Cinna (1917 – 1939) was a BritishThoroughbred racehorse andbroodmare. She showed great promise as a juvenile in 1919 when she won a very competitivemaiden race on her debut before finishing second in theNew Stakes and the Bretby Stakes. As a three-year-old she won the1000 Guineas and theCoronation Stakes and was narrowly beaten when favourite for theEpsom Oaks. She was retired from racing at the end of the year and went on to be a very successful broodmare. Three of her sons became leading sires in Australasia whilst several of her daughters became influential broodmares including the female-line ancestors ofSunday Silence andIndian Ridge.

Cinna was a bay mare bred and owned bySir Robert William Buchanan Jardine, 2nd Baronet. She was trained throughout her racing career by Tom Waugh Sr at the Meynell House stable inNewmarket, Suffolk.^[2]

She was sired byPolymelus, who won theChampion Stakes in 1906, and went on to much greater success as a stallion. He sired the Derby winnersPommern,Humorist andFifinella and through his sonPhalaris is the direct male-line ancestor of most modern Thoroughbreds. He was theLeading sire in Great Britain and Ireland on five occasions.^[3] Cinna's dam Baroness La Fleche was winning daughter of theFillies’ Triple Crown winnerLa Fleche.^[4]

Cinna began her racing career in May 1919 when she won the Norfolk Plate atNewmarket Racecourse, beating Woodrow into second place. Several other good horses came out of the race including the winners of theWoodcote Stakes,Richmond Stakes andFree Handicap. On her next appearance, the filly was sent toRoyal Ascot for theNew Stakes in June and finished second to thecoltOrpheus. After a break she returned to action at Newmarket in autumn and was runner-up behindKing George V's filly Lemonade in the Bretby Stakes.^[5]

On 30 April Cinna started at odds of4/1 second favourite behind Lemonade in a 21-runner field for the 107th running of the 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket. Ridden by Billy Griggs she took the lead soon after the start and was never seriously challenged, coming home threelengths clear Cicerole with Valescure a length away in third.^[6] Cinna's winning time of was 1:40.4 was 2.6 seconds faster than the time set byTetratema in the 2000 Guineas two days earlier.^[7]

In the Oaks Stakes over one and a half miles atEpsom Racecourse on 4 May Cinna was partnered by Griggs' younger brother Walter and started the 2/1 favourite against sixteen opponents. She took the lead in the straight but was overtaken by the rallyingCharlebelle in the final strides and was beaten a neck into second place,^[8] after what was described as a "most exciting struggle".^[9]

Cinna was then dropped back in distance for the Coronation Stakes over one mile at Royal Ascot. She started at odds of 2/1 and produced a "very smooth performance" to win by a short-head from Redhead with La Dauphine in third.^[10] Her victory took her earnings for the year to £8,576.^[11] AtGoodwood Racecourse she finished third behind Most Beautiful and Redhead in the ten-furlongNassau Stakes.

In their book,A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Cinna an "inferior" winner of the 1000 Guineas.^[7]

Cinna was a prolific broodmare, producing at least fifteen foals between 1922 and 1939:

• Gay Shield, a bay colt, foaled in 1922, sired byGay Crusader
• Buckler, brown colt, 1923, byBuchan
• Life Belt, chestnut filly, 1925, byHurry On. Female-line ancestor ofIndian Ridge and Fraise du Bois (Irish Derby).^[4]
• Belle Mere, brown filly, 1926, bySon-in-Law. Female-line ancestor ofSunday Silence,Gold and Black andDulcify.^[4]
• Beau Pere, brown colt, 1927, by Son-in-Law. Three-timeLeading sire in Australia.^[12] and twice Leading sire in New Zealand.^[13]
• Hot Haste, chestnut colt, 1928, by Hurry On
• Buchna, bay filly, 1929, by Buchan. Female-line ancestor ofNicer.^[4]
• Sunset, chestnut filly, 1930, bySolario
• Mr Standfast, bay colt, 1931, by Buchan. Champion stallion inQueensland.^[14]
• Cineraria, bay filly, 1932, byDiomedes
• Italian Bomber, brown colt (later gelded), 1933, byNothing Venture
• Dink, bay colt, 1934, by Nothing Venture
• Cinnabell, bay filly, 1937, by Nothing Venture
• Celebrity, chestnut filly, 1938, by Nothing Venture. Female-line ancestor of Sky Chase (Rosehill Guineas) and Show A Heart (The T J Smith).^[4]
• Balloch, brown colt, 1939, byObliterate. Twice Leading sire in New Zealand.^[13]

Cinna was euthanised in 1939.^[15]

• Cinna wasinbred 3 × 3 to both Hampton and Quiver, meaning that both of these horses appeared twice in the third generation of her pedigree.

• 1917 racehorse births
• 1939 racehorse deaths
• Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
• Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
• Thoroughbred family 3-e
• 1000 Guineas winners

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata