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Ion
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Sire lines wax, then wane, usually forever, but occasionally a single thread persists through several generations, until a son of the line hits with a certain mare, and the line is revitalized. Such was the case of the Sir Paul branch of the champion Sir Peter Teazle sire line, where Ion -- ever a bridesmaid and seldom a bride on the turf -- benefitting from his owner's wealth and devotion to racing, happened to be at stud in Newmarket when he caught the eye of the stud groom of a mare owned by a small-time squire more interested in hunting than racing. The product of the subsequent breeding, WILD DAYRELL, born less than a year after his sire was sold off to France, would bring the Sir Paul branch into prominence -- in England, France, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Australia and New Zealand -- for several more generations.
Ion's great-grandsire in tail-male, Sir Paul (1802, by Sir Peter, was out of Pewet, by Tandem, also dam of Lapwing, Woodpecker and Doncaster St. Leger winner Paulina. Like many Sir Peter sons, Sir Paul was a successful four-mile runner that won the Craven Stakes and Royal Plates at York and Doncaster for his owner-breeder, William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam (2nd Earl in England, 4th in Ireland), whose seat was a few miles from Doncaster in north Yorkshire. As a stallion at Althorp, Northampton, however, while he got stout runners, most were minor winners, and his standings in the stallion lists, due to a limited number of foals and the lower value of their wins, were far, far, below those of most of his contemporaries, including Walton, Haphazard, and Ditto, all also by Sir Peter. His best runner was probably Doncaster Cup winner Otho.
His Grandsire, Paulowitz
Ion was the third in a line of stallions retained by the Yates and Peel families. His grandsire, Paulowitz (1813, by Sir Paul), had been bred by Lord Fitzwilliam. Paulowitz was the last foal in a series of good youngsters produced by Evelina (1791, by Highflyer), a four-mile runner whose other offspring included the good race horse Cervantes (1805, by Sir Peter Teazle) and Orville (1799, by Beningbrough) one of the great four-milers of his era and twice leading sire in England. Paulowitz debuted in the Earl's colors and ran for him through his three-year-old season, after which he was purchased by Edmund Yates, a racing and hunting enthusiast.
The Yates - Peel connection began in Bury, Lancashire, in the 1770s when Robert Peel and William Yates and Yates' son, Edmund, and later another son, Thomas Yates, and several others formed a partnership focused on cotton printing, expanded a few years later to encompass cotton mills at both Bury and Fazeley in Staffordshire --and for several decades a calico printing works at Bonehill, Staffordshire, operated separately by Robert Peel -- founding an extremely successful venture that eventually provided an immense fortune for the scions of these two families. Peel married William Yates's eldest daughter, Ellen, further cementing the intertwined lives of the two families, and members of later generations intermarried, not unlike characters in a Jane Austen novel. Several members of the Yates family were involved in racing and hunting, most notably William Yates' son, Edmund (1797-1835) and his brother [Captain, then Colonel-General] Jonathan, who served with the 49th Foot in Canada during the War of 1812. Jonathan Yates was the owner of Swap (1819, by Catton) when he was at stud.
Robert Peel (1750-1830), with the establishment of the Staffordshire properties, became one of the country's leading industrialists, served as an M.P., and was made a baronet. His and Ellen's children included Robert Peel (1788-1850), 2nd Bart., an M.P., Lord Treasurer, cabinent minister, and later Prime Minister, whose seat was at Drayton Basset Park near Fazeley, and [Colonel, later General] Jonathan Peel (1799-1879), who purchased commissions in the 71st Highlanders, the Rifle Brigade and the Guards, never seeing active service, and gradually advancing in rank to Major-General in 1854. In politics, Jonathan Peel served as Surveyor-General of Ordnance, and later in life a stint as Secretary of State for War. Colonel Peel was an avid turfite for most of his adult life. Another son, Edmund Yates Peel (b. 1791) had a house at Bonehill, near Tamworth, and also raced horses.
Paulowitz, trained by William Clift, had only one win in four starts for Lord Fitzwilliam at age three, the Peregrine Stakes at York Spring over 1-3/4 miles. After Edmund Yates purchased him, he ran in many long distance races, winning once at age five and placing second to Doctor Syntax in the Lancaster Gold Cup and to Magistrate in the 3-1/2 mile Manchester Gold Cup. At age six he raced six times, winning three times, taking two seconds and a walk-over. He won a distance sweepstakes at Manchester, a two mile sweepstakes at Preston, and the three mile Gold Cup at Lichfield, taking a walk-over for the Members Plate two days later. That year he was also second to Doctor Syntax again in the Lancaster Gold Cup and to Blacklock in the York Gold Cup (in both cases only two ran). He won one race at age seven (1820).
Paulowtiz was retired to Bonehill Farm at Tamworth, near Fazeley, in Staffordshire, operated by Col. Jonathan Yates and Col. Jonathan Peel, and probably Edmund Yates and Edmund Peel, where he bred a number of winners for the Yates and Peel kinsmen. He stood alongside Col. Jonathan Yates' stallion, Swap, both at 10 guineas for thoroughbreds, and 3 guineas for half-bred mares; they seldom saw thoroughbred mares, other than those owned by the family. In his first season Paulowitz covered five thoroughbred mares, all of which produced winners to him. With the exceptions of Archibald, Cain, and Olga, his offspring mostly won at smaller venues in the Midlands, and he tended to get juvenile winners that did not train on; those that did were mostly stout distance horses, like himself. He died in April of 1829, age 16.
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Archibald, by Paulowitz
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Paulowitz's best runner was Archibald (1829), out of Col. Yates' stakes-winning mare, Garcia, by Octavian. Archibald, racing for Col. Jonathan Peel, won the Cockboat Stakes at Newmarket and a big sweepstakes for juveniles at Ascot at age two, and at age three took the Two Thousand Guineas Stakes, Epsom's Shirley Stakes, and the Newmarket St. Leger, in the latter beating Margrave, the Doncaster St. Leger winner. Unlike many in his sire line, he could not go a distance, running third in the 1833 two-mile Port Stakes, and second in Stamford's Gold Cup, but, small and muscular, he had speed.
