Gustavus (horse)

Gustavus was foaled in 1818 at the Hampton Court Stud. Gustavus was bred by the Prince Regent and was sired by the 1807 Derby winner Election. Election was a successful racehorse that was bred by the Earl of Egremont and was bought by the Prince of Wales after his racing career to stand at Hampton Court. His dam, Lady Grey, was bred by Colonel Childers at Cantley House in Yorkshire{{cite journal|last=Staff|title=Sporting Intelligence|journal=Sporting Magazine|year=1822|volume=8|page=144|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066599394?urlappend=%3Bseq=172|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066599394?urlappend=%3Bseq=172}} and was one of the Prince's famous "half-dozen grey mares" that were housed at Hampton-Court.{{cite journal|last=Staff|title=Some breeding stud reminiscences|journal=Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes|date=April 1899|volume=71|page=274|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u54bAQAAIAAJ&q=gustavus++%22lady+grey%22+stud&pg=PA274}} Lady Grey's sire, Stamford, was a full-brother to the Epsom Derby winners Paris and Archduke.

In addition to breeding racehorses, the Prince also bred grey Thoroughbreds that would be "sufficiently powerful for his own riding,"{{cite book|last=Youatt|first=William and Cornelius Tongue|title=The horse|year=1860|publisher=Routledge, Warne, & Routledge|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/horse01youagoog/page/n52 31]|url=https://archive.org/details/horse01youagoog|quote=gustavus germany derby stallions.}} with Lady Grey purchased specifically for this purpose. Gustavus was a small yearling and the Prince did not think he would be a suitable riding horse. Gustavus was sold to Mr. Hunter{{cite journal|last=Staff|title=Sporting intelligence|journal=Sporting Magazine|year=1821|volume=8|page=143|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066599394?urlappend=%3Bseq=171|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066599394?urlappend=%3Bseq=171}} for 25 guineas as a yearling. Hunter was reportedly unsatisfied with his purchase and attempted to sell the "shabby little gray"{{cite news|last=Staff|title=History of gray horses|date=8 April 1927|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1920s/drf1927040801/drf1927040801_6_3#q=+History+of+gray+horses#fq=63_s%3A%221927%22|access-date= 1 July 2024|newspaper=The Daily Racing Form}} at a loss for 15 guineas, but he could not find a buyer for the colt. Gustavus was retained by Hunter and raced in his name for his entire racing career.

Gustavus was trained at Six-Mile Bottom in Newmarket by Crouch.{{cite book|last=Black|first=Robert|title=Horse-racing in England: a synoptical review|year=1893|publisher=Richard Bently and Son|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/horseracinginen00penngoog/page/n269 249]|url=https://archive.org/details/horseracinginen00penngoog|quote=gustavus crouch trainer.}} Gustavus first raced as a two-year-old for the July Stakes. The Derby was his most significant win and he raced until he was four years-old, winning seven races in 14 starts. He was retired to stud in 1823.

Gustavus's first career start occurred on 10 July at the July Meeting in Newmarket for the July Stakes. Gustavus won the race by half a length from an unnamed colt by Soothsayer and seven other horses, winning 1,950 guineas.{{cite journal|last=Staff|title=The racing calendar|journal=The Sporting Magazine|year=1820|volume=6|page=47|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066599402?urlappend=%3Bseq=381|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066599402?urlappend=%3Bseq=381}} The run for the July Stakes was Gustavus' only start as a two-year-old.

File:Théodore Géricault - The Epsom Derby - WGA08637.jpg in a painting by Théodore Géricault.]]

At the First Spring Meeting at Newmarket in May, Gustavus won the Newmarket Stakes, beating the colts Tressilian and Fleur de Lis.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Newmarket|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1821|volume=49|page=26|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=80|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=80}}

