- Court Martial (horse)
-
Court Martial 
Sire Fair Trial Grandsire Fairway Dam Instantaneous Damsire Hurry On Sex Stallion Foaled 1942 Country Great Britain Colour Chestnut Breeder Lord Astor Owner Lord Astor Trainer Joe Lawson Record 8: 6-1-1 Earnings £11,666½ Major wins 2,000 Guineas Stakes (1945)
Champion Stakes (1945)Awards Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland
(1956, 1957)Horse (Equus ferus caballus) Last updated on 23 October 2011 Court Martial (foaled 1942 in England) was a Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by Lord Astor best known for defeating two exceptional colts in Dante and Royal Charger for the Classic 2,000 Guineas Stakes and as a two-time Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland.
He was a chestnut horse sired by the leading sire Fair Trial who also sired Petition (won the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, St. Leger Stakes and Eclipse Stakes). Court Martial’s dam Instantaneous by Hurry On was the dam of several other named foals, but none were stakes winners. John Hislop describes Court Martial as ′′A beautiful horse of superb quality, truly made, sound and possessed of excellent limbs, but with shelly feet a trait which he has handed on ... Though having a measure of stamina, speed was Court Martial's forte, which is reflected in his stock. An outstanding and wonderfully consistent stallion . . . his mares have done comparably well at stud. Most of his stock likes soft ground.′′[1]
Racing record
Court Martial was undefeated in his two starts as a two-year-old. At three he won the 2,000 Guineas Stakes and the Champion Stakes and was third in the Epsom Derby where he finished only two lengths and a head away third to Dante (the subsequent Derby winner) and Midas in a field of twenty-seven runners, in the sensational time of 2 min. 26.6 sec.
Stud record
Court Martial was a prolific sire of winners being the leading sire twice and he was six times leading sire of two-year-olds.[2]
Notable progeny includes:
- Above Suspicion (IRE), won St. James's Palace Stakes
- Affreux (FR), won GB Dickens Plate and Bestwood Park Plate, sire of winners of over $1,200,000 in Australia
- Court Sentence, won St James's Palace Stakes; sire in Australia
- Grass Court (Cork and Orrery Stakes)
- High Treason (IRE) – won Nunthor pe Stakes
- King's Bench (Middle Park Stakes, Coventry Stakes etc.
- Major Portion (IRE) won Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Sussex Stakes etc.
- Marsolve won July Cup
- Pheidippides won Gimcrack Stakes
- Ratification won Coventry Stakes
- Rosalba won Coronation Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
- Timandra (FR) won French One Thousand Guineas
- Wilkes (FR) won Prix Sans Souci and Prix Edgard de la Charm; leading sire in Australia.[3]
About twenty-five of Court Martial's sons have been imported to Australia and New Zealand since 1954 and have sired the collective winners of almost $8 million in prizemoney.[4]
References
- ^ Hislop, John, Breeding for Racing, Martin Secker & Warburg, London, 1976, ISBN 436 19701 4
- ^ Wicks, B.M., “The Australian Racehorse”, Libra Books, Canberra, 1973 ISBN 0 909619 00 X
- ^ "Court Martial (GB) - Stakes winners". Australian Stud Book. Australian Turf Club Limited and Victoria Racing Club Limited. http://www.studbook.org.au/horse.aspx?hid=316543&pagetype=OFFSPRINGWINS. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ du Bourg, Ross (1980). The Australian and New Zealand Thoroughbred. Melbourne: Thomas Nelson. pp. 59-60. ISBN ISBN 0 17 005860 3.
Categories:- 1942 racehorse births
- British racehorses
- British Classic Race winners
- British Champion Thoroughbred Sires
- Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
- Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
- Thoroughbred racehorses
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