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Some of Paulowitz's other winners -- mostly raced in the Midlands, where Edmund and Col. Yates served as stewards at various courses -- included Ernest (1829, Royal Plate at Newmarket), Madame Potki (5 races at age three, including Anglesey Purse at Burton-Upon-Trent, two mile heats, beating four others), Litle Bo Peep (four races age two, including Two Year Old Stakes over 1/2 mile at Stourbridge), Claudia (four races age two), and Sharpshooter (1824, from Lady of the Lake by Sorcerer), all raced by Edmund Yates. Other winners included Paul Pry, King Cole, Little Boy Blue, Changeling (1828, from Catherina by Walton, second in the Goodwood Stakes) and Lord Chesterfield's Olga (1829, from a Soothsayer mare, won big sweepstakes at Goodwood and Newmarket and was second in the One Thousand Guineas at age three).
His sire, Cain
Paulowitz also got Cain (1822) out of a Paynator mare that Edmund Yates had purchased in 1818. This mare also produced Yates' good race mare Fille de Joie (1821, by Filho da Puta), and the useful Tamworth (1824, by Tiresias). Cain was described -- in his stud ad -- as "a beautiful bay, with black legs, and has a fine temper and an excellent constitution."
Cain ran in Edmund Yates' colors for three years, winning twelve races -- including two walk-overs -- in twenty-one starts. The first race of his career was the Epsom Derby, where he dumped his rider and was disqualified. After that, he ran almost exclusively in the Midlands, more frequently than his sire, but at many of the same courses and in many of the same races, to much the same effect. He was a stout distance runner and weight-carrier, winning and racing mostly over three miles in very small fields.
At age three Cain won the Produce Sweepstakes at Burton-Upon-Trent (one mile) and a sweepstakes in heats at Stourbridge over two miles in five starts, with a second and third at Preston and the Derby his other races. At age four he ran seven races, winning three times and taking a walk-over, and placing third twice. His wins were the Gloucestershire Stakes at Cheltenham over two miles, the three-mile Gold Cup at Leicester, and the Champagne Stakes (1 mile-4 furlongs) at Holywell Hunt. His walk-over was an uncontested sweepstakes at Ludlow. In his last season, 1827, age five, he started nine times, winning six races (including a walk-over) in succession. His triumphs were the Twon Plate at Newcastle (Staffs), beating two other horses; the Pottery Stakes and the Workmen's Plate at Pottery (Staffs), beating three horses in the first and four in the second; a walk-over for the Drakelow Stakes at Burton-upon-Trent, and the next day a sweepstakes in heats at the same place, beating one other horse, and finally, at Leicester, he won the three-mild Gold Cup again, beating two other horses. Although the fields were small, he did meet and sometimes beat some good horses, including Leviathan, Paul Pry (by Paulowtiz), Alecto and Lechmere.
Cain spent most of his stud years at Bonehill in Tamworth, at a fee of 10 guineas, and then, in the late '30s, 15 guineas; for many of those years his stablemate was Yates' stallion Bedlamite (winner of the Richmond and Northallerton Cups and other races). He spent the 1834-5 season at Newmarket for 10 guineas (compare with Defence at Stockbridge for 20 guineas, Camel at Stockwell for 15 guineas, and Emilius at Riddlesworth for 20 guineas), and in 1836 he was leased to King William IV and stood at Hampton Court, while his son, Vagabond (Cain - Gabrielle by Partisan--he won several races for Edmund Yates, including three at Newmarket) took his place (at 5 guineas) at Bonehill. The King died in July of 1837, all his bloodstock were sold at auction, and Cain went back to Bonehill, where his stablemate was Revenge (by Fungus) at 10 guineas.
Cain got more foals than his sire, and more winners, in part due to Col. Peel pulling him out of the Midlands and sending him to Newmarket and Hampton Court for a few years. Many more of his offspring, compared to Paulowitz, ran at Newmarket, Goodwood and Ascot, as Col. Peel, encouraged by Archibald's classic win, stepped up his involvement in the turf, sending his youngsters to train with William Cooper at Newmarket, beginning in 1834, and associating himself with fellow Jockey Club member, Sir. John Byng (later Earl of Strafford). The Byng-Peel partnership, based at Newmarket, did very well for about a decade, and Cain's offspring benefitted from this association, and from Peel's connection with Charles Greville, when he and Greville took up the lease at Hampton Court after the King's death in 1837.
Other than Ion, one of Cain's most notable runner -- because he won a classic race -- was probably Vendredi (1835, out of Naïad, by Whalebone); Naïad was purchased by Lord Henry Seymour as part of his attempt to improve bloodstock in France, and she was shipped, in foal to Cain, to his stud there. At age three Vendredi ran four times, beaten by Eylau in the Prix Principal au Pin, by Frétillon in the Prix d'Arrondissement at Paris, and by Aladin in the Prix du Printemps, but he did win the Prix du Jockey Club, beating three "mediocre adversaries." The next year in five starts, he took one, but fairly significant race, the Prix Spécial de l'Administration des Haras (worth 5,000 francs) in two heats over 2-1/2 miles. Naïad later produced two good runners in Vendredi's half-sisters by (imported) Royal Oak, Nativa and Dorade, both Prix de Diane winners.
In England, Cain got some good stayers. These included Tubalcain (1836, from Mermaid -- bred by Edmund Yates -- by Merlin), winner of the Nottingham Plate over 2-1/2 miles in two heats, beating three others, including the good mare Industry, and second in Chester's Stand Cup. Barney Bodkin (1830) and Barnacles (1833, two big 16-hand chestnut brothers by Cain, out of a Bourbon mare) were long-running good winners. Barney Bodkin won mostly distance races in heats every year, ages two through seven, including Abingdon's Holme Park Stakes (1-1/4 mile heats), the Dorchester Stakes (2-1/4 miles) and the Claret Stakes at Devizes (1 mile heats). Barnacles ran through age six: his wins included both the Ham Stakes (1-1/2 miles in heats) and the Upton Stakes (2 mile heats) on the same day at Upton-on-Severn; the Gloucestershire Stakes (2 miles) at Cheltenham and the Bath's Member's Plate (1-1/2 miles), and the Goodwood Stakes. Barncales was later a stallion at Mr. Harvey's Veterinary Yard, "one of the finest tempered animals in existence." Cain's sons Sylvan (1823, from Sigh -- bred by Edmund Yates -- by Guy Mannering) won the Royal Plate at Shrewsbury at age four. Lucy (1829, from a Bustard mare owned by Edmund Peel) won nineteen races, including a free handicap at Gloucester in three heats, and later was shipped to the US, where she was a broodmare in Wade Hampton's Columbia, South Carolina, stud.
