him for the cheap price, at the time, of only 600 guineas at the insistence of his chief stud groom Mr. Thomas Nutting.

He was a brown colt, foaled in 1831, by Camel, his dam was the good broodmare, Banter, by Master Henry. Touchstone was a full brother to the St. Leger Stakes winner, Launcelot (br c 1837). Touchstone was described as a "peculiar horse" (according to The Druid), with an unusual conformation including fleshy legs and a thickened front ankle. He was a frail foal with badly turned hocks that caused him to travel wide when moving. He measured 15 hands 2 inches and had strong hindquarters. Touchstone was unusual in having 19 dorsal vertebrae and a segment of a nineteenth rib on each side, which contributed to his long back.

He was conditioned for racing by the preeminent trainer of the day, John Scott, although Scott did not lay eyes on Touchstone until mid-way through his Classic season.

Touchstone made his debut at Lichfield in the Produce Stakes, where he walked over. He then ran third to Queen Bess in the Champagne Stakes at the Holywell Hunt Meeting in October.

Touchstone improved from his juvenile season to win five of his seven starts as a three-year-old. He debuted in the Dee Stakes at Chester in May, before following up in the Palatine Stakes the next day. In both races he beat Queen Bess, who had beaten him in the Champagne Stakes in 1833.

Touchstone did not run in the Derby (won by Plenipotentiary), and was next seen in the Liverpool St Leger, where he finished second to General Chassé after making the running. Despite this loss, trainer John Scott, who was seeing the horse for the first time, proclaimed that the horse would "carry off the St Leger", and ordered him to be brought to Malton in Yorkshire. Touchstone suffered an eventful journey, after his accompanying groom drank at too many inns and allowed the horse to escape into the wild. He was eventually caught by a seafarer and brought to Sheffield, but he was exhausted and in a bad way when he finally reached Scott's yard. He continued to train so badly that rider William Scott passed over the mount to George Calloway, a "country jockey".