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  Family B-6: Modesty
graphic


The first known mare in this family, Modesty, was bred in Wales, or Shropshire, which borders Wales. A story printed in Bailey's Magazine in 1883 stated that she was a thoroughbred born on the Hall farm called the Vron, in south Shropshire and that, as a filly, was secretly switched with a non-thoroughbred colt on the Davies farm near Knighton in Wales, the purported reason that she would grow up to race in the big Radnorshire Stakes for horses "not thoroughbred." Prior, who made a number of corrections to the subsequent story of Modesty and her family, based on racing calendars, made no judgement regarding the merits of the genesis of the family, stating it was "possibly correct."

Modesty's sire was apparently not in dispute: he was Pilgarlick, born in 1819, by Woful, and out of a Sancho mare. Her breeder, as a half-bred, was John Davies of Knighton, Radnorshire, Wales. As a runner at age three, Modesty ran fourth and sixth in two heats for the Radnorshire Stakes, and at age four, a filly by Pilgarlick, probably Modesty, ran second in both heats in that race. Also at age four, the fillly by Pilgarlick ran first, third and fourth in three heats in the Members' Plate at Bishop's Castle, Shropshire. At age five she was unplaced in a race at Knighton, and the next day ran first, second and third in heats in the Hunters' Stakes. In Davies' stud she produced Gorsebush, a winner of four races on the flat, and a hurdle race; Waterdine (later Greenfinch), a winner of 20 races; Pyefinch, who won two races; and Princess of Wales, by the Humphrey Clinker son, Bran.

Princess of Wales won fourteen races between the ages of three and five, including the North Shropshire Stakes, a sweepstakes at Wolverhampton, the Herefordshire (twice) and Wolphy Stakes at Hereford, and races at Leominster, Chester, Worcester, and Oswestry. She ran in Ascot's Royal Hunt Cup, unplaced, and broke down running in the Radnorshire Stakes at age five. In the Davies stud she produced three winning daughters, Butterfly, Minerva, and Boadicea. Minerva was a good jumper, winning seven races, and placing second in the 1856 Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree to Freetrader, beating future National winners Little Charley and Emigrant and seventeen others. Boadicea, by Faugh-a-Ballagh, ran nineteen races for various owners, and in the stud produced the dual-Grand National winner The Colonel (see below).

The Butterfly won four small races at Tenbury, Knighton, Wolverhampton and Leicester at age five for two different owners, and was then in the stud of George Mather. She produced the winners Pastime and Farfalla, and the unplaced Boeotia. Farfalla, by the Melbourne son The Prime Minister, was a good juvenile runner, winning the Great Baddow Stakes, the Champagne Stakes and a plate at Stockbridge, and a £500 match; a sweeptstakes and Newmarket's Houghton Handicap at age three, and three races at age four. In the Duke of Beaufort's stud at Badminton Park she bred some winners, after which she was sold at Tattersall's to R. Porter of Sussex, for whom she bred a number of winners by Orest, a son of Orestes. These were Slumber, a winner of fourteen races; Sluggard, winner of three races; Schmetterling, who won five races; King of the Furies, who ran a dead-heat with Geheimness in the Sandown Park Stakes; and Wideawake, who ran at ages two and three, placing once at age three.

Butterfly's daughter Pastime, sister to Farfalla, was also a good flat runner that won nine races between the ages of two and five, including a Queen's Plate and a cup, the South Lancashire Stakes, and the Gold Cup at Newton. She bred Pucelle, a winner of six races, including a two mile Queen's Plate at age three, two handicaps and a Queen's Plate at age four, and a hunters' flat race at age nine. She was in the stud of L.W. Humby of The Warehams, near Guildford in Surrey, where she produced three winners and some daughters that bred on. Her daughter Patent Stopper won a small hurdle race, and in the stud bred winners of small races on the flat, over hurdles and steeplechases; Patent Stopper's daughter Pressure, unplaced in twelve races at ages two and three, produced several winners, including Pressman, a winner of five National Hunt races and thirteen hurdle races.

Pucelle's daughter Juno, who ran third in Ascot's queen Stand Stakes and in the Sandown Park Stakes, was retrained in Huby's stud, and there produced Jove, a winner of 14 steeplechases; Pants, a winner on the flat, over hurdles, and in steeplechases; Hebe, winner of the Royal Artillery Gold Cup and second in the Aldershot Cup; Golden June, a winner over hurdles; and Louis William, who won the Great Foal Plate and one other flat race, and seven hurdle races.

Pucelle's son Kingfisher, by Macaroni son Heron, won six races, including the Doncaster Handicap and the Esher Stakes, and at stud in Surrey got several good chasers. His sister, Queen Anne, was a stakes winner, and in Humby's stud produced four winners, including Royal George (see below) and daughters that bred on.


Notable Descendants


The Colonel
The Colonel

Royal George b.c. 1898
(Royal Sovereign - Queen Anne by Heron)
Bred by L.W. Humby of The Warehams, Sutton Park, Guilford, who also bred his dam, he was a good flat runner, winning Kempton's Great Jubilee Stakes, the Victoria Cup and two other races, and running second in the Duke of York Stakes, the Prince Edward Handicap, and the Queen's Prize. His sire was a son of 17 hand tall Grand Prix de Paris winner Minting.

Royal George's dam won the Weston Stakes as a juvenile, a handicap at age three, and the Great Welcomes Handicap at age four. Her other offspring included William the Fourth, a winner of three hurdle races; England's Queen, who placed over hurdles and on the flat, and in the stud produced winners England's King and Peerless; the non-winning Lady Patricia, dam of two winners; Anna Boleyn, who placed over hurdles; and King George, a winner of two flat races and later a stallion in Derbyshire.