Cain youngsters that won at more important venues included: Canton (1840, from a Bustard mare), winner of the Chesterfield Stakes at Newmarket as a juvenile; Canute (1836, from the dam of Taglioni -- owned by Edmund Peel -- by Catton), winner of Newmarket's Rutland Stakes for Col. Peel; Castaway (1832, from Rowena -- owned by Edmund Yates -- by Rubens), a winner at Newmarket, of the City Plate at Goodwood (1 mile heats), and several other races over two years for Col. Peel; Clifton (1834, from Mouche, owned by Edmund Yates, by Emilius), winner of Epsom's Sutton Plate for Col Peel; Languish (1822, from Lydia by Poulton; later dam of Oaks winner Ghuznee), winner of the Boudoir Stakes at Newmarket and the Epsom Gold Cup, among other races; Sensitive (1829, from Sigh -- bred by Col. Jonathan Yates -- by Gay Mannering (also dam of Sylvan by Cain), a winner for a handicap sweepstakes at Newmarket July and other races for Edmund Yates; The Slayer's Daughter (1843, from a St. Nicholas mare), a winner of three races, including the Manchester Cup.
Cain's Hampton Court foals of 1837 included Iris, Adah, and Remnant, all chestnut fillies sold at the Hampton Court sale. Iris, out of the Hampton Court-bred mare Elizabeth, by Rainbow, was purchased by Lord Albemarle and was a very good juvenile. She won Newmarket's Clearwell Stakes, Epsom's Woodcote Stakes, and the Pavilion Stakes (for two year olds), placing second to Crucifix in Newmarket's Chesterfield Stakes, and third in the Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood. Remnant, out of Burden by Camel, purchased by Mr. Edwards, won nine races, including a good sweepstakes at Newmarket at age two, beating older horses. Adah, out of Sultana (sister to Sultan), by Selim, was second to Iris in the Pavilion Stakes as a juvenile, and was later sold to France.
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Languish, by Cain, shown with Pantaloon, the sire of her Guineas winner Ghuznee
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As a broodmare sire, Cain had a few successes. Languish produced Ghuznee (1838, by Pantaloon), winner of the Epsom Oaks and the Coronation Stakes, and Ameer (1840, by Touchstone), a winner of the St. James's Palace Stakes. Her sister Languid (1831) was second dam of Fernhill, winner of Epsom's 2-1/4 mile Great Metropolitan Handicap, and of Traducer, (1857) that became a significant stallion in New Zealand.
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Cain's daughter Rosa (1838, from a Muley mare) produced Geant de Batailles (1865, by The Ugly Buck), a winner of the Great Yorkshire Handicap at Doncaster. Miss Nancy (1845, from a Brutandorf mare) produced two daughters, Julia (1837 by Launcelot) and Miss Livingstone (by The Flying Dutchman) that established successful female lines that included Henry the Seventh (1958, Cambridgeshire Stakes, Eclipse Stakes, etc.), Mimi (1888, Oaks Stakes, One Thousand Guineas, etc.), and Nun Nicer (1895, One Thousand Guineas), and the stallion Vatellor (1933, Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Prix Jean Prat, etc.).
The Slayer's Daughter (1843) was second dam of Monsier de Paris, a very speedy horse that won thirteen races over the course of a long career, and she established a long-lasting female family that included the American Triple Crown winner Assault (1943) and the great American horse Man o' War (1917).
Ion's dam Margaret (1831), by Edmund, was bred by Edmund Yates out of the 1814 Oaks winner Medora, by Selim. She had two foals, Ion (1835), and a colt by Vagabond (1836), both owned by Col. Peel, and was sold to Prince Frederick of Prussia, in foal to Camel. Ion was described as a "light-girthed, unattractive style horse," but also as "a very hardy-looking, compact horse."
Ion on the Turf
Ion -- or "the unfortunate Ion", as he was referred to more than once -- was a mid-distance runner that was always raced in high-class company, but just could not gather the heart to surge ahead to win. In twelve races he won two and took a walk-over, placed second five times, including the Epsom Derby and Doncaster St. Leger, and was third twice. He was out of the placings twice. A typical observation of Ion in the sporting press: "Ion was a clever unfortunate horse to the Colonel [Peel], yet with a large field of inferiors for the Derby, he met with Amato!--and with a small cluster for the St. Leger, he found a victor in Don John! If horses were duallists, Ion would be invaluable; for he proved a practiced and experienced second!"
Ion was sent to Peel's long-time trainer, William Cooper, at Newmarket, who also schooled Peel's horse Slane, and all of Peel's other runners for over a decade. Cooper was known to turn out carefully prepared juveniles, which Ion proved to be.
Ion's first race was Newmarket's July Stakes, where he was second to Mecca (a sister to Beiram), beating Morella, Osprey and six other youngsters. Two days later he was again second in the four-furlong Chesterfield Stakes, this time to Anchorite, with a Shakespear filly third and seven others in the field. After a three-month hiatus he was back at Newmarket, in the Clearwell Stakes, run over 5 furlongs-136 yards. This time he won, beating Paganini, Sainfoin, Grey Momus, and four others. A little shy of two weeks later, at Newmarket Houghton, he was third to D'Egville and a Sultan filly in the Criterion Stakes, with four other juveniles behind him. Retired for the season, his prospects were reasonably bright for the upcoming classics.
By the time the Epsom Derby rolled around the next year, Ion, who had not been seen that season, was fifth in the betting at 13:1; the favorite was the Two Thousand Guineas winner Lord George Bentinck's Grey Momus -- Bentinck had declared for him, over his colt D'Egville -- who had won a match at Newmarket after the Guineas, and would go on that year to win the Grand Duke Michael Stakes, the Newmarket St. Leger, the Ascot Gold Cup, and two stakes races at Goodwood. Last in the betting was Sir Gilbert Heathcote's Amato, trained by John Scott, who had not been seen at all on the turf before, with odds of 33:1. With twenty-three horses in the field, there were several false starts, but they finally got away with Bretby, Amato and Grey Momus rushing off "at a slashing pace." At the turn, Ion, with veteran jockey Nat Flatman up, caught up with the leaders and raced with Grey Momus at the lead for a few strides, but coming into the straight, Amato came back, flying between the two, and won easily by two lengths, with Ion ahead of Grey Momus for second place, Albemarle two lengths back, and the rest of the field more than thirty yards behind.