In his second start of the season, Gustavus ran in the Derby Stakes at Epsom against a field of twelve other horses. Gustavus was the betting favorite for the running, starting the race with 2 to 1{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Epsom|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1821|volume=49|page=42|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=96|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=96}} or 7.5 to 4 odds depending on the bookmaking operation. The Duke of Grafton's colt Reginald (the winner of the 2,000 Guineas Stakes) initially took the lead and "made the running" with Gustavus initiating "some play" with Reginald at Tattenham Corner and the two horses "worked together from end to end in the Derby, as if it was run a match."{{cite book|last=Dixon|first=Henry Hall|title=Scott and Sebright|year=1914|publisher=Frederick Warne and Co.|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/scottandsebrigh00dixogoog/page/n36 16]|url=https://archive.org/details/scottandsebrigh00dixogoog|quote=shabby little grey gustavus.}} Gustavus was ridden by Sam Day and Reginald's jockey was Francis Buckle. Buckle's "nerve rather went" while Day "kept close to his girths," allowing Gustavus to overtake Reginald in the final stretch to win the race by half a length.{{cite journal|last=Staff|title=The racing calendar|journal=The Sporting Magazine|year=1821|volume=8|page=32|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066599394?urlappend=%3Bseq=366|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066599394?urlappend=%3Bseq=366}} Reginald finished second and the colt Sir Huldibrand third. Day described the finish graphically: "We wound in and out, for all the world like a dog at a fair." Gustavus was the first grey horse to win the Derby{{cite book|last=Sidney|first=Samuel and James Sinclair, William Charles and Arlington Blew|title=The book of the horse |year=1893|publisher=Cassell & Co.|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.221132/page/n83 67] |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.221132|quote=gustavus derby grey.}}{{cite web|url= http://www.epsomderby.org/facts-and-figures.php|publisher= Epsomderby.org|title= Facts and Figures|access-date= February 5, 2012|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111223033550/http://www.epsomderby.org/facts-and-figures.php|archive-date= 2011-12-23}} and one of only four grey horses to win the event.{{cite news|last=Beesley|first=Mike|title=Heads – and odd tales! GREAT DAYS AT EPSOM Lord Derby's luck held on spin of coin.|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Heads+-+and+odd+tales!+GREAT+DAYS+AT+EPSOM+Lord+Derby%27s+luck+held+on...-a0179344545|access-date=4 February 2012|newspaper=Birmingham Mail|date=24 May 2008}} Hunter reportedly won "a very considerable sum" by betting on Gustavus in the Derby, while two brothers reportedly "lost twenty-six thousand pounds" between them but "handsomely paid the debt" when it was due. The 1821 Derby was portrayed in a painting (right) by French artist Théodore Géricault. The depicted, dramatized scene occurred shortly before the race finish, with Gustavus in third place following closely behind the frontrunner Reginald.

Gustavus was unplaced in the St. Leger Stakes run on 17 September at Doncaster, which was won by the colt Jack Spiggot.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Doncaster|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1821|volume=49|page=136|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=190|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=190}} A few days later, Gustavus finished second to the filly My Lady in the 1000-guinea Gascoigne Stakes run over the St. Leger course. The third runner and the betting favorite in the race, a colt named Sandbeck, was disqualified after running into a post and falling.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Doncaster|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1821|volume=49|page=138|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=192|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=192}} At the Houghton meeting on 29 October, Gustavus won a mile-long, 150-guinea match race against Mr. Fox's horse Pancha,{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Houghton|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1821|volume=49|page=185|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=239|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=239}} and a few days later, Gustavus won 200 guineas after beating Lord Exeter's unnamed colt sired by Androssan in a match race.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Houghton|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1821|volume=49|page=188|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=242|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591227?urlappend=%3Bseq=242}}

At Newmarket-Craven meeting in April, Gustavus won the 1600-guinea Claret Stakes, beating the Duke of Grafton's colt Carbonaro.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Newmarket-Craven|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1822|volume=50|page=10|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=66|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=66}} A few weeks later at the First Spring Meeting, Gustavus finished third in a 100-guinea sweepstakes race to the colts Godolphin and Centaur.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Newmarket|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1822|volume=50|page=22|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=78|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=78}} Gustavus was beaten in a 6 May match race at Newmarket by Lord Foley's horse Sultan.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Newmarket|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1822|volume=50|page=26|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=82|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=82}} At the First October Meeting at Newmarket on 30 September, Gustavus finished second to the Duke of Grafton's colt Guerilla in the Trial Stakes.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Newmarket|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1822|volume=50|page=159|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=215|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=215}} Guerilla won the race by half a length{{cite journal|last=Staff|title=The racing calendar|journal=The Sporting Magazine|year=1822|volume=11|page=14|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066599360?urlappend=%3Bseq=398|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066599360?urlappend=%3Bseq=398}} and was an unanticipated winner, with one commenter in the Sporting Magazine stating, "The Trial Stakes, which should have set every body right, set every body wrong."{{cite journal|last=Observator|title=Newmarket October meetings|journal=The Sporting Magazine|year=1822|volume=11|page=59|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066599360?urlappend=%3Bseq=75|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066599360?urlappend=%3Bseq=75}} Later the same day, Gustavus beat Lord Egremont's colt Black-and-all-Black in a match race.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Newmarket|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1822|volume=50|page=160|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=216|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=216}} At the Second October Meeting on 14 October, Gustavus was second in the 50-guinea Post Sweepstakes to the filly Augusta (the winner of the 1821 Epsom Oaks).{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Newmarket|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1822|volume=50|page=173|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=229|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=229}} Two days later in the final start of his racing career, Gustavus was unplaced in the first class of the Oatlands Stakes, the race being won by the filly Whizgig.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Newmarket|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1822|volume=50|page=174|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=230|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591219?urlappend=%3Bseq=230}} Gustavus was retired to stud at the end of the racing season.

