HIGHFLYER (b.c. 1774)
CHAMPION SIRE (13 times): 1785–1796 and 1798.
BRED BY Sir Charles Bunbury
WON 12 races incl. Grosvenor Stakes, Newmarket, Great Subscription Race, York, (never beaten).
Highflyer was an unbeatable racehorse who became a great stallion.
Bred by Sir Charles Bunbury, he was a pure-breeding bay, by Herod out of Rachel by the three times Champion Sire, Blank.
Initially, he was sold to the 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, who named him after the highflyer walnut trees that grew in the paddock at Great Barton, where he was foaled. However, Bolingbroke resold the colt for £800 to Richard Tattersall the famous auctioneer.
Never beaten and on no occasion paying forfeit, Highflyer raced for three years, winning 12 races, including the Grosvenor Stakes at Newmarket, when four, over 4m 1f 138 y, and the Great Subscription race at York, when five, over 4 miles.
At Tattersalls’ stud near Ely, Cambridgeshire, Highflyer sired eight Classic winners long before the advent of the Guineas Classics at Newmarket. These included three Derby winners: Noble in 1786; Sir Peter Teazle in 1787 – who later succeeded him as the ten times Champion Sire – and Skyscraper in 1789. He also sired the dams of 11 Classic winners.
The Champion Sire 13 times between 1785 and 1798, Highflyer made a major contribution to the development of the Thoroughbred. He died on 18 October 1793, at his owners’ residence, which had been renamed Highflyer Hall in his honour.
NOTABLE PROGENY:
DELPINI gr.c. 1781 ex COUNTESS by BLANK. Won 9 races. Sire of 3 Classic winners incl. SYMMETRY gr.c. 1795, won St Leger Stakes
OMPHALE b.f. 1781 ex CALLIOPE by SLOUCH. Won St Leger Stakes.
ROCKINGHAM b.c. 1781 ex PURITY by MATCHEM. Won 32 races incl. Jockey Club Plate and 5 King’s Plates. Sire of BELLINA ch.f. 1796, won Oaks Stakes.
COWSLIP b.f. 1782 ex daughter (1771) of SYPHON. Won St Leger Stakes.
NOBLE b.c. 1783 ex BRIM by SQUIRREL. Won 2 races incl. Derby Stakes.
SIR PETER TEAZLE br.c. 1784 ex PAPILLON by SNAP
Won 13 races incl. Derby Stakes, Jockey Club Stakes, Claret Stakes. Champion Sire 10 times between 1799 and 1809, he sired 10 Classic winners incl. 4 Derby winners: SIR HARRY (1798), ARCHDUKE (1799), DITTO (1803) and PARIS (1806).
SPADILLE b.c. 1784 ex FLORA by SQUIRREL Won St Leger Stakes.
HIGHFLYER MARE b.f. 1785 ex daughter (1770) of ENGINEER. Dam of SPREAD EAGLE b.c. 1792 by VOLUNTEER, won Derby Stakes; DIDELOT b.c. 1793 by TRUMPATOR, won Derby Stakes.
YOUNG FLORA b.f. 1785 ex FLORA by SQUIRREL. Won St Leger Stakes.
SKYSCRAPER b.c. 1786 ex EVERLASTING by ECLIPSE.
Skyscraper with the then fashionable clipped ears. Sam Chifney Snr, aboard.
Won 15 races incl. Princes Stakes, Newmarket, Derby Stakes, Claret Stakes (walk-over) and 3 King’s Plates.
HUNCAMUNCA br.f. 1787 ex CYPHER by SQUIRREL. Dam of CHAMPION b.c. 1797 by POT-8-O’s won Derby Stakes, St Leger Stakes.
PRUNELLA b.f. 1788 ex PROMISE by SNAP. Dam of PELISSE br.f. 1801 by WHISKEY, won Oaks Stakes; POPE b.c. 1806 by WAXY, won Derby Stakes.
ST GEORGE b.c. 1789 ex daughter (1775) of ECLIPSE. Won 14 races incl. King’s Plate, York, Jockey Club Plate. Sire of PAN ch.c. 1805, won Derby Stakes.
VOLANTE b.f. 1789 ex FANNY by ECLIPSE. Won Oaks Stakes.
DIAMOND br.c. 1792 ex daughter (1774) of MATCHEM. Won 21 races incl. Jockey Club Stakes, Jockey Club Cup, Oxford Cup.
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