Sir Gilbert and his friends made good money in the betting; since Amato had been "kept dark," with secret trials, few knew his value on the course. And no one ever knew Amato's true value, since this was the only race in which he ever ran, having "gone amiss," but he proved useless in the stud. After the race there was a public dispute and charges of foul play, published in Bell's Life, by Mr. Coombe, the owner of one of the contenders, Cobham, who was also in Scott's stable.
The only other race in which Ion appeared that season was the Doncaster St. Leger. There, he started second favorite to the northern colt, Don John, that had won all three of his juvenile races -- York's Two Year Old Stakes, Doncaster's Champagne Stakes, and the Claret Stakes at Heaton Park. The small field of seven in this race included the great Lanercost, who had yet to show his strength. At the start, Ion jumped to the lead, which Don John assumed after 100 yards; Alzira briefly challenged Ion, but fell back, and after the Red House, the final placing was set, with Don John pulling away "in the commonest of canters" to win by twelve lengths, with Ion second, and Lanercost third over the rest of the trailing field. A few days later, Don John took the Doncaster Cup (beating Bee's Wing, The Doctor and Melbourne), and finished his season with two walk-overs.
Ion, then, at age three, could be said to be among the best in his generation, but he was not as good as Grey Momus or Don John, the latter considered by most the best colt of his year, "beyond all question." However, by general agreement, "...there was hardly ever...a worse season for race-horses, and...one in which they were more uncertain in their performances."
At age four, 1839, Ion ran six times, and he could not be said to have maintained his earlier form. He won once, placed second and third one time each, was unplaced twice, and took a walk-over. At Newmarket First Spring he was third, but unplaced, in a Handicap sweep over 5 furlongs-136 yards, won by Dormouse, with Montezuma second and five others in the field. At Epsom in May, he ran fourth in a field of seven in the 1 mile-2 furlong Craven Stakes over the Derby course, won by Epirus, with St. Francis and Bullcalf second and third, but three days later, uncontested, he took a walk-over in the Burgh Stakes, for which there had been seven subscribers. At Ascot, twelve days later, he won the 1 mile-4 furlong Swinley Stakes, beating his only rival, the classic winning filly Barcarolle. The next day he ran in the Ascot Gold Cup (2 miles-4 furlongs), and was third to the five-year-old good Cup horse, Caravan, with St. Francis second and Dey of Algiers, also owned by Peel, last -- the betting public only got it wrong in placing Ion after Dey of Algiers. On the first day of Newmarket Second October he ran second by two lengths to the three-year-old Aether -- the only two in the field -- in a £50 handicap over 1 mile-2 furlongs-24 yards, a sorry end to his career.
Ion in the Stud
Peel sent Ion to stud at Bushey Park Paddocks at Hampton Court, which he co-leased with his then-confederate Charles Greville. Ion, at a fee of 15 sovereigns, stood for a time alongside Peel's better horse, Slane (champion sire in 1845), who stood at 25 sovereigns, and up until the mid-1840s, Peel was compelled to support Ion with his own mares. After 1846, Ion also had to contend with Peel's Derby winner Orlando (three times champion sire) at Hampton Court. In 1850 Peel began to scale down his racing and breeding operations to devote full time to his appointment as Secretary of War under Lord Derby, and relinquished his lease on some of the paddocks, and in 1851 Ion was sent to stand at Barrows in Newmarket, alongside Don John, Birdcatcher, and John o' Gaunt. In August of 1851 Peel's stud and racing stock were dispersed via auction, which attracted buyers from all over England and Europe. His former confederate, Charles Greville, secured both Orlando and Slane, but Ion was knocked down for £450 to Perrot de Thannberg, representing the French government, and Ion was sent to France after the sale.
Ion was a modest success as a stallion in England, getting some good juveniles, mid-distance runners, and a few stout distance runners harking back to Cain, Sir Paul and Paulowitz. He faced not only his own race reputation as "soft," but the reputations of two other stallions owned by Peel -- first Slane, and then Orlando, both of which also stood at Hampton Court. He got one English classic winner, WILD DAYRELL, in his last crop born in England. His highest placing on the sire's list (progeny earnings) in England was fifth, in 1855, the year of WILD DAYRELL'S success. Other than that, he was ninth in 1852, right behind Slane, eleventh in 1853, and seventh in 1854. Of his sons, only WILD DAYRELL was able to successfully perpetuate the sire line, but his daughters -- one the second dam of the great St. Simon -- and those of his sons -- notably, TADMOR, who was dam's sire of another great champion stallion, Hermit -- ensured his name is seen in today's pedigrees. In France, Ion got three classic winners from small crops, and, through his daughters, he had some influence on French bloodstock breeding.
Ion's first good runner was IONIAN (1841). He was out of Mailbran, by Whisker), by Octavian. Malibran's dam, Garcia, had bred Peel's Two Thousand Guineas winner, Archibald (1829), by Ion's grandsire, Paulowitz, and July Stakes winner Queen Anne (1843, by Slane, later dam of Kingston). Malibran would later produce two sons to the cover of Orlando -- the useful handicapper Orpheus and July Stakes winner and good sire Marsyas. Malibran also dropped IONE (1846) to the cover of Ion. IONE'S tail-female descendants included classic winners in Poland, South Africa, Japan, and the good French runners and sires Chanteur II and Tanerko. Malibran also produced Jenny Lind (1845, by Touchstone), that Peel bred at age three to Ion. The resulting filly, MISS GOLDSCHMIDT (1849), was sold to Poland in 1851; Jenny Lind would later breed Two Thousand Guineas winner The Hermit (1851, by Bay Middleton).
IONIAN, raced by Peel, won Newmarket's Chesterfield Stakes as a juvenile, and at age three ran second to Orlando in the Derby (Peel had declared for Orlando), and at Ascot won the St. James's Palace Stakes (8 furlongs) and placed third in the Ascot Gold Cup. He was sold to France in 1847, where he got a few mid-distance winners, and was dam's sire of the stayer Barbillon (1869, Pretty Boy - Scozzone), winner of the Prix Royal Oak, the Prix Rainbow (5000 meters) and Prix Gladiateur (6200 meters).
