Galopin (1872–1899) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from June 1874 until October 1875 he ran nine times and won eight races. He was one of the best British two-year-olds of 1874, winning his first three races before sustaining the only defeat of his career in the Middle Park Plate. In 1875, he won all five of his races including the Derby. At the end of the season he was retired to stud where he became an extremely successful and influential breeding stallion.
Background Galopin was a bay stallion standing 15.3 hands high, bred in Lincolnshire by William Taylor Sharpe. His reported sire, Vedette, was a successful racehorse, winning the Great Yorkshire Stakes, the Doncaster Cup (twice), and the 1857 2,000 Guineas Stakes. Vedette's value as a stallion had declined to such an extent that he was sold at auction for 42 guineas when he was seventeen.Leicester, Sir Charles, “Bloodstock Breeding”, JA Allen & Co, London, 1969 Apart from Galopin, the best of Vedette's offspring was Speculum, who won the Goodwood Cup, the Suburban Handicap, was third in The Derby, and was Britain's Champion Sire in 1878. Vedette also sired some good hunters. Genetic evidence Felkel, S., Vogl, C., Rigler, D. et al. The horse Y chromosome as an informative marker for tracing sire lines. Sci Rep 9, 6095 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42640-w indicates that Galopin's offspring do not share the Y chromosome haplotype of the sire line to which Vedette belongs. This substantiates earlier suggestions that another horse, Delight, belonging to the sire line with the Y chromosome haplotype corresponding to that inferred for Galopin, was the latter's true sire. Galopin's dam Flying Duchess (1853) was by the 1849 Epsom Derby winner The Flying Dutchman.
As a foal, Galopin and his mother were sold for a combined price of 100 guineas by a representative of the Middle Park stud. A year later, the yearling was offered for sale again, and was bought for 520 guineas by the Hungarian aristocrat Gustavus Batthyany, acting on the advice of his private trainer John Dawson. Galopin was trained by Dawson at Batthyany's Warren House stable at Newmarket, Suffolk.
Racing career
1874: two-year-old season On his first appearance on a racecourse, Galopin finished second in the Hyde Park Stakes at Epsom Downs Racecourse. After Galopin's jockey lodged an objection however, the winner was disqualified and the colt was credited with a winning debut. At Royal Ascot in June, Galopin ran twice, winning the New Stakes and the Fern Hill Stakes, both over five furlongs
After a break of almost four months, Galopin returned to the racecourse in October to contest the Middle Park Plate, the most valuable and prestigious race of the season for two-year-olds. He finished third to Plebeian, but appeared to be a very unlucky loser, having been badly hampered and almost falling a furlong from the finish. Dawson thought so highly of the colt that he intended to run him in a trial against the five-year-old Prince Charlie, the winner of the 2000 Guineas and the leading sprinter in England. Batthyany, however, refused to allow the match as he felt that the test would be too severe for his colt.
1875: three-year-old season Galopin began his three-year-old career by running a match race against a filly named Stray Shot over Newmarket's Rowley Mile course. He won by ten lengths to claim the £500 stake money. At Epsom, Galopin started the 2/1 favourite for the Derby against seventeen opponents. Ridden by John Morris, he won comfortably by a length from Claremont. The race was rather closer than it might have been as Morris eased the colt down in the closing stages. After his win in the Derby, Galopin's owners took the unusual step of returning the horse to sprint distances. At Royal Ascot he won his second Fern Hill Stakes, beating the filly Bella.
Galopin had never been entered for the St Leger Stakes and did not appear again until October. At Newmarket he won a £1,000 match race against the five-year-old Lowlander, the winner of the Royal Hunt Cup and the All-Aged Stakes. His final race came two days later in the Newmarket Derby in which he defeated the St Leger winner Craig Millar.
Batthyany had a heart condition that enforced early retirement of Galopin as it was feared that the excitement of watching his horse race may risk the Prince's life.
Stud record After the death of the Prince in 1883, Galopin was sold to Henry Chaplin for 8,000 guineas, but was not initially well received as a stallion because of the presence of Blacklock in his pedigree. He later stood at Blankney Hall, Sleaford, Lincolnshire. +FoaledNameSexMajor Wins/Achievements1881St. SimonStallionGoodwood Cup, Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland, Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain and Ireland1886DonovanStallionEpsom Derby, St Leger Stakes1892GaleottiaMare1000 Guineas Stakes1895DisraeliStallion2000 Guineas StakesGalliardStallion Galopin was the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1888, 1889 and 1898 and topped the broodmare sire list four times. He was the damsire of Bayardo and of the 1886 U.K. Triple Crown Champion, Flying Fox.
