Donovan (horse)
Donovan | |
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St Leger (1889) (1889)Lancashire Plate |
Donovan (1886–1905) was a British
Background
Donovan was a dark-coated bay bred by his owner William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland,[2] a Conservative politician and landowner. Among the Duke's other horses were the undefeated St. Simon and the 1888 Derby winner Ayrshire. He was sent into training with George Dawson at his Heath House Stable in Newmarket, Suffolk.[3]
Donovan's sire
Racing career
1888: two-year-old season
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/William_JACJ_Cavendish-Bentinck%2C_Vanity_Fair%2C_1882-06-03.jpg/200px-William_JACJ_Cavendish-Bentinck%2C_Vanity_Fair%2C_1882-06-03.jpg)
Donovan appeared in the first week of the flat season to win the Brocklesby Stakes at Lincoln Racecourse "a bit cleverly"[5] by two lengths from the filly Poem. He then took the Portland Stakes at Leicester, winning by three lengths from a field of twenty-four opponents for a prize of £6,000,[6] making the race more valuable than the Derby.[7] In the £5,000 Whitsuntide Plate at Manchester Racecourse, Donovan was set to carry 136 pounds and suffered his first defeat when four lengths second to the well-fancied Chitabob.[8]
In the summer of 1888 Donovan was sent to
At Newmarket in autumn, Donovan proved himself the year's best two-year-old with four more wins. He won the Buckenham Stakes and the Hopeful Stakes, before running in the season's most prestigious two-year-old race, the
He ended the season as the "acknowledged Champion" having won eleven of his thirteen starts against the best available opposition and earning a record £16,487. He was compared in the press to previous outstanding two-year-olds such as
1889: three-year-old season
Spring
On his three-year-old debut, Donovan won a "monster" prize of £12,000
In the
In the Newmarket Stakes over ten furlongs on 22 May Donovan "very easily"[24] defeated his stable companion The Turcophone, with Laureate third and Enthusiast fourth, leading to his price for the Derby shortening to 4/5.[25]
Summer
At Epsom on 5 June, Donovan (who arrived at the course with a security entourage of detectives and police constables)
Donovan was then sent to Royal Ascot for the Prince of Wales's Stakes over thirteen furlongs in which he started at odds of 2/9 despite carrying top weight of 131 pounds. He took the lead in the straight and won easily by one and a half lengths from Royal Star with Enthusiast third.[32]
Autumn
Donovan returned on 11 September for the St Leger at Doncaster. He started 8/13 in a field of thirteen with his main rival expected to be the Yorkshire-trained Chitabob[33] the colt who had defeated Donovan in June 1888, and who had recently returned after training problems. Ridden by Barrett, Donovan was always prominent and moved into the lead early in the straight. Chitabob emerged as a challenger, but quickly dropped back, leaving Donovan to win by three lengths with Miguel, as at Epsom, finishing second.[34]
Having proved himself over an extended fourteen furlongs at Doncaster, Donovan was brought back to seven furlongs ten days later for the £12,000 Lancashire Plate at Manchester Racecourse. On this occasion, his main danger was expected to come from the outstanding two-year-old Alicante who had won the Prix de la Salamandre and the Prix de la Forêt, although the field also included the Classic-winning fillies Minthe and Seabreeze as well as Chitabob and Enthusiast. Chitabob attempted to make all the running, but Barrett was always prominent on Donovan before taking the lead inside the final furlong and winning by two lengths.[35] The win took the lifetime earnings of "Duke Donovan" as he was being called, to £54,694, and those of his owner to almost £100,000 for the season.[36] On his final start of the year he returned to Newmarket in October and won the Royal Stakes from Minthe, the only horse to oppose him.[37]
Donovan was kept in training at four with the Ascot Gold Cup as his target,[38] but he broke down and was retired in June without running another race.[39]
Assessment and earnings
Donovan was considered by some to be a fortunate horse who had emerged in a generation with few other top class performers,[40] but by the end of the three-year-old season he was acknowledged by others as "a really great racehorse."[41]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Donovan_horse.jpg/250px-Donovan_horse.jpg)
Having earned £16,487 as a two-year-old, Donovan added a further £38,666[42] in 1889, to give a career total of £55,153, by far the largest up to that time.
Stud career
Donovan retired to the Rufford Abbey stud where he stood at a fee of 200
Pedigree
Sire Galopin (GB) 1872 |
Vedette 1854 |
Voltigeur | Voltaire |
---|---|---|---|
Martha Lynn | |||
Mrs Ridgway | Birdcatcher | ||
Nan Darrell | |||
Flying Duchess 1853 |
The Flying Dutchman | Bay Middleton | |
Barbelle | |||
Merope | Voltaire | ||
Juniper mare | |||
Dam Mowerina (GB) 1876 |
Scottish Chief 1861 |
Lord of the Isles | Touchstone |
Fair Helen | |||
Miss Ann | The Little Known | ||
Bay Missy | |||
Stockings 1863 |
Stockwell | The Baron | |
Pocahontas | |||
Go-Ahead | Melbourne | ||
Mowerina (1843)(Family: 7) |
References
- ^ "English and American Hobse". 11 December 1901. p. 47 – via Papers Past.
- ^ "6th Duke of Portland". Horseracinghistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "George Dawson". Horseracinghistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ a b "Donovan". Tbheritage.com. 1905-02-01. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "LINCOLN SPRING MEETING". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "LEICESTER SPRING". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "A TREASURE OF A HORSE". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "TOPICS OF THE DAY. (From Our Special Correspondent.)". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "STOCKBRIDGE". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "SPORTING NOTES FROM AUSTRALIA". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ a b "THE CRACK ENGLISH TWO-YEAR-OLD". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "IN A NUTSHELL". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "MIDDLE PARK PLATE". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "RACING IN ENGLAND". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "TURF GOSSIP". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Gossip from the Great Village". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Sporting". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "OUR AUCKLAND SPORTING LETTER". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Papers Past — Otago Witness — 27 June 1889 — IN A NUTSHELL". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "LEICESTER SPRING MEETING". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "RACING IN ENGLAND". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "TALK OF THE DAY". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "ENGLAND". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "NEWMARKET SECOND SPRING. Tuesday, May 21. THE NEW MARKETS". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "DERBY BETTING". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "THE EPSOM DERBY". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "THE RACE FOR THE DERBY". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "IN A NUTSHELL". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "RACING IN ENGLAND". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "ENGLISH SPORTING NOTES". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "A SPORTING PEER'S WEDDING". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "RACING IN ENGLAND". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "THE DONCASTER ST. LEGER". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "RACING IN ENGLAND". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "RACING IN ENGLAND". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "DUKE DONOVAN". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ Sydenham Dixon. "From Gladiateur to Persimmon : turf memories of thirty years". Ebooksread.com. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "ENGLISH RACING ITEMS". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Papers Past — Thames Star — 14 June 1890 — SPORTING". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "TALK OF THE DAY". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "A Wonderful Racer". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "ENGLISH STATISTICS". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "SPORT AND PASTIME. The Turf". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1905-02-11. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ "DONOVAN, THE EPSOM DEEBY WINNER". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-21.