Another early foal by Ion, ODD MIXTURE (1841, from Mary Ann, by Blacklock, also dam of Huon), bred by Peel, did not do much on the turf, but became the sire of "excellent hunters."
In 1845, a Sir Hercules mare that had been bred by Peel from Electress (by Election) dropped the black filly IODINE to the cover of Ion. Electress had produced the fast juvenile filly Landgravine (1829, by Smolensko) at Hampton Court, after which Peel either leased or purchased her, and she produced some winners for him, including Splitvote (1841, by St. Luke) and Vauban (1835, by Defence), and Miss Twickenham (1838, by Rockingham), that became the dam of Derby winner Teddington (by Orlando). IODINE won the July Stakes for Peel in 1847; her half-brothers by Orlando, Claude Lorraine and Gin, would win the Ascot Stakes and July Stakes respectively. IODINE, through her Orlando daughter Verona, was second dam of Thurio (1875, Craven Stakes, Queen Alexandra Stakes, Grand Prix de Paris) and Lucetta (1876, Cambridgeshire Stakes), the latter dam of three good winners. IODINE'S full sister, QUININE (1846), was a useful juvenile for Peel, placing second to The Flying Dutchman in the July Stakes of 1848.
In the early 1830s Peel purchased Hester (1832), by Camel, and from her bred some good horses, including the good juvenile Chatham (1839, by The Colonel), and The Nabob (1849), that became a good stallion in France, and two daughters -- Palmyra (1838, by Sultan) and Hersey (1842, by Glaucus) -- that carried the female line forward into the present. Hester also produced INDUS (1846) and THE BLACK SEA (1848) by Ion. Neither Ion colt was of any use, but when bred to Hester's daughter Palmyra, Ion got TALFOURD (1845), TADMOR (1846) and BAALBEC (1851) for Peel. TALFOURD could stay better than most of his siblings and half-sibings: he won the Newmarket Handicap and the Northampton Cup, and was second in the Chester Cup. BAALBEC won the St. James's Palace Stakes.
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Tadmor
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TADMOR (1846) won Goodwood's Ham Stakes, the Column Stakes, the Gratwick Produce Stakes and the Triennial at Newmarket and was undefeated going into the 1849 Epsom Derby. There, over muddy ground with a field of twenty-six, he went lame in the running, but still managed to place third to The Flying Dutchman and Hotspur. Retired after this disaster, he went to banker Zacchariah Simpson's Roydon Stud, at Diss, in Norfolk, where he stood at 15 guineas, a fee not rivalled at that stud until Vedette joined him in 1858. He made the top twenty in progeny earnings on the sire's list in England twice: seventeenth in 1856, and tenth in 1861, but he is best known as the dam's sire of the champion stallion, Hermit. He was shot at age 23 in 1869.
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Simpson spent a great deal of his money on his horses, and for some -- although not him -- it paid off. Famous mares bred at Roydon included Flying Duchess, the dam of Galopin; Seclusion (1857), the dam of Hermit; the half-bred Petra (1856, Family HB - 10); and Brunette (1859), the dam of New Zealand Derby winner Daniel O'Rourke. Traducer, who became a famous stallion in New Zealand, was also born at Roydon. Simpson, according to trainer William Day, was in the habit of giving yearlings he did not sell to trainers on the condition that he take a share of any winnings. This was the case with Traducer, and with many of TADMOR'S youngsters that often ran in selling stakes and passed through many hands. He got quite a few winning juveniles, probably as a result of this policy. Those that survived the trial of selling races tended to be mid-distance handicap winners.
TADMOR'S daughter Seclusion (1857, from Miss Sellon by Cowl), won six races before she bled in the Yorkshire Oaks, and was retired to the stud, and it is through her six-time champion sire son, Hermit, that TADMOR is known today. Seclusion's daughter Louise won several Queen's Plates, and another daughter, Steppe, was second in the One Thousand Guienas. The grand stayer and champion stallion Son-in-Law descends from another Seclusion daughter, Reticence.
TADMOR also got Petra, winner of Chester's Steward's Cup and Queen's Plate, the Liverpool Autumn Cup, the Shrewsbury Cup and other races, and later the dam of four winners on the flat and over fences, including one, Dunois (by Adventerur) that ran 127 times. TADMOR'S daughter Brunette (1859, from a Hetman Platoff mare) was bred by Simpson and sold at age three to New Zealand, where, in 1872 she dropped the future New Zealand Derby winner Daniel O'Rourke, later the sire of some good stayers; her female line continued through the twentieth century.
Of TADMOR'S runners, the best was probably Alvediston (1859, from Crosslanes, by Slane). He won Ascot's New Stakes as a juvenile, and at age three was second by a half-length to Lady Clifden in Goodwood's Steward's Cup, beating a huge field, and then he won the Goodwood Derby. Oberon (1858, from Water Lily by Touchstone) was a good, long-running horse bred and raced by Mr. Barne; his wins included Yarmouth's Norfolk and Suffolk Handicap over 1 mile-2 furlongs, beating four others, and the Huntingdonshire Stakes over two miles, beating four others. The gelded Foresight (1864, from a Sleight-of-Hand mare) won the 1 mile-2 furlong Liverpool Spring Cup. The Gillie (1860, from Glenochty) was one of the yearlings handed off to a trainer; at age two he dead-heated with the French colt, Brick, in the one mile Goodwood Nursery Stakes, beating a huge field. A.D. Wagner (1862) won three races at age four, including the Chelmsford Town Plate over 5 furlongs. Salisbury, a yearling given to William Day, won three selling races, including the Salisbury City Bowl, beating six, as a juvenile. Manrico (1859, out of Fortune Teller) won various races, including the one-mile Lincolnshire Handicap at age four. There were a number of other TADMOR sons that won at smaller venues.
In addition to Seclusion and Petra, TADMOR'S daughters included Witch of Endor (1860, a sister to Manrico), yet another yearling given by Simpson to Day. She had an extremely tough and demanding juvenile season, passing through a number of hands, and managing to win four races, including Epsom's Balacalva Stakes by two lengths and Stamford's Rutland Stakes. Her female line bred on, with Brazilian Grande Premio Derby Paulista winner Hersio Kidd (1976) a more recent stakes winner. TADMOR'S daughter Palm (1854, from Figtree, by Envoy), one of the few TADMORS not bred by Simpson, produced Vauban (1864), winner of the Two Thousand Guineas, the Goodwood Cup and the Prince of Wales's Stakes, and his half-brother, Duke of Parma (1872, by The Duke), winner of the Cesarewitch Stakes. Her daughter, Crytheia (1861, by Hesperus) produced Two Thousand Guineas and Doncaster Cup winner Petronel (1877, by Musket).
