Cobweb (horse)
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| Cobweb | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cobweb in a loose box by Lambert Marshall | |
| Sire | Phantom |
| Grandsire | Walton |
| Dam | Filagree |
| Damsire | Soothsayer |
| Sex | Mare |
| Foaled | 1821 |
| Country | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey |
| Owner | 5th Earl of Jersey |
| Trainer | James Edwards |
| Record | 3:3-0-0 |
| Major wins | |
| 1000 Guineas (1824) Oaks Stakes (1824) | |
Cobweb (1821–1848) was an undefeated British Thoroughbred racehorse and who won two British Classic Races as a three-year-old and went on to become a highly successful broodmare. Cobweb's racing career consisted of three competitive races in the early part of 1824. After winning on her debut she claimed a second prize when her opponents were withdrawn by their owners. She then won the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse and the Oaks Stakes at Epsom Downs Racecourse before being retired to stud.
Cobweb produced three classic winners, including The Derby winner Bay Middleton, and several other successful racehorses. Through her daughter Clementina she is the direct female ancestor of many champions of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Cobweb was a bay mare bred by her owner George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey at his stud at Middleton Stoney in Oxfordshire.[1] She was sired by Phantom, who won the 1811 Epsom Derby before becoming a highly successful stallion. His progeny included two Derby winners (Cedric and Middleton) and two winners of the 2000 Guineas (Enamel and Pindarrie). The successes of Cobweb in 1824 enabled Phantom to become the British champion sire for the second time.[2]
Cobweb came from an extremely successful female family which traced back to the Duke of Grafton's outstanding and influential broodmare Prunella. Cobweb's dam Filagree also produced the 2000 Guineas winner Riddlesworth and the filly Charlotte West who won the 1000 Guineas in 1830. Filagree was a daughter of Web, the foundation mare of Thoroughbred family 1-s, and a sister of the Derby winner Middleton and the leading broodmare Trampoline.[3] Lord Jersey bought Web from the Duke of Grafton in about 1812, and she became his stud's foundation mare.[4]
Like all of Jersey's classic winners, Cobweb was prepared for racing by his private trainer James Edwards.[4]
Racing career
1824: three-year-old season
Cobweb made her first appearance on 19 April, the first day of the Newmarket Craven meeting. In a Sweepstakes over the Ditch Mile course she was ridden by Sam Barnard and won at odds of 1/4 from her only rival, a "black" filly (later named Grey Helen) owned by the Duke of Portland.[5] Two weeks later, on the opening day of the First Spring meeting, Cobweb was scheduled to run in another Sweepstakes over the same course and distance, but Lord Jersey was able to claim the prie without running his filly when the other two entries were withdrawn by their owners.[6] Three days later, Cobweb was ridden by James Robinson in the eleventh running of the 1000 Guineas Stakes. Only three fillies appeared to oppose her, but they included the Duke of Grafton's Rebecca, who had won the Riddlesworth Stakes and then defeated the future Derby winner Cedric at the Craven meeting. Cobweb was the second choice in the betting at 5/2 and won from Rebecca, the 8/11 favourite.[7]
On 4 June, Cobweb was moved up in distance to contest the Oaks Stakes over one and a half miles at Epsom. She was again partnered by Robinson and started the 8/11 favourite in a field of thirteen runners with Rebecca being made the 9/2 second favourite. She won the race from Mr Yates's grey filly Fille de Joie.[8] Although Cobweb was perfectly sound after the race, Lord Jersey decided to retire the filly to stud without racing again.