Assessment and honours In May 1886 The Sporting Times carried out a poll of one hundred racing experts to create a ranking of the best British racehorses of the 19th century. Galopin was ranked nineteenth, having been placed in the top ten by 14 of the contributors. He was the third highest ranked horse of the 1870s, behind Isonomy and Cremorne.
From 1925, the London & North Eastern Railway had a tradition of naming locomotives after prominent racehorses, and their Class A1 locomotive no. 2575 (later British Railways no. 60076), which had been built in October 1924, was named Galopin after this horse, and remained in service until October 1962.
Sire line tree
GalopinDarley Arabian Sire Line: King Fergus BranchPortrait: GalopinShow Jumper Hall of Fame Fulmen Impuls Galliard Gulliver War Dance PerthPortrait: Perth Borax Go To Bed Kalisz My Pet DiadoquePortrait: Diadoque MagellanPortrait: Magellan NortheastPortrait: Northeast Hag To HagPortrait: Hag To Hag Maboul RamesseumPortrait: Ramesseum AlcantaraPortrait: Alcantara FaucheurPortrait: Faucheur Matterhorn St Caprais Creso Mordant Griffin Beowulf Grafton Marmiton DonovanPortrait: Donovan MatchmakerPortrait: Matchmaker Handicapper VelasquezPortrait: Velasquez O'Donovan Rossa VeronesePortrait: Veronese Wild Monk Easter Prize Shaun Spadah GaleazzoPortrait: Galeazzo Glacier Saturno Prometeo Flower Boy Hamisi Kibwesi Senecio Kosheni Galloping Lad Cliftonhall Music Hall Disraeli St Gris Glenside100 Years Ago – A Welsh Grand National Winner St SimonDarley Arabian Sire Line: St Simon BranchPortrait: St SimonAmerican Classic Pedigree: St Simon St Andrew St Jude St Serf Cavelry Challacombe Adieu Simonian Nuage Gibtralter Omen Ordensjager D'Arenberg Marcellinus Quidnunc St Damian St Julien Chulo Cheri Burgrave LutteurImage: Lutteur Or Duh Rhin The Cellarer The Oak Bill Of PortlandPortrait: Bill Of Portland BobadilAustralian Racing Museum: Bobadil The Parisian Merriwee MaltsterAustralian Racing Museum: Maltster Alawa Malt King Popinjay ChildwickPortrait: Childwick General Symons Sergeant Murphy NegofolAmerican Classic Pedigree: Negofol HourlessAmerican Classic Pedigree: Hourless Juveigneur Tchad Flechois CoventryAmerican Classic Pedigree: Coventry Dangerous EspinoAmerican Classic Pedigree: Espino Bois De Rose VitoAmerican Classic Pedigree: Vito Haut Brion Raeburn RascalStudbook: Early W SoultLeading Sires of New ZealandThe Stud: Soult Master SoultMaster Soult Wairiki Chesterfield AntagonistStud News Winter Wind Beau Soult Beauford St Florian Ard PatrickPortrait: Ard Patrick Anklang HuonPortrait: Huon Lapis Lazuli Marabou Lucullus DolomitPortrait: Dolomit Octopus ArielPortrait: Ariel Terminus Florizel IIPortrait: Florizel II DoriclesPortrait: Doricles Consols Montmartin Mackintosh VolodyovskiPortrait: Volodyovski Royal Arch Vedas Southannon Fulmen Leteo Floreal Tagor AnmerPortrait: Anmer Matchbox Con Amore St Aiden Moorside Master Robert Raconteur Blagueur St Bris St Caradec PersimmonPortrait: PersimmonAmerican Classic Pedigree: Persimmon Out Of Reach George SmithAmerican Classic Pedigree: George Smith ZinfandelPortrait: Zinfandel Royal Dream Coq Gaulois Sea King Paul Jones Your MajestyPortrait: Your MajestyAmerican Classic Pedigree: Your Majesty Agueros Henry Lee Quemao Comedy King Artilleryman King Ingoda Prince PalatinePortrait: Prince PalatineAmerican Classic Pedigree: Prince Palatine Donnacona