Ion's daughter IONA (1849, from Exotic by Emilius) -- one of two Ion daughters named Iona -- was bred at Hampton Court by Lord Orford. She won the eight furlong Coronation Stakes; her half-sister Lady Orford (1847, by Slane), would win the One Thousand Guineas in 1850.
One of Ion's best -- and certainly his most durable -- runners was POODLE (1849), the third foal of Ma Mie, by Jerry, bred by Mr. Newton. Sold to Lord Clifden, he ran for six years and was a great weight-carrier. His wins included the Great Northamptonshire Stakes at age three (second in Newmarket's Royal Stakes and third in the Chester Cup that year), Goodwood's Bentinck Memorial Stakes at age four, and Epsom's 2-1/2 mile Great Metropolitan Handicap and the Newmarket Handicap at age eight (1857), carrying 9 st.-2 lbs. POODLE was sold to Hanover, Germany, in 1858.
POODLE'S full brother, PELION (1850), also bred by Newton and raced by Clifden, faster than his brother, but "less clever-shaped," won Doncaster's Eglinton Stakes and the Marquis of Westminster's Plate at Chester as a juvenile, and at age three showed great versatility by placing second to The Friar in the 7 furlong Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot, and second to Rataplan in the two mile Ascot Gold Vase. Some considered him "one of the best mile-horses of his day," and one of the best-looking. PELION got Pelios, a winner by four lengths of the 1-1/2 Great Warwickshire Handicap, beating Jezebel, Cambuscan and six others and the 1-1/2 mile Longleat Stakes at Salisbury, among other races; Pellucid, winner of the one mile Bath Handicap, beating five others, and other races; Peneus, a winner of seven races at age three; and two tough juvenile fillies -- Rosa Nera (1864), winner of five races at two, including Huntingdon's one mile Fitzwilliam Stakes beating older horses, and Barchettina (1860), heavily campaigned with many placings and four wins as a juvenile, including a handicap run in heats for two-year-olds at Doncaster, and a dead-heat in Newmarket's Bretby Stakes with a Neasham filly, beating future Oaks winner Summerside and five others.
Like TADMOR, it was PELION'S daughters that did best in the breeding shed. Barchinetta produced Ascot's Golden Jubilee Stakes winner Marden (1879, by Hermit) and some other winners and is seen tail-female in the line of the good running Chaucer son, Stedfast (1908) and the Grand Prix de Paris winner Popof (1851). PELION'S daughter Hippodamia (1859) also bred on, with a number of stakes-winning descendants in various countries, including the Two Thousand Guineas winner Tetratema (1917), Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Le Paillon (1942) and Deutsches Derby winner Ilix (1963). PELION'S daughter Pietas (1861, from Royal Hunt Cup winner Chalice) produced the Epsom Oaks winner Placida (1874, by Lord Lyon).
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Dagobert
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Another Ion colt born in 1850 was the brown DAGOBERT (1850, from a Langar mare), bred at Goodwood by the Duke of Richmond and placed in training with the Duke's trainer John Kent. His younger sister, VARSOVIANA (1852) later produced One Thousand Guineas winner Nemesis (1858, by Newminster), and through her was tail-female ancestress of 1889 Oaks winner Morglay and some good runners in Australia, including AJC Derby and Victoria Derby winner Reading (1936) and Melbourne Cup winner Posinatus.
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As a juvenile DAGOBERT ran three times. He was fourth in Epsom's Woodcote Stakes, behind Orestes, Sylphine, and Gossip, with Rataplan, Ethelbert and six other youngsters behind him. At Newmarket July he won the Chesterfield Stakes for juveniles, War-whoop, Bridget, and and four others. He did not place in Goodwood's Nursery Cup, won by Catherine Hayes. At age three, he did not place in any of his three outings, a sweepstakes at Goodwood, the Goodwood Cup, a sweep at Newmarket Houghton. Dispersed with most of the rest of the Duke's racing stable, in 1854, age four, he won a selling plate at Newmarket July, and was claimed for £200 by a Mr. Trench from his owner, Mr. Bearup. He was sold to Mr. Edwards, took him on the smaller northern circuit: he was second in the Castle Handicap at Nottingham, beaten by Domino (by Cowl), with one other in the field, and at the same meet won the Grand Stand Stakes in a canter, beating four others. At Wolverhampton he was second in a free handicap, won by Kennyside Hero, with five others in the field. When stepped up to York August, he did not place in the Dundas Stakes, won by A British Yeoman, with some other northern cracks in the nine horse field, and also failed to place in the Consolation Scramble, won by Comfort (by Birdcatcher), with eleven others in the field.
Wild Dayrell
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WILD DAYRELL (1852), in Ion's last English crop, was out of Yorkshire Oaks winner Ellen Middleton, by the great runner Bay Middleton, and bred by Francis Popham of Littlecote, on the Wiltshire-Berkshire border. Popham's stud groom, at Newmarket to pick out a stallion for Ellen Middleton, one of the first thoroughbred mares Popham ever owned, decided on Ion; Ellen went home after her first breeding, and had to return to Newmarket for a second cover. Described by many contemporary turf commentators as one of the most beautiful animals to grace the turf, WILD DAYRELL had a brief career, winning a race at Newmarket as a juvenile and at age three, taking the Epsom Derby and York's Ebor St. Leger before breaking down in the Doncaster Cup and retiring to stud at Littlecote, where he lived until his death in November, 1870. |
WILD DAYRELL got a number of winners, including One Thousand Guineas winner Hurricane, and Buccaneer, who took 12 of his 18 starts and was later a successful sire of three English classic winnners and many classic winners in Hungary, Germany and Austria. Buccaneer's Hungarian-bred, Epsom Derby-winning son, Kisbér, was champion sire in Germany three times. Buccaneer's Hungarian-bred son Flibustier, a champion stallion in Germany, sent the sire line forward for several generations in Europe, and Buccaneer's son See Saw got a successful sire son in France. WILD DAYRELL'S son, The Rake, sent the sire line forward in England and France for a few generations, and two WILD DAYRELL sons and a grandson got sire sons in Australia.
