Dam Cypron Foaled 1758 Colour Bay Species Equus caballus Grandsire Partner | Damsire Blaze Country Great Britain Died 12 May 1780 Sex Stallion | |
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Breeder Prince William, Duke of Cumberland Owner Prince William, Duke of Cumberland | ||
Herod (originally King Herod; April 1758 – 12 May 1780) was a Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the three foundation sires of the modern Thoroughbred racehorse, along with Matchem and Eclipse. Herod was the foundation sire responsible for keeping the Byerley Turk sire-line alive.
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Pedigree
Bred by Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, he was by the stallion Tartar, a very good racehorse, who won many races including the King's plate at Litchfield, the King's plate at Guildford, and the King's plate at Newmarket. In addition to Herod, Tartar sired Thais (dam of Silvertail), Fanny (second dam of King Fergus), the O'Kelly Old Tartar mare (dam of Volunteer), and others. Herod's dam, Cypron (1750 bay filly), was bred by Sir W. St Quintin. Herod was a half-brother Lady Bolingbroke (dam of Tetotum, Epsom Oaks) and a mare (1757) (dam of Clay Hall Marske) by Regulus.
Description
Herod was a fine, bay horse standing 15.3 hands high with a small star and no white on his legs. He was a powerful horse that was especially good at four-mile distances.
Racing career
Herod began racing at five, the usual age to begin training for this period, in October 1763 winning a race on the four mile Beacon course at Newmarket. At age six, he won another race at Newmarket, followed by a four-miler at Ascot and a match against Antinous over the Beacon course. When he was seven, his owner died and he was sold in a dispersal sale to Sir John Moore, and it wasn't until 1766 that he returned to the track, where won again against Antinous in a match over the same course.
His career began to close at this point, as he lost to Ascham, then to Turf, and then finished last in a race at York, after a bleeding attack. He started twice the following year, before retiring to stud.
Breeding career
Herod retired in 1770 and stood at the stud of Sir John Moore at Neather Hall, for a fee of 10 guineas, later raised to 25 guineas. He was the leading sire in Great Britain eight times, (1777 to 1784), before his son, Highflyer(1785 to 1796, 1798) and grandson Sir Peter Teazle (1799 to 1802, and 1804 to 1809) took over. Herod's male line continues today in the pedigree of the 2007 Eclipse Stakes winner, Notnowcato. His most important offspring include:
Herod sired the winners of 497 races worth ₤201,505.
He was still covering mares until his death, at age 22, at Netherhall (written as Neather Hall in the old calendars) on 12 May 1780.