Bend Or
Sire	Doncaster
Grandsire	Stockwell
Dam	Rouge Rose
Damsire	Thormanby
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1877 (1877)
Died	1903(1903-00-00) (aged 25–26)
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	Eaton Stud
Owner	1st Duke of Westminster
Trainer	Robert Peck
Record	14: 10–2–0
Earnings	£16,466
Major wins
Chesterfield Stakes (1879) Richmond Stakes (1879) Epsom Derby (1880) St. James's Palace Stakes (1880) City and Suburban Handicap (1881) Epsom Gold Cup (1881) Champion Stakes (1881)
Awards
Leading broodmare sire in Britain & Ireland (1901, 1902)
Last updated on 6 November 2009

Bend Or (1877–1903) was a BritishThoroughbredracehorse who won the 1880Epsom Derby. His regularjockeyFred Archer, winner of thirteen consecutiveBritish jockey titles, said Bend Or was probably the greatest horse he had ever ridden.

His name is theheraldic term for "abend (i.e. diagonal stripe) that is golden or yellow in color (or)", and is a reference to the ancient former arms of the Grosvenor family which were adjudged against them in 1389 to the Scrope family in the most famous case ever heard before the Court of Chivalry, known asScrope v Grosvenor. The Duke also awarded it as a lifelong family nickname to his grandsonHugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster (1879–1953), born in the year before the Derby win.Bendor Range is named after the horse.

Bred and foaled at the1st Duke of Westminster's Eaton Stud, Bend Or grew to be a largestallion but was noted for his unusual docility. He was achestnut colt who stood 16.1 hands (65 inches, 165 cm) and had a white blaze.^[1] He was sired byDoncaster, a son ofStockwell, out of the mare, Rouge Rose byThormanby.^[2] Thormanby won the 1860 Epsom Derby and the 1861Ascot Gold Cup and was in 1869 theleading sire in Great Britain & Ireland.

Bend Or made his first racecourse appearance in July 1879 in the Chesterfield Stakes atNewmarket. Starting as the 9/4 favourite he won easily by a length.^[3] He then won theRichmond Stakes carrying a 6-pound weight penalty. After these wins he started to 1/2 favourite for the Prince of Wales Stakes at York. He led from the outset and won easily by half a length.^[4] After York he was already being quoted at 7/1 for the 1880Epsom Derby.^[5] Bend Or finished the season by winning the Triennial Produce Stakes and the Rous Memorial Stakes, both at Newmarket.

Bend Or was not entered for the2000 Guineas, but in early March, he was the 5/1 favourite forThe Derby.^[6] He started his three-year-old campaign in theDerby. He was ridden byFred Archer and started as the 2/1 favourite in a field of 19. After the start, he was in a prominent position but was dropped back into mid-division by Archer. At Tattenham CornerRobert the Devil was leading from Von der Tann, Bend Or being in about the sixth position. In the straight Bend Or passed some of the horses to move into third. The second placed Mask then began to fade as he was passed by Bend Or, who went off in pursuit of Robert the Devil. Bend Or won the Derby by a head from Robert the Devil, with Mask a further six lengths back in third.^[7]

After the Derby, he went to Royal Ascot for theSt. James's Palace Stakes, starting at the odds of 30/100. The race was run at a slow early pace. Bend Or won by a head from Fernandez, the two finishing clear of the rest of the field.^[8] After Ascot he had to be given a few months rest due to shin problems exacerbated in his Derby win.

In the summer a challenge was lodged by the owners ofRobert the Devil against Bend Or's Derby win on the grounds of him being entered under the wrong description. It was alleged that his dam was not Rouge Rose, but a mare called Clemence. At Eaton Stud, both Rouge Rose and Clemence had a foal byDoncaster in 1877. It was suggested that the two foals had been mixed up and that it was the horse registered as Tadcaster (i.e. the Clemence foal) that won the Derby. The accusation came from a groom who formerly worked for the Duke. During the investigation, the Eaton Stud book was produced, but was found to contain a number of errors.^[9] The objection was overruled by the Jockey Club,^[10] but controversy remained. Recent research which compared DNA of Bend Or to that of Tadcaster relatives suggested the two had indeed been switched as foals.^[11]

Clemence was a daughter ofNewminster and Eulogy. Newminster was the son ofTouchstone andBeeswing. Eulogy was the daughter of Euclid and Martha Lynn.