Ion got other useful broodmare daughters in England, but other than those already noted, the most significant was ADELINE (1851, from Little Fairy, a half-sister to Derby winner Little Wonder, by Hornsea). She produced St. Angela (1865, by King Tom), winner of a minor race, that became the dam of the great stallion St. Simon (1881, by Galopin). St. Angela's daughter, the unraced Angelica (1879, by Galopin), became the dam of Criterion and Queen Alexandra Stakes winner Blue Green (1887) and of the good runner and leading sire Orme.
Ion in France
When Ion reached France in the winter of 1851-52, his stud fee was set at 200 francs, the same fee charged for Lanercost, another English transplant. These fees were kept deliberately low to encourage private owners to use government stallions to improve their mares, whether thoroughbred or not. Ion spent about eight years at stud in France, dying in the late 1850s or early 1860s. The 1850s was a time of transition in French breeding, and while imported English sires were still dominant, native-bred stallions were just starting to make a mark; in the 1860s, with the advent of Monarque and Fitz-Gladiator and other French-bred horses, the heavy reliance on English stallions declined. But, during the decade of the 1850s, Ion's progeny were mostly running against horses by such English imports (and there were over sixty at this time) as Mr. Waggs, Gladiator, Inheritor, The Baron, Royal-Oak, The Nabob, Lanercost, and Sting, and almost every high-class runner had an imported English dam, or at the least, a dam by an imported English sire.
In his first crop of 1853 Ion got his best running son in France, the bay LION (from Miss Caroline, by Langar). Racing for Prince Marc de Beauvau, he was one of those "brilliant cripples," whose legs constantly gave him trouble, and he was difficult to keep fit. He failed to place at age three in the Poule d'Essai, but in the exciting Prix du Jockey Club he dead-heated with the inferior Diamant, and then won the run-off by two lengths. He went on to the Grand Saint Leger at Moulins, beating the top runners Miss Cath (Grand Saint-Léger and Omnium winner) and Dame d'Honneur (1856 Prix de Diane winner), among others. In the Prix de l'Empereur at Chantilly he was third to the older great mare Ronzi and to the older Monarque, receiving weight from both. At the end of the season he won the Prix Spécial at Paris. The next year, 1857, he was barely beaten by the powerhouse Monarque, from whom he was in receipt of two pounds, in the Prix des Haras at Chantilly. A week later he met Monarque again in the Prix de l'Administration (Chantilly), receiving 11 lbs. Monarque won the first heat by a head, but LION was ahead in the second heat, in sight of the finishing post, when his pastern gave way, and that was the end of LION, and, most likely, Ion's chance to perpetuate his sire line in France. Turf commentators said LION was the best of his year at age three, and bemoaned his loss to the stud.
Another colt in Ion's first French crop was M. HENRY (from Victorine). Raced by H. Mosselman, he won the Omnium, beating Dame d'Honneur and Miss Cath, the Prix du Trocadero at Paris, and the Derby Continental at Gand.
The best filly from this first crop was MISS ION (Miss Ann, by Filho da Puta): she became the dam of Beatrix (1861, by Monarque), winner of the 4200 meter Prix du Cadran at age four; Boulogne (1866, by Monarque), also a winner of the Prix du Cadran, and in England of the Newmarket Derby; and Henry (1868, by Monarque), a big sturdy horse that ran in England, winning the Ascot and Newmarket Derbies, the Ascot Gold Cup (beating Favonius, Hannah, etc.), and in France, the Prix Rainbow (four miles). MISS ION'S 1863 daughter, Puebla, by Ventre St. Gris, won the Poule d'Essai des Poulains. MISS ION'S tail-female descendants bred on through the early twentieth century with winners in Austria-Hungary.
Ion's next good runner was Baron Nivière's GOËLETTE (1855, from Georgette, by Hoemus, descended from several generations of French-bred mares). She was second to La Maladetta in the Grand Prix Impérial, and second to Etoile-du-Nord in the Prix de Diane, and won the prix d'Iffezheim at Baden-Baden. At age four, in the Prix de l'Empereur at Chantilly, receiving weight from most of the other horses, she was second to the English horse, Gaspard, with another English horse, Lifeboat, third, and the good French horse Black Prince nowhere. At age five she went with Le Grande Écurie (a partnership between Nivière and Count Frederic deLagrange) to England, but did not place anywhere. With no significant winners in her past female line, she became the dam of the excellent race filly Etoile Filante (1863, by Young Gladiator), winner of the Prix Royal Oak and the Grosser Preis von Baden, among other races, and dam of Astree (1874, by Dollar), whose wins included the Prix de la Fôret and Prix Morny. GOËLETTE also bred Gouvernail (1865, by Young Gladiator), a winner of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains. Another GOËLETTE daughter, Brigantine (1866, by Orphelin) bred Barcarolle (1871, by Ruy Blas), a winnner of the Prix de la Fôret. None of these good mares bred on more than a few generations.
BAKALOUM (1856), from the French-bred Serenade by imported Royal Oak, became Ion's second classic winner by taking the Poule d'Essai des Poulains for his owner H. Mosselman, but that's the best he ever did on the turf; taken to England to run later in the season, he did nothing. He was a modest sire at stud, his best being Victorieuse (1863), winner of the Prix de Diane and of the Prix Longchamp (later Prix Hocquart).
In 1858 Baron Nivière's imported English mare Fradulent, by Venison -- who had already produced Ascot Stakes winner Little Harry (1849) in England -- dropped the bay filly FINLANDE to the cover of Ion. Born just before Nivière and Count Frederic deLagrange formed their racing and breeding partnerhsip, Le Grande Écurie, she was incorporated into it, but still most frequently ran in Nivière's name. At age two her big win was the Prix de la Fôret. At age three she won the Prix de l'Empereur (Grande Poule de Produits, later Prix Lupin) and the Prix de Diane, becoming Ion's third classic winner in France. She went to England with Le Grande Écurie, training out of Phantom House, leased by the stable with Tom Jennings brought over from France as trainer -- brother Henry supervised the stable's training at LaGrange's La Morlaye in France -- but did not place in anything. At age four she was back in England with other in Le Grande Écurie, and did better. She was fourth in the Newmarket Handicap, won by Carbineer, with Sappho second, in a huge field that included Gabrielle d'Estress and Prince Plausible. In the Great Metropolitan Handicap, another huge field, won by Elcho, she was fifth. In her third handicap, yet again a big field, she was third to Stampedo and Rapparee.
