| Mid-day Sun | |
|---|---|
 Mid-day Sun, ridden by Michael Beary, in 1937 in a photograph by Frank Griggs | |
| Sire | Solario |
| Grandsire | Gainsborough |
| Dam | Bridge of Allan |
| Damsire | Phalaris |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1934 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | William Thomas Sears |
| Owner | Lettice Miller (Mrs G. B. Miller) |
| Trainer | Fred Butters |
| Record | 15: 6-1-2 |
| Earnings | £ |
| Major wins | |
| Free Handicap (1937) Lingfield Derby Trial (1937) Epsom Derby (1937) Hardwicke Stakes (1937) | |
Mid-day Sun (1934–1954) was a BritishThoroughbred racehorse andsire. After showing little promise as a two-year-old in 1936, Mid-day Sun improved into top class performer at three. In 1937 he won five races includingThe Derby and theHardwicke Stakes atRoyal Ascot. He was retired to stud in 1938 but had little success as a stallion. He was the first winner of the Derby at Epsom to be owned by a woman.
Mid-day Sun was a bay horse bred in England by W. T. Sears. As a yearling he was sent to the sales at Newmarket but attracted little interest and did not reach his reserve price of 2,000guineas. Shortly afterwards, a private sale was arranged by the trainer Fred Butters,[1] acting on the advice of his more famous elder brotherFrank,[2] and the colt entered the ownership of Lettice Miller (officially Mrs G. B. Miller).[3] Butters, took charge of the colt’s training at his stables atKingsclere,Berkshire.
Mid-day Sun’s sire,Solario was an outstanding racehorse who won theCoronation Cup and theAscot Gold Cup in 1926, before going on to beChampion sire three times. His dam, Bridge of Allan, was a minor winner and a half sister of the2000 Guineas runner-up Knockando.[4]
Mid-day Sun did little in his two-year-old season to suggest that he was a potentialClassic winner. He lost his first six races, his best effort coming when he finished sixth to Perifox in theRichmond Stakes atGoodwood. AtNewmarket on October 13 Mid-day Sun recorded his first win when carrying a light weight in a one-mile Nursery (ahandicap race for two-year-olds). He then finished second in a similar event at the same course two weeks later, failing to give seventeen pounds to the winner.[5] At the end of the season he was rated on 99pounds, more than thirty pounds below the top-rated coltForay.[4]
On his three-year-old debut, Mid-day Sun won theFree Handicap at Newmarket in April, receiving six pounds from the fillyExhibitionnist. The form of the race did not look particularly strong, but was boosted later in the year when the runner-up won both the1000 Guineas and theOaks. On his next start, Mid-day Sun proved himself capable of competing with the best colts by finishing third of the eighteen runners behindLe Ksar and Goya in the2000 Guineas. He then prepared for the Derby by winning a slowly run race for theLingfield Derby Trial. In the build-up to the Classic he was reported to be "in demand" in the betting market but was not among the favourites.[6]
At Epsom, Mid-day Sun was ridden by the Irish jockey Michael Beary and started at odds of100/7 (just over 14/1) in a field of twenty-one. The race was run in bright sunshine in front of the customary immense crowd including theKing andQueen.[7] Mid-day Sun was held up in the early stages as Renardo and then Fairford led the field. Le Grand Duc moved into the lead from Goya in the straight, heading a closely packed group of seven horses, with Beary moving his horse into contention. Mid-day Sun produced a “dazzling run”[8] to move through the middle of the group, and pass Le Grand Duc inside the final furlong. Once in front, he held off the late challenge of Sandsprite to win by one and a half lengths. Mrs Miller called the result "the moment of my life" before explaining that she would prefer to celebrate with "a cup of tea" followed by a quiet dinner with her husband and mother.[9] Beary felt that the colt had been "running lazily" in the early stages, but said that he had "responded gallantly" at the finish.[2] The quality of the race was, however, questioned by some including theSunday Times who pointed out that the proximity of the 100/1 outsider Sandsprite made the form look suspect.[10]
Mid-day Sun was then sent to Royal Ascot where he was matched against leading older horses including the American-bredFlares in theHardwicke Stakes. He took the lead early in the straight and pulled clear to win decisively, returning to "a big reception".[11] According to Butters, the race "took nothing out of him",[12] and he was then aimed at theSt Leger atDoncaster. He prepared for the Classic by winning the Manton Stakes atSalisbury on August 23. In the St Leger Mid-day Sun started favourite but Beary struggled to obtain a clear run in the straight[13] and although the colt finished strongly he finished third, beaten just over a length byChulmleigh with Fair Copy second.[14]
Mid-day Sun was kept in training as a four-year-old and aimed at theAscot Gold Cup.[15] His temperament became a problem however and it proved impossible to train him effectively. He was retired to stud without racing in 1938.[4]
Mid-day Sun was officially rated the best three-year-old colt of 1937 by the Jockey club handicapper.[16] In their bookA Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Mid-day Sun on 126, making him a “poor” Derby winner.[17]
Mid-day Sun was not a successful stallion although his opportunities were limited by his standing at a small stud farm duringwartime. His best offspring wasSterope, a leading miler who won theCambridgeshire Handicap twice, but was excluded from most top events by his status as agelding.[17] In 1950 Mid-day Sun was exported toNew Zealand where he died in 1954.
| Sire Solario (IRE) 1922 | Gainsborough 1915 | Bayardo | Bay Ronald |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galicia | |||
| Rosedrop | St Frusquin* | ||
| Rosaline | |||
| Sun Worship 1912 | Sundridge | Amphion | |
| Sierra | |||
| Doctrine | Ayrshire | ||
| Axiom | |||
| Dam Bridge of Allan (GB) 1928 | Phalaris 1913 | Polymelus | Cyllene |
| Maid Marian | |||
| Bromus | Sainfoin | ||
| Cheery* | |||
| Spean Bridge 1910 | Spearmint | Carbine | |
| Maid of the Mint | |||
| Santa Brigida | St Simon* | ||
| Bridget (Family: 8) |
* Mid-day Sun isinbred 5S x 5D x 4D to the stallionSt Simon, meaning that he appears fifth generation (viaSt Frusquin) on the sire side of his pedigree, and fifth generation (via Cheery) and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.