Captain Cuttle

Captain Cuttle
Captain Cuttle in a photograph by Frank Griggs.
Sire	Hurry On
Grandsire	Marcovil
Dam	Bellavista
Damsire	Cyllene
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1919
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	Lord Woolavington
Owner	Lord Woolavington
Trainer	Fred Darling
Record	6: 4-1-1
Earnings	£
Major wins
Epsom Derby (1922) St. James's Palace Stakes (1922)

Captain Cuttle was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He ran only six times in a career which was restricted by chronic injury problems. He was the outstanding British colt of his generation, winning the Epsom Derby and the St. James's Palace Stakes in 1922. He retired after winning his only race as a four-year-old in 1923.

Background

Captain Cuttle, an exceptionally good-looking chestnut horse with a broad white blaze and three white socks, was bred by his owner Lord Woolavington.^[1] He was from the first crop of foals sired by the unbeaten champion, Hurry On, making him a representative of the Godolphin Arabian sire line.^[2] Apart from Captain Cuttle, Hurry On sired the winners of seven Classics including the Derby winners Coronach and Call Boy. His most influential son was the Ascot Gold Cup winner Precipitation, who sired four classic winners.

Captain Cuttle was named after the character in Dickens' novel Dombey and Son. Like his sire, Captain Cuttle was trained throughout his career by Fred Darling at Beckhampton in Wiltshire,^[3] and was ridden in his most important races by the leading British jockey of the era Steve Donoghue.^[4] The colt was particularly devoted to his trainer, following him "like a pet dog."^[5]

Racing career

1921: two-year-old season

Captain Cuttle was a slow-maturing colt and was not highly-tried at two. He made only one appearance on the racecourse, finishing second in a minor race at Doncaster. Captain Cuttle's heavy physique and immaturity put a strain on his forelegs, leading Darling to treat him very carefully, riding the colt himself in most of his exercise work.^[6]

1922: three-year-old season

Captain Cuttle began his three-year-old season in the Wood Ditton Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse, which he won by six lengths. He became ill after the race^[7] and had not fully recovered by the time he ran in the 2000 Guineas. He finished third in the Newmarket Classic, beaten a total of seven lengths, behind St Louis and Pondoland.

There were doubts concerning the colt's stamina, and he started at odds of 10/1 in a field of thirty for the Epsom Derby four weeks later. Captain Cuttle missed the parade for the Derby after a delay caused by a shoeing accident. Allegations were later made in the Daily Express that Captain Cuttle had been illegally injected with cocaine, to combat lameness caused by the incident. Lord Woolavington responded by instituting legal proceedings against the newspaper for libel.^[8] Ridden by Donoghue, Captain Cuttle was prominent from the start before moving into the lead entering the straight. He was soon clear and won easily by four lengths from Tamar in a race record time of 2:34.6.^[9]

The colt was reported to be lame after the race and there were rumours that the his career was over^[10] but he appeared to have recovered in time for Royal Ascot where he won the St James's Palace Stakes over a mile. He then suffered a tendon injury which forced him out for the rest of the season.

1923: four-year-old season

On his 1923 debut, Captain Cuttle won the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Kempton. He was being prepared for the Ascot Gold Cup^[5] when his tendon problems recurred and he was retired to stud.

Assessment

In their book A Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Captain Cuttle the seventy-third best British horse of the 20th Century and the second best Derby winner of the 1920s .^[11]

Stud career

Captain Cuttle retired to his owner's stud at Lavington, West Sussex. He had some success, siring the 1000 Guineas winner Scuttle but did not live up to expectations and was sold for a reported £40,000 to stand in Italy in 1927. He died at the Mirafiori stud, near Turin in 1932 after breaking his back in a freak accident.^[12]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Captain Cuttle (GB), chestnut stallion, 1919
Sire Hurry On (IRE) 1913	Marcovil 1903	Marco	Barcaldine
		Marco	Novitiate
		Lady Villikins	Hagioscope
		Lady Villikins	Dinah
	Toute Suite 1904	Sainfoin	Springfield
		Sainfoin	Sanda
		Star	Thurio
		Star	Meteor
Dam Bellavista (GB) 1923	Cyllene 1895	Bona Vista	Bend Or
		Bona Vista	Vista
		Arcadia	Isonomy
		Arcadia	Distant Shore
	Emotion 1897	Nunthorpe	Speculum
		Nunthorpe	Matilda
		Emita	Galopin
		Emita	Burgundy (Family: 22-c)

Name

The name "Captain Cuttle" was taken from a character in Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens, Captain Edward Cuttle. It was subsequently applied to an LNER Class A3 locomotive, No. 2745 (BR number 60091), many of which class were named for racehorses.

References

↑ "1st Baron James Woolavington". Horseracinghistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
↑ "Godolphin Arabian Line". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
↑ "Frederick Darling". Horseracinghistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
↑ "Horseracing History Online - Person Profile : Stephen Donoghue". Horseracinghistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
1 2 "Horseracing History Online - Horse Profile : Captain Cuttle". Horseracinghistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
↑ Mortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-354-08536-0.
↑ Patricia Erigero Thoroughbred Heritage (1957-03-09). "Hurry On". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
↑ "CAPTAIN CUTTLE". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1922-08-19. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
↑ "Captain Cuttle if equine hero". Morning Leader. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
↑ "ENGLISH DERBY". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1923-06-05. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
↑ Randall, J and Morris, T. . Portway Press, 1999, p. 128
↑ "CAPTAIN CUTTLE KILLED". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1932-03-29. Retrieved 2011-11-02.

