Patron Saint
SireSt Girons
GrandsireSt Simon
DamVMC
DamsireCommon
SexGelding
Foaled1923[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
ColourBay
OwnerF W Keen
TrainerStanley Harrison
Major wins
Cheltenham Gold Cup (1928)

Patron Saint (foaled 1923) was a British racehorse who won the 1928 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Background

Patron Saint was a bay gelding bred in the United Kingdom. He was sired by St Girons (a son of St Simon) who also sired the Grand Sefton Steeplechase winner Inversible. Patron Saint's dam VCB was a distant descendant of Canezou, who won the 1000 Guineas in 1848 and later became an influential broodmare.[2]

During his racing career Patron Saint was owned by F W Rees and was trained near Bangor-on-Dee in Wales by Stanley Harrison.[3]

Racing career

The early spring of 1928 was exceptionally cold and led to fears that the Cheltenham Festival would be abandoned but a break in the weather allowed the meeting to take place.[3] Patron Saint was entered in the Gold Cup as a five-year-old meaning that he carried seven pounds less than his older rivals. With the leading chaser of the season Easter Hero absent, the 1926 Gold Cup winner Koko started the 4/5 favourite ahead of Patron Saint on 7/2[4] whilst the most notable of the other five runners was the 1927 Grand National winner Sprig.[5] Ridden by Dick Rees, Patron Saint tracked Koko before being driven up on the inside to take a slight lead at the final fence. Koko still looked the more likely winner but broke a blood vessel[3] and dropped back to third, allowing Patron Saint to draw clear and win by four lengths from the thirteen-year-old veteran Vive. On his next start Patron Saint finished third on a flat race in which he was ridden by Noel Murless, later to become a leading trainer.[3]

Patron Saint was expected to defend his Gold Cup title in 1929 but missed the race after suffering a series of injuries and training problems. He returned in 1930 and won the Plodders Chase at Nottingham Racecourse, but had no further success.[3]

Assessment and honours

In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Patron Saint a "poor" Gold Cup winner.[6]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Patron Saint (GB), bay gelding, 1923[1]
Sire
St Girons (GB)
1908		 St Simon (GB)
1881		 Galopin Galopin
St Angela
St Angela King Tom
Adeline
Acunha (GB)
1894		 Tristan Hermit
Thrift
Polenta Coltness
Modena
Dam
VMC (GB)
1911		 Common (GB)
1888		 Isonomy Sterling
Isola Bella
Thistle Scottish Chief
The Flower Safety
Hoot (GB)
1906		 The Owl Wisdom
Rattlewings
Graceless Common
Grace Emily (Family 31)[2]
  • Patron Saint was inbred 2 × 4 to Common, meaning that this stallion appears in both the second and fourth generations of his pedigree.

References

  1. 1 2 "Patron Saint pedigree". Pedigree Online. 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  2. 1 2 "- Dick Burton's Mare - Family 31". Thoroughbred Bloodlines.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Harman, Bob (2000). The Ultimate Dream: The History of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-381-0.
  4. ↑ Abelson, Edward; Tyrrel, John (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN 978-1-873626-15-3.
  5. ↑ Green, Reg (1993). The History of the Grand National: A Race Apart. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-58515-3.
  6. ↑ Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press. ISBN 9781901570151.
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