Prince Galahad Prince Pal Rose PrincePortrait: Rose Prince Phoebus Appolo Apologue Positano Lord Cardigan Poseidon Telecles Rascasse Lord Nolan Piastre St FrusquinPortrait: St Frusquin Fortunatus PosinatusWas 80/1 shot Posinatus the most incredible 1913 Melbourne Cup winner ever St Alwyne Night Watch PoitrelAustralia Racing Museum: Poitrel Barcadaile Vermouth Rydal Head PoethlynImage: Poethlyn St AmantPortrait: St Amant Frustrum Ballyboggan Martin Lightfoot Impudent Barney St WolfAmerican Classic Pedigree: Saint Wolf Florilegio Cad Diogenes Hijo Mio Movedizo Lombardo Maron Tagore Cipango Tipperary Tim GreenbackPortrait: Greenback Paper Money St Just Jus D'Orange Pietri St Anton Lorenzo Day Comet Double Chance EcouenPortrait: Ecouen St Cyr Cyrenian DesmondPortrait: Desmond Earla Mor Tamasha Shanid-A-Boo Farasi Land League Machakos The White KnightPortrait: The White Knight Sir ArchibaldPortrait: Sir Archibald Irish Elegance Declare Charles O'MalleyPortrait: Charles O'Malley Light Dragoon Legality Demosthenes Amythas Gasbag Statesman Desman Happy Man Hall Cross LomondPortrait: Lomond Loch Lomond Clackmannon Ben Lomond Lacio AboyeurPortrait: Aboyeur CraganourPortrait: Craganour Caricato Beun Ojo Seremond Mollison1928: The Horse That Never WasMollison: The Horse of the Century Marchmond Fanmond Hapsburg Francis Joseph Noble Star StornowayPortrait: Stornoway AthelingPortrait: Atheling LimondPortrait: Limond Limosin Mask Commendation Limerick Veilmond1930 – Battye, Bartle and Tregilla! Sandringham Royal Tourist Diamond JubileePortrait: Diamond JubileeAmerican Classic Pedigree: Diamond Jubilee Bellerophon Sancy Queen's AdvocatePortrait: Queen's Advocate WeberPortrait: Weber Coup De VentPortrait: Coup De Vent As De EspadasAmerican Classic Pedigree Pombiquet Last Reason Ardelion Madrigal Mustafa Almodovar Portos Bombero Urbion Ricuarte SmasherPortrait: SmasherAmerican Classic Pedigree: Smasher Campanazo Ripley Sin Sabor Sol Naciente Samuray Brown Price Melik Saca Chispas MolochPortrait: Moloch Caimican Prinaldo Mehemet AliPortrait: Mehemet Ali Sidus Lauzun Melbourne Agiato Gros Papa Roi Belge Millonaire PietermaritzburgPortrait: PietermaritzburgAmerican Classic Pedigree: Pietermaritzburg Pioneer Amsterdam Brasil Saint Marceaux William The ThirdPortrait: William The Third WillonyxPortrait: Willonyx King WilliamPortrait: King William Holbeach Sandal MaconAmerican Classic Pedigree: Macon Wrinkler Rembrandt Pilliwinkie Olibrius Beau Bill Thrown In Winkie NassovianPortrait: Nassovian Nassau ChaucerPortrait: Chaucer StedfastPortrait: Stedfast The Night Patrol Musketoon Donnithorne Dan Russell Dansellon Prince ChimayPortrait: Prince Chimay Vatout Donzelon Lord Chaucer Rattlin' The Reefer RabelaisPortrait: Rabelais Jacobi Nouvel An VerdunPortrait: Verdun Soldat De Verdun Barranquero Long Set Rire Aux LarmesPortrait: Rire Aux Larmes Losir Take My Tip DurbarPortrait: Durbar Scaramouche Altay Xander Bathorse Indian Salute Munibe Haki Lord LorisImage: Empressor Naturalist HavresacPortrait: Havresac Manistee Lui Dervio Cavaliere d'Arpino Radames Motrico Pendennis Ramus BiribiPortrait: Biribi Birikil Labrador Le Pacha RialtoPortrait: Rialto Saranak Sanguinetto Hern The Hunter Eros Wild RiskBrazil: A leading country for "outcross" in international breeding. Houdon Rabirius Fenimore CooperPortrait: Fenimore Cooper Hunting Ground Darley Dale St Savin St Charlcote