Colt by Fidget facts for kids

The Colt by Fidget was a famous British Thoroughbred racehorse born in 1794. He didn't have a special name, so people called him "Colt by Fidget" because of his father, Fidget. He raced from 1797 to 1798. His biggest win was the Epsom Derby in 1797, which was his very first race!

About the Colt by Fidget

The Colt by Fidget was a brown horse. He was bred by his owner, the 5th Duke of Bedford. This Duke was a very important person who owned many horses.

Why No Name?

Back in the 1700s, racehorses in Britain didn't always need official names. It was common to call them by their owner's name, their color, their gender, or their family tree. So, this horse was simply known as "the Fidget colt" or "the colt by Fidget." His father's name was Fidget.

The Duke of Bedford had another Derby winner before this one. That horse was first called "the Florizel colt." Later, he was given the official name Eager. But the Colt by Fidget never got a special name of his own.

His Family Tree

The colt's mother was an unnamed mare (female horse) by a famous horse named Highflyer. She was also related to a very important mother horse called Young Giantess. Young Giantess produced a Derby winner named Eleanor. She was also the grandmother of two other Derby winners, Phantom and Priam.

Fidget, the colt's father, was not one of the most famous stallions. In 1794, the year the colt was born, Fidget was available for breeding at Woburn in Bedfordshire. His fee was three guineas, which was quite cheap compared to other stallions at that time.

Racing Career Highlights

The Colt by Fidget had a short but exciting racing career. He raced at least twice and won one very important race.

1797: Three-Year-Old Season

On June 2, 1797, the Colt by Fidget had his very first race. It was the famous Epsom Derby at Epsom. He was listed as "D. of Bedford's br c by Fidget out of a sister to Pharamond."

He started the race with odds of 10/1. This meant that for every 1 pound bet on him, you would win 10 pounds if he won. There were seven horses in the race. The favorite horse, Stamford, had odds of 11/8. The Colt by Fidget was ridden by a jockey named John Singleton, Jr.. He won the race! The horse Escalus came in second, and Plaistow was third. The favorite, Stamford, finished fourth.

1798: Four-Year-Old Season

After winning the Derby, the Colt by Fidget took a break from racing for ten months. He returned to the racecourse on April 11, 1798. This race was at Newmarket Racecourse. It was a handicap race called the Oatlands Stakes. In a handicap race, horses carry different weights to make the race fair.

The Colt by Fidget carried 102 pounds in this race. He finished seventh in the race. The winner was a horse named Ambrosio, who had won the St Leger Stakes in 1796. This was the last confirmed race for the Colt by Fidget.

Family Tree (Pedigree)

The Colt by Fidget's family tree shows something called inbreeding. This means that some of his ancestors appear more than once in his pedigree. For example, the famous stallion Herod appears on both his father's side and his mother's side of the family tree. The same is true for another stallion named Matchem. This was a common practice in horse breeding to keep certain good traits in the bloodline.