Highflyer (horse) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Highflyer
Sire	Herod
Grandsire	Tartar
Dam	Rachel
Damsire	Blank
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1774
Country	Great Britain
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Sir Charles Bunbury, 5th Baronet
Owner	Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke ("Mr. Compton"), Richard Tattersall
Record	14: 14-0-0
Major wins
1400 Guineas Stakes (1778) Great Subscription Purse (1779) Great Subscription Purse (1779)
Awards
Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland (1785-1796, 1798)
Last updated on 13 January 2011

Highflyer (born 1774, died October 18, 1793) was an amazing Thoroughbred racehorse from the 1700s. He never lost a single race! After his racing career, he became a very successful sire (a male horse used for breeding). Many of his children also became famous racehorses.

Highflyer's Family Tree

Highflyer was born in 1774 at Great Barton, England. His breeder was Sir Charles Bunbury. Highflyer's father was a very important horse named Herod. Herod was one of the main horses who helped create the modern Thoroughbred breed. He was also a great racehorse and a successful breeding stallion.

Highflyer's mother was Rachel (born 1763). Her father was a horse named Blank. Rachel's family tree also showed that she was closely related to a famous horse called the Godolphin Arabian. This meant Highflyer had strong racing genes from both sides of his family.

What Highflyer Looked Like

Highflyer was a bay stallion, meaning he had a reddish-brown body with a black mane and tail. He had a white marking, like a "sock," on one of his back ankles.

You could still see the influence of Arabian horses in his looks. He had a light body build, a small, elegant head, and an arched neck. His strong back legs and deep chest showed he was built for speed.

Highflyer's Racing Career

Highflyer started racing when horses were beginning to compete at younger ages. His first race was in October, when he was three years old. He won this two-mile race at Newmarket.

The next year, he returned to Newmarket and won against older, four-year-old horses. He also won other important races, including a special race against a horse named Dictator.

In 1779, Highflyer won two more races. Then, a man named Richard Tattersall bought him for a lot of money – 2,500 pounds! Highflyer kept racing for his new owner. He won easily in Nottingham and then twice at the Great Subscription Stakes in York. He also won the King's Purse at Lichfield.

Highflyer ended his racing career with a perfect record. He won all 14 of his races!

Highflyer's Breeding Success

Richard Tattersall had a big plan for Highflyer to make a lot of money, and it worked! Tattersall wanted Highflyer to breed with as many mares (female horses) as possible. People paid a fee to have their mares bred with Highflyer. This fee started at 15 guineas and later went up to 50 guineas. Some people thought Tattersall was breeding Highflyer too much, which they believed led to Highflyer's death at 19 years old.

Tattersall also bought many daughters of another famous horse, Eclipse. He would breed them with Highflyer and then sell the pregnant mares. This combined the strong bloodlines of Herod (Highflyer's father) and Eclipse. This mix created many excellent racehorses that helped form the basis of the modern Thoroughbred breed we know today.

It's estimated that Tattersall made at least 15,000 pounds every year from Highflyer's breeding fees. He even built a large house and named it Highflyer Hall!

When Highflyer died on October 18, 1793, he was buried in his paddock (a small field). His owner, Tattersall, wrote a special message for him: "Here lies the perfect and beautiful Highflyer, by whom and his wonderful children, the famous Tattersall earned a great fortune, and he was proud to admit it."

Highflyer was the Leading Sire (meaning his children won the most prize money) for 15 years! This was from 1785 to 1796, and again in 1798. During this time, his children won 469 races. This included three winners of the Epsom Derby, three winners of the St. Leger, and one winner of the Epsom Oaks. These are some of the most important races in horse racing.

Here are some of Highflyer's most famous children:

• Delpini (born 1781): A grey colt whose children included two Oaks winners and a St. Leger winner.
• Diamond (born 1792): A brown colt who won many races, including the Jockey Club Stakes.
• Eliza (born 1791): A bay filly who won the Town Plate and a Produce Stakes.
• Grey Highflyer (born 1782): A grey filly who became the mother of the famous horse Hambletonian.
• Huncamunca (born 1787): A brown filly whose child, Champion, won both the Derby and St. Leger.
• Noble (born 1783): A bay colt who won the 1786 Epsom Derby.
• Omphale (born 1781): A bay mare who won the 1784 St. Leger.
• Prunella (born 1788): A bay filly who became the mother of several famous horses, including Derby winner Waxy Pope and Oaks winner Pelisse.
• Rockingham (born 1781): A bay colt whose daughter, Castianira, was the mother of the important American sire Sir Archy.
• Sir Peter Teazle (born 1784): A brown colt who was Highflyer's best son. He won 16 races, including the Derby in 1787. He then became a Leading Sire himself for many years, just like his father.
• Skyscraper (born 1786): A bay colt who won the 1789 Epsom Derby.
• Spadille: Won the 1787 St. Leger.
• Volante: Won the 1792 Oaks.
• Young Flora: Won the 1788 St. Leger.

See also

• List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses