Irish Elegance
{{Short description|British racehorse}}
{{Infobox racehorse
| horsename = Irish Elegance
| image_name = Irish Elegance.jpg
| caption = Irish Elegance photographed by W A Rouch in 1919
| sire = Sir Archibald
| grandsire = Desmond
| dam = Sweet Clorane
| damsire = Clorane
| sex = Stallion
| foaled = 7 March 1915
| country = United Kingdom
| colour = Chestnut
| breeder = A Frogley
| owner = James White
| trainer = Harry Cottrill
| record = 16: 8-3-3
| earnings =
| race = Cambridgeshire Hunt Cup (1918)
Royal Hunt Cup (1919)
July Cup (1918)
Salford Borough Handicap (1919)
Portland Handicap (1919)
| awards =
| updated =
}}
Irish Elegance (7 March 1915 – February 1940) was a British racehorse and sire. A non-Thoroughbred horse who excelled at sprint distances and carried big weights to victory in major handicap races, he has been described as Britain's "greatest handicapper and second best sprinter" of the 20th century.
Background
Irish Elegance was large,{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12361527 |title=THE TURF IN ENGLAND |work=Hobart Mercury |date=27 September 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-07}} powerful, exceptionally good-looking{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19191122.2.106&srpos=20&e=21-11-1919-30-11-1919--10--11----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=TURF NOTES |work=Auckland Star |date=22 November 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-07}} chestnut with white socks on his hind legs bred by A Frogley and foaled on 7 March 1915.{{cite news|last=Staff|title=Swift Irish Elegance and his dam|url=http://athena.uky.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=drf1910s;cc=drf1910s;g=drf;xc=1;q1=irish%20elegance;rgn=full%20text;idno=drf1919071201;didno=drf1919071201;view=pdf;seq=1_3;node=drf1919071201%3A1.3;passterms=1|accessdate=7 July 2013|newspaper=Daily Racing Form|date=12 July 1919}} He was not a Thoroughbred: his damsire Clorane was descended from a "half-bred" mare whose ancestry was not recorded in the General Stud Book.{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19190628.2.111&srpos=2&e=21-06-1919-30-06-1919--10--1----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=RACING NEWS |work=Auckland Star |date=28 June 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-06}} His sire, Sir Archibald, won the New Stakes and finished second in the 2000 Guineas. His dam Sweet Clorane also produced Cloringo, a steeplechaser who won the National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup at Cheltenham in 1926. The colt was sent into training with Harry Cottrill who trained at Tarporley in Cheshire before moving south to Foxhill, Wiltshire in 1919. Irish Elegance was named after a variety of tea rose.
As a two-year-old, Irish Elegance did not race but showed considerable promise in training. He was bought for £2000 by Mr Thorburn, who later sold him for £9000 to the financier James White.{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=WC19190902.2.62.4&srpos=2&e=01-09-1919-10-09-1919--10--1----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=NOTES AND COMMENTS |work=Wanganui Chronicle |date=2 September 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-06}}
Racing career
=1918: three-year-old season=
In June 1918, Irish Elegance ran at Newmarket in the Cambridgeshire Hunt Cup, a wartime substitute race for Royal Ascot's Royal Hunt Cup, and won "in a canter"{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20273400 |title=SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. TURF TOPICS |work=Brisbane Courier |date=29 August 1918 |accessdate=2013-07-07}} by two lengths in a time of 1:24.8.{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19180622.2.88.3&srpos=8&e=01-01-1918-31-12-1918--10--1----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=ENGLISH RACING |work=Evening Post|date=22 June 1918 |accessdate=2013-07-06}} He then won the July Cup over six furlongs at Newmarket. In October he finished third of the twenty-two runners behind Zinovia and Dansellon in the Cambridgeshire Handicap,{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19181101.2.45.3&srpos=1&e=01-01-1918-31-12-1918--10--1----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=CAMBRIDGESHIRE STAKES |work=Evening Post|date=1 November 1918 |accessdate=2013-07-06}} apparently failing to stay the nine furlong distance.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5621965 |title=THE WORLD OF SPORT |work=Adelaide Advertiser |date=15 Jan 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-07}}
=1919: four-year-old season=
On 14 June 1919, Irish Elegance won the Salford Borough Handicap by six lengths under a weight of 135 pounds. Four days later he carried 137 pounds in the Royal Hunt Cup against 25 opponents.{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=ODT19190620.2.40&srpos=6&e=11-06-1919-20-06-1919--10--1----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=RACING IN ENGLAND |work=Otago Daily Times |date=20 June 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-06}} The Royal Ascot meeting on 1919 was said to mark a "revival of pre-war splendour", with a record crowd which included King George V and Queen Mary.