Epsom Derby winners

1780 Diomed 1781 Young Eclipse 1782 Assassin 1783 Saltram 1784 Serjeant 1785 Aimwell 1786 Noble 1787 Sir Peter Teazle 1788 Sir Thomas 1789 Skyscraper 1790 Rhadamanthus 1791 Eager 1792 John Bull 1793 Waxy 1794 Daedalus 1795 Spread Eagle 1796 Didelot 1797 colt by Fidget 1798 Sir Harry 1799 Archduke 1800 Champion 1801 Eleanor ♥ 1802 Tyrant 1803 Ditto 1804 Hannibal 1805 Cardinal Beaufort 1806 Paris 1807 Election 1808 Pan 1809 Pope 1810 Whalebone 1811 Phantom 1812 Octavius 1813 Smolensko 1814 Blucher 1815 Whisker 1816 Prince Leopold 1817 Azor 1818 Sam 1819 Tiresias 1820 Sailor 1821 Gustavus 1822 Moses 1823 Emilius 1824 Cedric 1825 Middleton 1826 Lap-dog 1827 Mameluke 1828 Cadland 1829 Frederick 1830 Priam 1831 Spaniel 1832 St. Giles 1833 Dangerous 1834 Plenipotentiary 1835 Mundig 1836 Bay Middleton 1837 Phosphorus 1838 Amato 1839 Bloomsbury 1840 Little Wonder 1841 Coronation 1842 Attila 1843 Cotherstone 1844 Orlando 1845 The Merry Monarch 1846 Pyrrhus The First 1847 Cossack 1848 Surplice 1849 The Flying Dutchman 1850 Voltigeur 1851 Teddington 1852 Daniel O'Rourke 1853 West Australian ₩ 1854 Andover 1855 Wild Dayrell 1856 Ellington 1857 Blink Bonny ♥ 1858 Beadsman 1859 Musjid 1860 Thormanby 1861 Kettledrum 1862 Caractacus 1863 Macaroni 1864 Blair Athol 1865 Gladiateur ₩ 1866 Lord Lyon ₩ 1867 Hermit 1868 Blue Gown 1869 Pretender 1870 Kingcraft 1871 Favonius 1872 Cremorne 1873 Doncaster 1874 George Frederick 1875 Galopin 1876 Kisber 1877 Silvio 1878 Sefton 1879 Sir Bevys 1880 Bend Or 1881 Iroquois 1882 Shotover ♥ 1883 St. Blaise 1884 St. Gatien Harvester 1885 Melton 1886 Ormonde ₩ 1887 Merry Hampton 1888 Ayrshire 1889 Donovan 1890 Sainfoin 1891 Common ₩ 1892 Sir Hugo 1893 Isinglass ₩ 1894 Ladas 1895 Sir Visto 1896 Persimmon 1897 Galtee More ₩ 1898 Jeddah 1899 Flying Fox ₩ 1900 Diamond Jubilee ₩ 1901 Volodyovski 1902 Ard Patrick 1903 Rock Sand ₩ 1904 St. Amant 1905 Cicero 1906 Spearmint 1907 Orby 1908 Signorinetta ♥ 1909 Minoru 1910 Lemberg 1911 Sunstar 1912 Tagalie ♥ 1913 Aboyeur 1914 Durbar 1915 Pommern ₩ 1916 Fifinella ♥ 1917 Gay Crusader ₩ 1918 Gainsborough ₩ 1919 Grand Parade 1920 Spion Kop 1921 Humorist 1922 Captain Cuttle 1923 Papyrus 1924 Sansovino 1925 Manna 1926 Coronach 1927 Call Boy 1928 Felstead 1929 Trigo 1930 Blenheim 1931 Cameronian 1932 April the Fifth 1933 Hyperion 1934 Windsor Lad 1935 Bahram ₩ 1936 Mahmoud 1937 Mid-day Sun 1938 Bois Roussel 1939 Blue Peter 1940 Pont l'Eveque 1941 Owen Tudor 1942 Watling Street 1943 Straight Deal 1944 Ocean Swell 1945 Dante 1946 Airborne 1947 Pearl Diver 1948 My Love 1949 Nimbus 1950 Galcador 1951 Arctic Prince 1952 Tulyar 1953 Pinza 1954 Never Say Die 1955 Phil Drake 1956 Lavandin 1957 Crepello 1958 Hard Ridden 1959 Parthia 1960 St Paddy 1961 Psidium 1962 Larkspur 1963 Relko 1964 Santa Claus 1965 Sea Bird 1966 Charlottown 1967 Royal Palace 1968 Sir Ivor 1969 Blakeney 1970 Nijinsky ₩ 1971 Mill Reef 1972 Roberto 1973 Morston 1974 Snow Knight 1975 Grundy 1976 Empery 1977 The Minstrel 1978 Shirley Heights 1979 Troy 1980 Henbit 1981 Shergar 1982 Golden Fleece 1983 Teenoso 1984 Secreto 1985 Slip Anchor 1986 Shahrastani 1987 Reference Point 1988 Kahyasi 1989 Nashwan 1990 Quest for Fame 1991 Generous 1992 Dr Devious 1993 Commander in Chief 1994 Erhaab 1995 Lammtarra 1996 Shaamit 1997 Benny the Dip 1998 High-Rise 1999 Oath 2000 Sinndar 2001 Galileo 2002 High Chaparral 2003 Kris Kin 2004 North Light 2005 Motivator 2006 Sir Percy 2007 Authorized 2008 New Approach 2009 Sea the Stars 2010 Workforce 2011 Pour Moi 2012 Camelot 2013 Ruler of the World 2014 Australia 2015 Golden Horn 2016 Harzand

Legend - ₩ = Triple Crown Winners, ♥ = Filly

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