The Colonel br.c. 1863
(Knight of Kars - Boadicea by Faugh-a-Ballagh)
Bred by John Weyman of Little Brampton, Shropshire. He was a handsome brown-black colt who started in flat races as a juvenile, and won five flat races at ages three and four, including the 1-1/2 mile Radnorshire Stakes (for "horses not thoroughbred") at Knighton by five lengths, and then was hunted for two seasons, "a safer, steadier jumper in the hunting field was never seen." He won six hurdle races, and four steeplechases, including the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree twice, in 1869 and 1870, one of the few horses to win it more than once. In 1869, his second attempt at steeplechasing, he won the National easily, beating twenty-one others, ridden by the great steeplechase jockey Geroge Stevens, who had won the National on Freetrader, Emblem and Emblematic. The next year, running under the name of M. Evans, the uncle of Steven's wife, he beat The Doctor by a head after a fierce battle on the straight.

The Colonel was put up for sale at Tattersall's after his second National win, in 1870, and was purchased by Baron Fredherr E. von Oppenheim for 2,000 guineas. He was taken to the continent to run, winning the Great Vienna Steeplechase, and was brought back to run in the 1871 National, in which, carrying top weight (12 st-8) he finished fourth to The Lamb, Despatch and Scarrington. He was taken to Germany; several stories say he served as a ceremonial charger for Emperor Wilhelm I. In the stud there he was damsire of Optima, the dam of Optimus, a Berbecker stallion taken to Trakehnen to improve the Trakehner breed; he is seen in Berbeck and Trakehner pedigrees, and in the further removes of some Hanoverian lines.

His sire, Knight of Kars, a son of the great broodmare Pocahontas, won the Derby Free Handicap and other races. In addition to The Colonel, he was sire of the good half-bred steeplechaser New Oswestry, who later was an influential sire of steeplechasers and hunters.

His dam, Boadicea, bred by John Davies of Knighton, Radnorshire, was a long-running mare at provincial meets, who passed through many hands before being purchased and retired to Weyman's stud. In her five seasons on the turf she won seven races, having started thirty-eight times. She only produced two recorded foals, the useless Lady Port, and The Colonel; reportedly blind by the age of twelve, she fell in a pond and drowned before foaling in 1864.


Descent Chart


Modesty (b.f. 1827) by Pilgarlick
 Gorsebush (b.f. 1834) by unknown
 Princess of Wales (ch.f. 1839) by Bran
 |  Butterfly (ch.f. 1849) by Orlando
 | |   Pastime (b.f. 1857) by Prime Minister
 | |   | Perdita (ch.f 1866) by St. Albans
 | |   | Pucelle (br.f. 1867) by St. Albans
 | |   |  Patent Stopper (b.f. 1880) by Soapstone
 | |   |  |  Careen (b.f. 1888) by Cylinder
 | |   |  |  | Half-Pay (ch.c. 1892) by Discount
 | |   |  |  | Kenwolde (ch.f. 1893) by Deuce of Clubs
 | |   |  |  Pressure (br.f. 1891) by Bread Knife
 | |   |  |  | Foreteller (b.c. 1897) by Sorcerer
 | |   |  |  | Hydraulic (b.c. 1899) by May Duke
 | |   |  |  | Pressman (b.c. 1903) by St. Leonards
 | |   |  |  | Press Lady (b.f. 1906) by Swallowfield
 | |   |  |  Crewkerne [Weight] (br.c. 1893) by Sir Kenneth
 | |   |  |  Lilian Edith (b.f. 1896) by Shamrock II
 | |   |  Kingfisher (b.c. 1884) by Heron
 | |   |  Queen Anne (b.f. 1885) by Heron
 | |   |  |  Royal George (b.c. 1898) by Royal Sovereign
 | |   |  |  England's Queen (b.f. 1899) by Royal Sovereign
 | |   |  |  | England's King (ch.c. 1905) by Chevele d'Or
 | |   |  |  Lady Patricia (ch.f. 1900) by Patron
 | |   |  |  | Maiden of the Mist (ch.f. 1905) by Chevele d'Or
 | |   |  |  Anna Boleyn (b.f. 1903) by Royal Sovereign
 | |   |  |  King George (b.c. 1904) by Chevel d'Or
 | |   |  Juno (br.f. 1887) by Heron
 | |   |    Jove (b.c. 1893) by Penton
 | |   |    Pants (b.c. 1896) by Pantaloon
 | |   |    Louis William (b.c. 1900) [Prince Royal] by Royal Sovereign
 | |   |    Golden June (b.c. 1901) by Cheve d'Or
 | |   Farfalla (b.f. 1839) by Prime Minister
 | |   | Papillon (br.f. 1865) by St. Albans
 | |   | Slumber (b.f. 1871) by Orest
 | |   | Wideawake (ch.f. 1872) by Orest
 | |   | Sluggard (ch.c. 1875) by Orest
 | |   | Schmetterling [Boyd] (br.c. 1876) by Orest
 | |   | King of the Furies (b.c. 1879) by Orest
 | |   Boeotia (ch.f. 1860) by The Trapper
 |  Minerva (ch.f. 1850) by Faugh-a-Ballagh
 |  Boadicea (b.f. 1852) by Faugh-a-Ballagh)
 |    Lady Port (b.f. 1862) by Knight of Kars
 |    The Colonel (br.c. 1863) by Knight of Kars
 Pyefinch (b.f. 1844) by Jereed








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