Potoooooooo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Potoooooooo (Pot-8-Os) |
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Potoooooooo, or Pot-8-Os
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| Sire | Eclipse |
| Grandsire | Marske |
| Dam | Sportsmistress |
| Damsire | Sportsman |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1773 |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon |
| Owner | Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor |
| Record | 40 starts – 34 wins |
| Major wins | |
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Potoooooooo (pronounced "Potatoes") was a famous racehorse from the 1700s. He was a thoroughbred stallion who won more than 30 races! He was known for his amazing speed and for beating many top horses of his time. Potoooooooo also became a very important father (called a sire) to many other fast racehorses. Some of his children even won the famous Epsom Derby race. But most people remember him for his super unusual name!
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The Story Behind the Name
Potoooooooo was born in 1773. He was a beautiful chestnut-colored colt. His father was an unbeatable horse named Eclipse. Potoooooooo was owned by a man named Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon.
The story of his name is quite funny. Earl Abingdon wanted to name the young horse "Potato." He told his stable boy to write the name on the horse's feed bin. But the stable boy didn't know how to spell "Potato."
So, he wrote "Potoooooooo" – that's "Pot" followed by eight "o"s! Earl Abingdon thought this was hilarious. He liked the spelling so much that he decided to keep it as the horse's official name. Even today, people sometimes spell it as Pot-8-Os to show how it's pronounced.
Racing Career
Potoooooooo raced from 1776 to 1783. He ran in about 40 races and won between 28 and 34 of them! Most of his races were long, about four miles, on the famous Beacon course at Newmarket.
Early Races
In 1776, when he was three years old, Potoooooooo won a race called a "sweepstakes" at Newmarket. The prize was 100 guineas. The next year, at age four, he finished second in two races at Newmarket. He also placed third at Nottingham and fifth at York.
A New Owner
In 1778, when Potoooooooo was five, he entered the 1200 Guineas Stakes race at Newmarket. During this race, something exciting happened! Earl Abingdon sold Potoooooooo to Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor for 1,500 guineas. Potoooooooo then went on to win that very race! After that, he raced in Earl Grosvenor's special yellow and black racing colors.
That year, he won several more races. These included a 140-guinea race at Newmarket and a £50 race at Swaffham.
Continued Success
Potoooooooo kept winning in 1779. He won the Gold Cup and the Clermont Cup at Newmarket. He also won the October Cup. In 1780, he won the 140-guinea race again, beating a horse named King Fergus. He also won the Jockey Club Plate and the Clermont Cup for a second time. He even raced against a famous horse named Woodpecker, winning one of their two races.
In 1781, Potoooooooo won the Jockey Club Plate and the Whip race. Both of these were "walkovers," meaning no other horses showed up to race against him, so he won automatically! He also won a 400-guinea sweepstakes.
His winning streak continued in 1782. He won the Clermont Cup for the third time and the Jockey Club Plate for the third time too. He also won the Craven Stakes, beating 13 other horses. In 1783, at age ten, he won the Whip at Newmarket again. However, he lost a race to Assassin, who had won the Derby the year before.
Reproduction and Legacy
In 1784, Potoooooooo retired from racing. He became a sire (a father horse) at Oxcroft Farm. His job was to have foals with mares (female horses). His fee for other owners' mares started at 5 guineas and went up to 21 guineas. In 1796, he moved to Upper Hare Park near Newmarket.
Potoooooooo was a very successful sire. He fathered 172 winners, and his children won a lot of money! Some of his most famous offspring include:
- Nightshade (born 1785): She won the Oaks race in 1788.
- Waxy (born 1790): He won the Derby Stakes in 1793 and ten other races. Waxy became a very important sire himself, and his family line continues to this day!
- Champion (born 1797): He was the first horse ever to win both the Derby and the St. Leger Stakes in the same year (1800).
- Tyrant (born 1799): He won the Derby in 1802.
- Parasol (born 1800): She won many races and also became a mother to other Classic race winners.
Potoooooooo passed away in November 1800 when he was 27 years old. He was buried at Hare Park. About 200 years later, his skeleton was found when a tree blew over! Today, his skeleton is on display at the Kings Yard Galleries of the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket.
See also
- List of historical horses
- Numeronym