The shin injury affected him for most of the remainder of the year as was evident in his first loss when he returned to racing for September'sSt Leger Stakes, where he finished fifth behind winner Robert the Devil. His next start came in the Great Foal Stakes. In that race, Robert the Devil made the running, with Bend Or held up in the rear. At the bushes, Bend Or moved up to third behind Robert the Devil and Muriel. Bend Or then overtook Muriel and challenged Robert the Devil. Bend Or seemed to have the race won with 50 yards to go, but he swerved badly and lost by a head. He faced Robert the Devil again in theChampion Stakes. Robert the Devil started the 11/10 favourite, with Bend Or at 5/4. Robert the Devil led from the start and was never caught. He won by 10 lengths from Bend Or, with the other two runners a further 10 lengths back.^[12]

Returning to the track at age four, Bend Or won the City and Suburban Handicap atEpsom Downs carrying 9 stone.^[13] He then avenged his defeats to Robert the Devil in theEpsom Gold Cup. Only the two horses ran, with Bend Or winning by a neck. Bend Or then won theChampion Stakes easily by ¾ length from Scobell, with the 1881 Derby winnerIroquois a bad third. Bend Or's next start came in theCambridgeshire Stakes where, under Archer, he carried 9 st 8 lb. During the closing stages the weight began to tell and he was eased by Archer, finishing in seventh.^[14] He was then retired tobreeding duties at his owner's Eaton Stud.^[15]

Bend Or had white flecks on hischestnut coat, and like his damsire Thormanby, had black spots on his neck, shoulder, and on his quarters. These markings often showed up in his progeny and is referred to asBend Or spotting.

Standing atEaton Stud, Bend Or was a successful stallion siring many top racehorses including two classic winners. His stud fee for 1898 was 200guineas, plus one guinea for thegroom. By this time his offspring had won 285 races worth £129,148^[1]

c =colt, f =filly

Kendal went on to sireTriple Crown winnerGaltee More.Ormonde sired dualEclipse Stakes winnerOrme.Orbit was exported toArgentina. Such was his success at stud there he was known as "South American Stockwell". Bona Vista went on to sireAscot Gold Cup winnerCyllene. Through Cyllene's grandsonPhalaris, Bend Or is the sire-line ancestor to the majority of thoroughbreds alive today. Radium sired2000 Guineas winnerClarissimus.

Bend Or did not produce many top race mares, but many of them were top broodmares. His daughter Fairy Gold was exported to America and was the dam ofFair Play andBelmont Stakes winnerFriar Rock. Another daughter Ornament was the dam ofSceptre, winner of four classics in 1902. Disorder was produced Eclipse Stakes winner Epsom Lad. Bend Or was also damsire toPrix du Jockey Club winner Ex Voto, through is daughter Golden Rod. Through his daughter Quetta, Bend Or was damsire toCoronation Stakes winner Helm andDewhurst Stakes winnerFrontier (who was sired by his grandsonOrme).

Bend Or was twice the leadingbroodmare sire in Britain before his death at age twenty-six in January 1903.^[2] Bend Or's important immediate descendants includeThe Tetrarch,Phar Lap andMan o' War, and beyond that the American horseSeabiscuit.

Note: b. =Bay, br. =Brown, ch. =Chestnut

• List of racehorses

• Bend Or at the United Kingdom's National Horseracing Museum

• 1877 racehorse births
• 1903 racehorse deaths
• Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
• Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
• British Champion Thoroughbred broodmare sires
• Epsom Derby winners
• Thoroughbred family 1-k

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata