| Launcelot | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Launcelot, Winner of The Great St Leger Stakes at Doncaster 1840 byJohn Frederick Herring | |
| Sire | Camel |
| Grandsire | Whalebone |
| Dam | Banter |
| Damsire | Master Henry |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1837 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Colour | Brown |
| Breeder | Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster |
| Owner | Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster |
| Trainer | John Scott |
| Record | 7: 4-2-0 |
| Major wins | |
| Champagne Stakes (1839) Great St Leger Stakes (1840) | |
Launcelot (1837–1861) was a BritishThoroughbredracehorse andsire best known for winning theclassicSt Leger Stakes in 1840. In a racing career which lasted from September 1839 until July 1841 he won four of his seven races although two of his victories came by way ofwalkover. As a two-year-old he proved himself to be one of the leadingcolts of his generation by winning theChampagne Stakes atDoncaster. In 1840 he started favourite forThe Derby but was beaten by a50/1 outsiderLittle Wonder. Later that year he recorded his most important victory when he defeated his stable companion Maroon in the St Leger. He was injured on his only appearance as a four-year-old and was retired to stud where he had little success as a sire of winners.
Launcelot was abrown colt with a whitestar and snip and two whitefeet bred by his ownerRobert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster. He was the seventh of seventeen foals produced by his owner's broodmare Banter (1826–1849). Her first foal had been Launcelot's full-brother, the outstanding racehorseTouchstone.[1] Banter also produced Sarcasm, the dam of the 1841 St Leger winnerSatirist.[2]
Launcelot was sired byCamel, a horse who won thePort Stakes atNewmarket Racecourse before becoming a successful breeding stallion. Apart from Launcelot and Touchstone he sired theAscot Gold Cup winnerCaravan.[3]
Lord Westminster sent the colt into training withJohn Scott who trained the winners of forty classic races at his base at Whitewall stables,Malton, North Yorkshire.
Launcelot was scheduled to make his first appearance in the Hornby Stakes atYork Racecourse on 21 August. All but one of the other horses entered were withdrawn, and when Launcelot's only remaining opponent failed to appear, Lord Westminster received a forfeit of 50sovereigns.[4] On 16 September the colt had his first competitive race in theChampagne Stakes at Doncaster's St Leger meeting in which he was ridden by his trainer's brotherBill Scott and started5/4 favourite. He started poorly, but took the lead after a furlong and held off the late challenge ofLord Kelburne's unnamed chestnut colt to win by a neck.[5] On the following day hewalked over for a Produce Stakes over the same course and distance.[6] Launcelot ran for the third time at the meeting when he contested a sweepstakes two days later. He started 5/2 favourite but finished second of the ten runners, a neck[7] behind theDuke of Cleveland's brother to Euclid (later named Theon).[8]
On 3 June 1840, Launcelot made his debut as a three-year-old in theDerby Stakes atEpsom Downs Racecourse. Ridden by Bill Scott he was made 9/4 favourite in a field of seventeen runners, with Assassin and Mr Etwall's unnamedMelody colt joint second-favourites on 7/2. Launcelot was among the leaders from the start and got the better of a sustained struggle with the Melody colt in the straight,[9] but was overtaken in the final furlong by the 50/1 outsiderLittle Wonder and finished second by alength.[10] Bill Scott reportedly shouted an offer of £1,000 to Little Wonder's jockey to "pull" his horse in the closing stages, but was rejected.[11] Launcelot recorded his first "win" of the season in his next race, when he was allowed towalk over for a Produce Sweepstakes atLiverpool in July.[12] At York in August Lord Westminster was able to claim another prize without having to run his colt when Launcelot's opponents were withdrawn from a two-miile sweepstakes.[13]
On 15 September Launcelot was one of eleven three-year-olds to contest the sixtieth running of the St Leger Stakes at Doncaster. He started the 7/4 favourite ahead of Gibraltar and Maroon, another colt owned by Lord Westminster. Ridden as usual by Bill Scott, Launcelot took the lead early and set a steady pace. The favourite broke down in the straight but held on to win a "strange"[14] race from Maroon, with Gibraltar a neck behind in third.[15] There were suspicions that Maroon had been deliberately held back to allow his stable companion to win.[14] A day after his win in the St Leger, Launcelot was scheduled to run in the Foal Stakes over one and a half miles againstMr Bowes' colt Black Beck. After the other runners were withdrawn, Black Beck was allowed to walk over the course, with Bowes and Lord Westminster dividing the forfeits.[16]
Launcelot remained in training as a four-year-old but broke down with injury when entered in a sweepstakes atGoodwood Racecourse in July.[17]
Launcelot was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion, but appears to have had little success. In 1848 he was recorded as standing atBangor in Ireland at a fee of eight shillings.[18] Launcelot died in 1861 at the age of twenty-four.[19]
| Sire Camel 1822 | Whalebone 1807 | Waxy | Potoooooooo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maria | |||
| Penelope | Trumpator | ||
| Prunella | |||
| Selim mare 1812 | Selim | Buzzard | |
| Alexander mare | |||
| Maiden | Sir Peter Teazle | ||
| Phoenomenon mare | |||
| Dam Banter 1826 | Master Henry 1815 | Orville | Beningbrough |
| Evelina | |||
| Miss Sophia | Stamford | ||
| Sophia | |||
| Boadicea 1807 | Alexander | Eclipse | |
| Grecian Princess | |||
| Brunette | Amaranthus | ||
| Mayfly (family: 14-a)[2] |
Launcelot.