Gustavus was retired to stud in 1823, first standing near Newmarket at the Six-mile Cottage for a fee of eight sovereigns per mare.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Advertisements of stallions|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1823|volume=51|page=487|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591201?urlappend=%3Bseq=539|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591201?urlappend=%3Bseq=539}} His fee was increased to 10 guineas for the 1824 breeding season.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=James and Edward|title=Advertisements of stallions|journal=Racing Calendar|year=1823|volume=51|page=501|hdl=2027/nyp.33433066591193?urlappend=%3Bseq=559|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433066591193?urlappend=%3Bseq=559}} Gustavus was exported to Prussia in March 1836 at the age of 18 years.{{cite journal|last=Weatherby|first=Edward and James|title=Stallions sent abroad|journal=The General Stud Book|year=1840|volume=4|page=vii|hdl=2027/coo.31924066667076?urlappend=%3Bseq=11|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924066667076?urlappend=%3Bseq=11}} Gustavus stood at Baron Maltzahn's stud farm in Kummerow, where Bloomsbury later stood beginning in 1842.{{cite journal|last=M. W.|title=Notes of a sporting ramble in the north of Germany|journal=New Sporting Magazine|date=February 1842|volume=3|issue=14|page=82}} Gustavus died in 1840.{{cite book |last1=Vogler |first1=C.H. |title=Allgemeines Gestüt-Buch: ein Verzeichnis der Vollblut-Pferde nebst ihrer Abstammung. Erster Band, Volume 1 |date=1847 |page=313 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1jkMuNli5sC&q=Allgemeines%20%C3%B6sterreichisches%20und%20ungarisches%20Gest%C3%BCt-Buch&pg=PT164}} Gustavus was not a successful sire, with the colt Forester (a July and Newmarket Stakes winner) and the filly Chantilly being his only progeny of note.{{cite web|last=Erigero|first=Patricia|title=Gohanna|url=http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Gohanna.html|publisher=Thoroughbred Heritage|access-date=4 February 2012}}

{{Pedigree

|name = Gustavus (GB), Grey Colt, 1818 {{cite web|last=Staff|title=Gustavus 5x Pedigree|url=http://www.pedigreequery.com/gustavus|access-date=3 February 2012}}

|inf =

|f = Election (GB)
Chestnut, 1804

|m = Lady Grey
Grey, 1806

|ff = Gohanna
1790

|fm = Chestnut Skim
1794

|mf = Stamford
1794

|mm = Bourdeaux Mare
1787

|fff = Mercury

|ffm = Dundas Herod Mare

|fmf = Woodpecker

|fmm = Milsintowns Herod Mare

|mff = Sir Peter Teazle

|mfm = Horatia

|mmf = Bourdeaux

|mmm = Prophet Mare

|ffff = Eclipse*

|fffm = Tartar Mare

|ffmf = Herod*

|ffmm = Maiden

|fmff = Herod*

|fmfm = Miss Ramsden

|fmmf = Herod*

|fmmm = Young Hag

|mfff = Highflyer^

|mffm = Papillon

|mfmf = Eclipse*

|mfmm = Countess

|mmff = Herod*

|mmfm = Cygnet Mare

|mmmf = Prophet

|mmmm = Virago

}}

{{asterisk}}^ Gustavus is inbred 4S x 4S × 4S x 5D x 4D to the stallion Herod, meaning that he appears fourth generation thrice on the sire side of his pedigree, fifth generation once (via Highflyer)^ on the dam side of his pedigree, and fourth generation once on the dam side of his pedigree.

{{asterisk}} Gustavus is inbred 4S × 4D to the stallion Eclipse, meaning that he appears fourth generation on the sire side of his pedigree, and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

{{reflist|2}}

{{Epsom Derby Winners}}

Category:1818 racehorse births

Category:1840 racehorse deaths

Category:Epsom Derby winners

Category:Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom

Category:Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom

Category:Thoroughbred family 7