| Ossian | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 'Ossian', Winner of the Doncaster St Leger, by Samuel Henry Alken (1883) | |
| Sire | Salvator |
| Grandsire | Dollar |
| Dam | Music |
| Damsire | Stockwell |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1880[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton |
| Owner | 12th Duke of Hamilton |
| Trainer | Richard Marsh |
| Record | 18: 6-6-3 |
| Earnings | £9,311 |
| Major wins | |
| Sussex Stakes (1883) Drawing Room Stakes (1883) Great Yorkshire Handicap (1883) St Leger (1883) Great Foal Stakes (1883) Claret Stakes (1883) | |
| Awards | |
| Biggest money-winner in Britain (1883) | |
Ossian (1880 – 1891) was a BritishThoroughbred racehorse andsire. After finishing unplaced on his only start as a juvenile and running fifth on his three-year-old debut, he made very good progress and ended the year as the biggest money-winner in Britain. He demonstrated consistent top-class form to win theSussex Stakes, Drawing Room Stakes, Great Yorkshire Handicap,St Leger Stakes and Great Foal Stakes a well as being placed in theCraven Stakes,Prince of Wales's Stakes,Ascot Derby andChampion Stakes. As four-year-old he developed respiratory problems butwalked over for theClaret Stakes and was placed in both theGoodwood Cup and theDoncaster Cup. He made little impact in his short career as a breeding stallion before dying at age 11 while being exported to the United States.
Ossian was a bay or brown horse bred and owned byWilliam Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton.[2] The colt was sent into training withRichard Marsh atNewmarket, Suffolk.
He was sired by Salvator, the best horse of his generation in France, who was unbeaten in seven races including thePrix du Jockey Club and theGrand Prix de Paris. He was a representative of theByerley Turk sire line,[3] unlike more than 95% of modern thoroughbreds, who descend directly from theDarley Arabian.[4] Ossian's dam Music also produced Poetry, the dam ofThais.[5]
On his only start as a two-year-old Ossian finished unplaced in theMolecomb Stakes atGoodwood Racecourse, a race which resulted in adead-heat between Elzevir andSt. Blaise.[2]
Ossian began his second campaign in the Biennial Stakes over the Rowley Mile atNewmarket Racecourse in April. He looked well short of full fitness and ran accordingly, finishing fifth in a six-runner race won by Grandmaster.[6] Two days later, over the Ancaster Mile at the same track, the colt produced a much better effort in theCraven Stakes when he ran second to Grandmaster, beaten three quarters of alength by the winner.[7] At Newmarket on 10 May he was stepped up in distance for the Payne Stakes over ten furlongs in which he finished a close third behind Splendor and Ladislas, with Grandmaster unplaced.[8]
At the Derby meeting atEpsom Racecourse Ossian contested the Epsom Grand Prize over ten furlongs in which he started at 7/1 and came home third behind Padlock and Goldfield.[9]
AtRoyal Ascot in June Ossian ran twice over still longer distances. He started at odds of9/1 for thePrince of Wales Stakes (then restricted to three-year-olds and run over thirteen furlongs) and after taking the lead on the final turn he finished second, a length behind the 2000 Guineas winnerGalliard. In theAscot Derby two days later, ridden byCharles Wood, he was beaten a head by Ladislas after a "desperate race" over the final furlong, with theEpsom Derby winnerSt Blaise in third.[10]
Later that summer at Goodwood Racecourse Ossian was dropped back to one mile for the £1,337 Sussex Stakes for which he was made the 6/4 favourite. With Wood in the saddle he dominated the race in the closing stages and "romped" to victory by four lengths from Stonecrop.[11] On the following afternoonJohn Watts took the ride when the colt started favourite for the ten-furlong Drawing Room Stakes and won "in a canter" by four length from Henley.[11] Later in the meeting, however, he was beaten a head by Blue Grass in the Racing Stakes, after which bookmakers offered him at odds of 40/1 for the St Leger whilstBell's Life described him as one of the "ragged rank and file".[12] AtYork in August he carried a weight of 126 pounds fourteen furlong Great Yorkshire Stakes in which he was ridden by Watts and started at odds of 9/2. He took the lead on the final turn and held off the challenge of Chislehurst to win by a neck in a "splendid finish" with Ladislas two lengths back in third place. His performance re-established him as one of the leading contenders for the St Leger.[13]