When Le Grande Écurie was disbanded at the end of 1862, Nivière bought FINLANDE back for 8,000 francs. A year later she was purchased by Auguste Lupin for 10,800 francs, and entered his stud at Vaucresson, later moved to Viroflay, where she produced a series of excellent horses. First was Farragus (1864, by Fitz-Gladiator), a good horse that won three races at age three and seven at age four. Then came Finisterre (1867, by Tournament), later the dam of a good runner in Financier (1878, by Ruy Blas).
After that FINLANDE was regularly bred to Dollar. Fideline (1871) won the Grand Criterium as a juvenile, and in the breeding shed produced Galaor (1885, by Isonomy), an excellent stayer that won the Grand Prix de Deauville, the Prix Jean Prat and the Prix Royal Oak. Then came the FINLANDE-Dollar son Saint-Cyr (1872). He won the Poule d'Essai, the Prix de Longchamp (Prix Hocquart, 2500 meters), the Prix de Deauville (2400 meters), and dead-heated for second in the Prix du Jockey Club; at age four he took the 4200 meter Prix du Cadran. After Saint-Cyr came Fontainebleau (1874), who was second to Jongleur in the Grande Poule (later Prix Lupin), and won the Poule d'Essai, and at age four won the Prix de la Seine, the Prix de Bois-Roussel and several other races; in the stud he got the Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Phlegethon, and Prix Morny winner Fontanas. The next FINLANDE-Dollar foal was Brienne (1877), who fell as a juvenile and afterwards could only place second in the Prix d'Aumtomne at Mais; at Viroflay she became the dam of Polygone (1891), a winner of the Prix Hocquart and Prix Jean Prat and later a stallion. The last of the FINLANDE-Dollar foals was Saumur (1878), who as a stallion got Clamart (1888), a winner of the Grand Prix de Paris and other races and later sire of Amie, the dam of the great Ajax. Despite her fine daughters, FINLANDE'S tail-female line died out around the turn of the twentieth century, and she is seen in pedigrees today through her sons.
Ion had some other winners in France. The Count de Morny's VIOLETTE (1857, from a Launcelot mare) won the Poule des Produits and a small race at Baden-Baden at age three. Ion's daughter MADEMOISELLE MARCO (1854, from Lady Bangtail by Erymus) was a regional winner for the comte de Coislin. She won the Derby de l'Ouest at Nantes and the Poule d'Essai de l'Ouest at Poitiers. Neither of these mares bred on with significant thoroughbred offspring.
Some of Ion's less than stellar daughters on the turf became good broodmares, however. LADY TARTUFFE (1853, from Mariquita by Physician) produced Tartane (1871) a winner of the Prix du Premier Pas for Auguste Lupin that later produced the San Stefano colt, Tantale (1886), a winner of the Grosser Preis von Baden. NARCISSA (1855, out of Dame Blanche by Harlequin) extablished a long-lived female family that included winners in Poland and France; her grandaughter, Oceanie (1877) won Ascot's New Stakes. NEREIDE (1856, from the imported Jelly Fish, by Venison) was second dam of Prix de Diane winner Fregate (1881, by Saxifrage), in turn dam of Prix Hocquart winner Fontenoy (1889).
CALPURNIA (1856, from Lysisca, by Sting) produced Massinissa (1866, by The Flying Dutchman), a winner of the Prix Condé as a juvenile, of the Prix d'Autmone at three, and of the Prix des Lions, the Grand Prix de Ville, and other races at age four. Massinissa's daughter, The White Witch (1878, from Jeu des Mots) bred Irish Derby winner Tragedy and her sister, Comedy, winner of the Cambridgeshire Stakes; The White Witch's tail-female line was very successful and includes the great Australian runner and sire Tobin Bronze (1962), St. Leger Stakes winner Wildfowler (1927), the American classic-winning filly Wistful (1946), and Le Levanstell (1957). Massinissa also got Pun, a sister to The White Witch -- her female line was also successful and still active, and includes Preakness Stakes winner Royal Orbit (1956), a number of good Australian and New Zealand stayers and classic winners, and Decies (1967), a winner of the Irish Two Thousand Guineas and other races and later a stallion.
SAUVAGINE (1857, out of imported Cuckoo, by Elis), a winner of some small races, but unplaced in the Prix de Diane, bred two excellent sons to the cover of Dollar, and a daughter, Sauvegarde (1871) that bred on for a couple of generations. The eldest SAUVAGINE son by Dollar, Salvanos (1869), was sold to Englishman Joseph Radcliffe in 1870; two years later he won the Cesarewitch Stakes handicap in a canter. The second son from this cross was Salvator (1872), unbeaten at age three, when his wins included the Prix du Jockey Club and the Grand Prix de Paris. Sold to England for stud, Salvator got Ossian, winner of the Doncaster St. Leger, the Great Yorkshire Stakes, Sussex Stakes and other races and later a stallion in the U.S., and back in France Salvator got some winners, including Lapin, a winner of the Prix du Cadran in 1886.
Another good producer by Ion was NICE (1858, from Illustration, by Gladiator). She bred the excellent race mare Nubienne (1876, by Ruy Blas), a winner of the Prix de Diane and the Grand Prix de Paris, among other races, and later herself a good producer whose tail-female line bred on through the 1930s. Ion's daughter SOMNAMBULE (1858, from Semiseria by Voltaire) was the dam of Sabre (1871, by Tournament), winner of the Prix de l'Empereur (Prix Lupin); her line did not breed on in tail-female.
By being in the right place, at the right time, Ion got WILD DAYRELL, who reinvigorated the Sir Paul sire line in Europe and Australasia. Never a champion sire himself, Ion nonetheless had an influence on thoroughbreds as great-grand sire -- through a son and a daughter -- of the breed-changing champion sires St. Simon, and Hermit, and through various sons and daughters he is seen in the pedigrees of Orme and Son-in-Law, and many other great horses.
--Patricia Erigero. Thanks to Tim Cox for his assistance with the race records of Ion and Cain, and to Kathy Schenck for assistance with Paulowitz's career |
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