Lemonora (foaled 1918) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse owned by Joseph Watson, 1st Baron Manton. Ridden by Joe Childs he won the Grand Prix de Paris on 26 June 1921, one mile seven furlongs, beating a large field,"English Horse Wins Paris Grand Prix; Lemonora Defeats a Big Field in the Contest for 400,000 Franc Stake". The New York Times. June 27, 1921 with a prize of 400,000 French Francs (about £16,830)Brisbane Courier newspaper (Australia), 28 June 1921, p. 3 then the world's most valuable racing prize. Just 26 days before, on 1 June 1921 he came third in the Derby, having in early May come second in the Classic 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. In 1920 he won the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster and came second in the Gimcrack Stakes at York.
His subsequent breeding career was disappointing, as he was "a bad sire". The unusually feminine sounding name for a stallion appears to be from a variety of azalea created in 1912 whose flowers are "moderate yellow, tinted pink externally".Deciduous azalea: parentage unknown R: T. Vuyk & Son, N: K. Wezelenburg & Son, l.;, K. Wezelenburg & Son (1912), INC: ICRA (1958) Flowers: single, moderate yellow, tinted pink externally. International Rhododendron Register & Checklist, 2nd Edition, published in 2004 by The Royal Horticultural Society
Lemonora is immortalised in the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film The 39 Steps when the names of the first three horses in the 1921 Derby are recounted on stage by "Mr Memory"."A serious question, please. :03:26 What won the Derby in 1921? :03:28 Mr. Jack Jool's Humorist with Steve Donoghue up. :03:31 Won by a length at odds 6 to 1. :03:33 Second and third: Craig-an-Eran and Lemonora. :03:35 - Am l right, sir? - Right"
External links British Pathé newsreel of Lemonora winning the 1921 Grand Prix, and afterward with owner Watson in the winner's enclosure
References