On 12 September Ossian, ridden by Watts, was one of nine three-year-olds to contest the 108th running of the £4,725 St Leger over14+1⁄2 furlongs atDoncaster Racecourse and started at odds of 9/1.Lord Ellesmere's Highland Chief (second in the Derby) started 5/2 favourite ahead of Royal Angus, with the other fancied runners included Elzevir (Royal Hunt Cup), Ladislas and The Prince. Ossian started well and then settled in second place behind his stablemate Cecil Craven who was acting as apacemaker. Cecil Craven dropped back with five furlongs left to run and Ossian entered the straight with a clear advantage over Chislehurst and Highland Chief with the rest of the runners struggling to stay in contention. Chislehurst briefly looked likely to mount a serious challenge, but Ossian drew away inside the final furlong to win by three lengths. Highland Chief came home lame in third with long gaps back to the other finishers.[14]
Less than two weeks after his Leger win, Ossian started at 7/1 for the Great Foal Stakes over ten furlongs "across the flat" at Newmarket, carrying a seven-pound penalty which took his weight up to 131 pounds. The nine-runner field included Goldfield, The Prince and theEpsom Oaks winnerBonny Jean. Ridden by Watts, Ossian was always among the leaders, established a clear lead entering the last two furlongs and won by a length from Goldfield.[15] At Newmarket on 11 October Ossian was matched against older horses in theChampion Stakes and started the 9/4 second favourite behind the five-year-oldTristan. He took the lead a quarter of a mile from the finish but lost ground when swerving entering the final furlong and finished second, beaten a length by Tristan withDutch Oven taking third.[16]
Ossian ended the year with earning of £9,111, making him the most financially successful horse of the year in England.[17]
On his first start of 1884 Ossianwalked over for the Claret Stakes at Newmarket in April.[18] On 31 July Ossian was matched against the outstanding three-year-old stayerSt Simon in theGoodwood Cup over2+1⁄2 miles. He proved no match for his younger rival being "galloped into a standstill" and beaten 20 lengths into second place.[19] By this point in his career Ossian reported developed breathing problems and was described as aroarer.[20]
At Doncaster in September Ossian came home third behind Louis d'Or andThe Lambkin in theDoncaster Cup.[21] On 9 October he ran for the second time in the Champion Stakes and finished fourth behind Tristan, whodead-heated for first place with Lucerne.[22] Ossian was retired from racing at the end of the year.[23]
Ossian was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion but had little success as a sire of winners. The most successful of his offspring was probably Zenobia, who won thePreis der Diana.[24] Another of his daughters was Lady Cecil, the grand-dam ofChallacombe.[25] Ossian was sold for $10,000 in December 1890 to American turfman J. B. Ferguson,[26] but died of exhaustion in early 1891 when the steamship he was traveling on was caught in a storm while en route toNew York City.[27][28]
| Sire Salvator (FR) 1872 | Dollar 1860 | The Flying Dutchman (GB) | Bay Middleton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbelle | |||
| Payment (GB) | Slane | ||
| Receipt | |||
| Sauvagine 1857 | Ion (GB) | Cain | |
| Margaret | |||
| Cuckoo (GB) | Elis | ||
| Reel | |||
| Dam Music (GB) 1866 | Stockwell 1849 | The Baron (IRE) | Birdcatcher |
| Echidna | |||
| Pocahontas | Glencoe | ||
| Marpessa | |||
| One Act 1853 | Annandale | Touchstone | |
| Rebecca | |||
| Extravaganza | Voltaire | ||
| Burletta (Family 23-a)[5] |
Ossian salvator music.