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The Dukes of Grafton: Puzzle and her Family
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Another Grafton mare who has proved to have an important tail-female influence was Puzzle (1778, by Matchem), a grand-daughter of Julia through Princess (1769, by Herod). By using Matchem, rather than Eclipse or his son, Pot-8-Os, the 3rd Duke added another strain of the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk to that branch of the Julia line. In the next generation, with Puzzle's daughters, Woodbine and Hornby Lass, he bred back to the Byerly Turk sire line with Woodpecker (who was out of a Cade daughter, more Godolphin Arabian) and his son, Buzzard (out of a Godolphin Arabian line sire) . This line, then, was noticeably lacking in Darley Arabian influence, until it was introduced via Waxy to produce two classic winners, Music (1810, Waxy-Woodbine), who won the Oaks and was second in the 2,000 Guineas, and Minuet (1812, Waxy-Woodbine).
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| | The bay filly MINUET was a Grafton-bred Puzzle grand-daughter from Woodbine, and by Waxy. She ran at age 2 in 1814, when she won the July Stakes, her only outing that year. At age 3 she placed second in the 1000 Guineas and went on to win the Oaks. She ran for two more years, winning the Newmarket Trial Stakes, the Newmarket first spring King's Plate and several other races. Retired to stud, she produced three sons and several daughters who had little impact on racehorses, however her son, Bolero (1822, by Partisan) was the 4th Duke's favorite hunter, and may have stood at Wakefield Lodge as a hunter sire.
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| | The line carried through via daughter Hornby Lass, by Buzzard. Son Truffle was a good racehorse, and his sister Morel was a good race filly, winning the Newmarket Stakes, the Oaks and several other top races between 1808 and 1810. Both were bred and run by the 4th Duke of Grafton. It was through Morel's daughters, Mustard and the unnamed mare by Sam that the line was largely successful. The Sam Mare's descendants included stallions Dollar and Fitz Roland, and through the mare Lass o' Gowrie to Aboyeur. Through the Sam mare's daughter by Whisker, the tail-female line led to Princequillo. From the 1824 Mustard, the line of female descent led to stallions Speculum, Craig Millar, Spearmint. Through Mustard's daughter, Preserve, several strong female lines emerged, leading to Etoile Filante and all her descendants, such as Arts and Letters, Waquoit, and Singh, and to the Dora line of mares, which included Brownhylda, dam of Firdaussi. |
Some Sons in the Family | | | The 1834 colt MANGO descended from Puzzle through her Grafton bred and owned daughter, Hornby Lass. Out of Mustard, the mare responsible for continuing the line through to today, he and his dam were bred by Thomas Thornhill. This colt, at age three, "had all the appearance of a five-year old horse, from his great muscular development," and was "thoroughly honest" in his running, but "very lazy." He won the (Doncaster) St. Leger, the Newmarket St Leger, the Ascot Derby, and the Claret Stakes. His line did not breed on.
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| | DOLLAR, from the Morel branch of the family (1860, Flying Dutchman-Payment), sired the good French racehorses and sires, Upas and Salvator, the latter undefeated, winning in top company, and was grandsire of Cambyse.
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| | The fragile SPEARMINTdescended from the Morel branch through Mustard ( 1903, Carbine-Maid of the Mint). Despite problems with his forelegs, Spearmint was the first to win both the Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris. Among his sons were Spion Kop, who also won the Derby, *Chicle, and Tournament, but he is best known for his many successful daughters, among them Catnip, Bathing Girl, Fausta, Lady Maureen, Silesia, Verbena, and the highly successful and significant Plucky Leige.
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Woodbine 1791 x Woodpecker |
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| Musician 1804 x Worthy |
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| Music 1810 x Waxy |
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Hornby Lass 1796 x Buzzard |
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| Andrew 1816 x Orville |
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| Mangel Wurzel 1823 x Merlin |
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| Autocrat 1851 x Bay Middleton |
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| Echelle 1849 x Sting |
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| Royal Quand Meme x Giges |
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| Comtesse 1855 x Nuncio |
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| Liouba 1856 x Nuncio |
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| *Thornhill 1838 x *Glencoe |
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| Jamaica 1841 x Liverpool |
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| Apricot 1844 x Sir Hercules |
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| Doralice 1852 x Alarm |
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| Mangosteen 1844 x Emilius |
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| Miss Bowzer 1856 x Hesperus |
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| Mango 1806 x Sorcerer |
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| Truffle 1808 x Sorcerer |
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Selected Resources
Theodore Andrea Cook. A History of the English Turf. 3 Vols. London: Virtue and Company, 1901. Bernard Falk. The Royal Fitz Roys. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1950. The Sporting Magazine. 1827-1833. Thomas HenryTaunton. Portraits of Celebrated Racehorses. 4 Vols. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1887. Theodore Taunton. Famous Horses. London: Sampson Low, Marston, & Co. Ltd., 1901.
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