{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AG19190619.2.27.3&srpos=9&e=11-06-1919-20-06-1919--10--1----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=ASCOT RACES |work=Ashburton Guardian |date=19 June 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-06}} Irish Elegance started joint-favourite with the King's horse Jutland and won easily after leading from the start,{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=HNS19190620.2.33.1&srpos=1&e=11-06-1919-20-06-1919--10--1----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=ENGLISH RACING |work=Hawera & Normanby Star |date=20 June 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-06}} setting a record for the highest weight ever carried to victory in the race.{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19190621.2.104&srpos=1&e=21-06-1919-30-06-1919--10--1----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=RACING NEWS |work=Auckland Star |date=21 June 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-06}} At Goodwood Racecourse on 29 July he was assigned a weight of 142 pounds in the Stewards' Cup and finished second to King Sol.{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP19190802.2.105&srpos=10&e=01-08-1919-10-08-1919--10--1----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=SPORTING |work=Press |date=2 August 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-06}} Irish Elegance was beaten three-quarters of a length by the winner, to whom he was conceding forty-four pounds and appeared to be a rather unlucky loser, having lost ground at the start. By this time he was acknowledged as the best horse in England at distances up to a mile{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article34214973 |title=SPORTING NOTES |work=Western Argus |date=25 November 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-07}} and "the most famous horse of the era".{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12377305 |title=THE TURF IN ENGLAND. BANK HOLIDAY RACE MEETINGS |work=Hobart Mercury |date=10 October 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-07}}
On 12 September he carried 142 pounds in the Portland Handicap at Doncaster Racecourse. He took the lead a furlong from the finish{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NA19191202.2.62&srpos=4&e=01-12-1919-10-12-1919--10--1----2Irish+Elegance-- |title=THE TURF |work=Northern Advocate |date=2 December 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-07}} and drew clear of the field in the closing stages to win very easily by three lengths. After this performance, he was described as "not only the fastest horse of the present generation, but probably the fastest there has been".{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=GRA19191113.2.25.11 |title=ENGLISH. RACING |work=Grey River Argus |date=13 November 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-06}} His rider, the Australian Brownie Carslake said "I have never ridden a horse like Irish Elegance. He gives his rider a grand feel. His action is of the smoothest, as he swings along in a stride that is almost effortless."
Assessment
In their book A Century of Champions, based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris retrospectively rated Irish Elegance the best horse foaled anywhere in the world in 1915, ahead of The Derby winner Gainsborough. He was also rated the second-best British or Irish-trained sprinter of the 20th century behind Abernant.{{cite book|last1=Morris| first1=Tony|last2=Randall|first2=John|title=A Century of Champions|publisher= Portway Press|year=1999|isbn=978-1-901570-15-1}}
Stud record
Irish Elegance was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion, starting at a fee of 200 guineas, despite his non-Thoroughbred status.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27670586 |title=SPORTING NEWS. THE TURF. THE WEEK'S FIXTURES |work=The West Australian |date=16 Dec 1919 |accessdate=2013-07-07}} He was an almost total failure as a sire of winners and struggled to attract top-class mares.{{cite book|last1=Mortimer|first1=Roger |last2=Onslow|first2=Richard|last3=Willett|first3=Peter|title=Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing|publisher=Macdonald and Jane's|year=1978|isbn=0-354-08536-0}} One of his daughters, Elegant Girl was the grand-dam of the Champion Hurdle winner Doorknocker. Irish Elegance was euthanised in February 1940.{{cite news|last=Staff|title=The great deeds of Clorane|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=3 September 1940}}
Pedigree
{{Pedigree
|name = Irish Elegance (GB), chestnut stallion, 1915{{cite news|last=Staff|title=Irish Elegance a lifetime horse|url=http://athena.uky.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=drf1910s;cc=drf1910s;g=drf;xc=1;q1=irish%20elegance;rgn=full%20text;idno=drf1919100201;didno=drf1919100201;view=pdf;seq=1_9;node=drf1919100201%3A1.9;passterms=1|accessdate=7 July 2013|newspaper=Daily Racing Form|date=2 October 1919}}
|inf =
|m = Sweet Clorane (GB)
1900
|ff = Desmond (GB)
1896
|fm = Arc Light (GB)
1893
|mf = Clorane (GB)
1891
|mm = Little Twin (GB)
1887
|fff = St Simon
|ffm = L'Abbesse de Jouarre
|fmf = Prism
|fmm = Petrel
|mff = Castlereagh
|mfm = May Girl
|mmf = Tertius
|mmm = Polpetti
|ffff = Galopin
|fffm = St Angela
|ffmf = Trappist
|ffmm = Festive
|fmff = Uncas
|fmfm = Rainbow
|fmmf = Peter
|fmmm = Electric Light
|mfff = Speculum
|mffm = Lady Trespass
|mfmf = Victor
|mfmm = May Day
|mmff = Maruis of Carabas
|mmfm = Little Jane
|mmmf = Macaroni
|mmmm = Molly Carew (Family: 4-o){{cite web|url=http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Families/Family4o.htm |title=Thoroughbred Bloodlines – Partner Mare – Family 4-o |publisher=Bloodlines.net |date= |accessdate=2013-07-06}}
}}