Musket (1867–1885) was an English-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and a Leading sire in Australia and New Zealand.
| Musket | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sire | Toxophilite |
| Grandsire | Longbow |
| Dam | West Australian mare (B. 1857)[1] |
| Damsire | West Australian |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1867 |
| Died | 1885 (aged 17–18) |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Colour | Bay or brown |
| Breeder | Lord Glasgow |
| Owner | George Payne |
| Record | 14: 9-5-0 |
| Major wins | |
| Flying Dutchman Handicap Ascot Stakes (1870) Queen Alexandra Stakes (1872) | |
| Awards | |
| Leading sire in Australia (1886, 1889, 1891) | |
| Last updated on 24 March 2010 | |
Breeding
editHe was sired by Toxophilite, his dam was a bay mare (1857) who was a half-sister to General Peel’s dam, by West Australian (winner of the 1853 British Triple Crown) from Brown Bess (1844) by Camel.[2] Musket was inbred to Touchstone in the fourth generation (4x4).
Racing record
editIn England Musket won nine races including the Ascot Stakes before retiring to stud there where he only had limited patronage. In spite of this he managed to sire Petronel winner of the 2,000 Guineas and Brown Bess (1876) winner of the Doncaster Cup and Goodwood Stakes.
Stud record
editIn December 1878 Musket was imported into Victoria by the Auckland Stud Company and then sent to Auckland, New Zealand the following month. Initially he was used here to cover “half-bred” mares to breed coach horses.[3]
He sired 28 stakeswinners which had 107 stakes wins, including:
- Cuirassier, won Great Northern Derby
- Foul Shot, won Auckland Derby
- Fusilade, won New Zealand Cup
- Fusilier, won Wanganui Derby
- Manton, Derby Stakes, New Zealand Cup, Wanganui Derby
- Martini-Henry, Victoria Derby, Melbourne Cup
- Nordenfeldt, Victoria Derby, AJC Australian Derby
- Trenton, ARC Welcome Stakes, CJC Champagne Stakes, VRC Royal Park Stakes (twice), etc., sire of good racehorses including Wakeful and Auraria.[4]
Musket is best remembered for siring the famous Carbine (great-great-grandsire of Nearco), Nordenfeldt, Trenton (a leading sire in Australasia and then exported), Martini-Henry and Hotchkiss, all top sires.[2] Carbine in his day was considered one of the greatest horses in the world, whose feats included winning the 1890 Melbourne Cup with the impost of 10 st 5 lb in the record time of 3:28¼. The bloodlines of Musket including Carbine and Trenton, are still evident in many horses racing today.[5]
Musket had his portrait painted by the noted equine artist, Martin Stainforth and it was reproduced in Racehorses in Australia.[6]
Pedigree
edit| Sire Toxophilite Bay 1855 |
Longbow Bay 1849 |
Ithuriel | Touchstone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbena | |||
| Miss Bowe | Catton | ||
| Orville mare (21) (1812) | |||
| Legerdemain Bay 1846 |
Pantaloon | Castrel | |
| Idalia | |||
| Decoy | Filho da Puta | ||
| Finesse | |||
| Dam West Australian mare Bay 1857 |
West Australian Bay 1850 |
Melbourne | Humphrey Clinker |
| Cervantes mare (1-a) (1825) | |||
| Mowerina | Touchstone | ||
| Emma | |||
| Brown Bess Bay 1844 |
Camel | Whalebone | |
| Selim mare (1812) | |||
| Brutandorf mare (1829) | Brutandorf | ||
| Gohanna mare (1803) (family: 3-d) |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Morris, Simon; Tesio Power 2000 - Stallions of the World, Syntax Software
- ^ a b Ahnert, Rainer L. (editor in chief), “Thoroughbred Breeding of the World”, Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970
- ^ Leicester, Sir Charles, “Bloodstock Breeding”, J.A. Allen & Co, London, 1969
- ^ ASB: Musket (GB) Retrieved 2010-3-26
- ^ Becker, Friedrich, The Breed of the Racehorse, The British Bloodstock Agency, London, c.1935
- ^ Painting of Musket by Martin Stainforth Retrieved 2010-2-28