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Lot Essay
The Derby of 1880 is considered to be one of the greatest races in its history with The Duke of Westminster's Bend Or with Fred Archer up narrowly beating Robert the Devil.
Bend Or, was bred at the Eaton stud and was by the 1873 Derby winner Doncaster, who the Duke had paid the then almost unprecedented sum on 14,000 guineas. He was out of Rouge Rose and was sent as a yearling to be trained by Robert Peck at Russley.
In 1879 he made his first racecourse appearance and finished the season unbeaten. The following year Bend Or did not run before the Derby and was made clear favourite. There were nineteen runners and Robert the Devil took an early lead, but at Tattenham Corner Fred Archer spotted the slenderest of openings on the rails and he pushed through. This daring manoeuvre put him into second with two furlongs to go. A combination of indecision and nerves from Robert the Devils jockey Rossiter and the almost superhuman effort of Fred Archer put the favourite ahead on the post with Mask third and Apollo fourth.
Bend Or retired to stud at the end of the following year, but not before meeting Robert the Devil in four further races. In Stud at Eaton at a fee of fifty guineas, which was later raised to a hundred, he was twice second and once third in the winning sire's list before his death at the age of twenty six. The best horse he himself got was the mighty Ormonde
Allen Culpeper Sealey exhbited at the Royal Academy between 1875 and 1886 and is particularly remembered for a number of fine racehorse portraits. These include Flying Fox in 1899 who won the 2,000 gns, The Derby and the St. Leger. He also painted a series of portraits of trainers on their hacks.
Bend Or, was bred at the Eaton stud and was by the 1873 Derby winner Doncaster, who the Duke had paid the then almost unprecedented sum on 14,000 guineas. He was out of Rouge Rose and was sent as a yearling to be trained by Robert Peck at Russley.
In 1879 he made his first racecourse appearance and finished the season unbeaten. The following year Bend Or did not run before the Derby and was made clear favourite. There were nineteen runners and Robert the Devil took an early lead, but at Tattenham Corner Fred Archer spotted the slenderest of openings on the rails and he pushed through. This daring manoeuvre put him into second with two furlongs to go. A combination of indecision and nerves from Robert the Devils jockey Rossiter and the almost superhuman effort of Fred Archer put the favourite ahead on the post with Mask third and Apollo fourth.
Bend Or retired to stud at the end of the following year, but not before meeting Robert the Devil in four further races. In Stud at Eaton at a fee of fifty guineas, which was later raised to a hundred, he was twice second and once third in the winning sire's list before his death at the age of twenty six. The best horse he himself got was the mighty Ormonde
Allen Culpeper Sealey exhbited at the Royal Academy between 1875 and 1886 and is particularly remembered for a number of fine racehorse portraits. These include Flying Fox in 1899 who won the 2,000 gns, The Derby and the St. Leger. He also painted a series of portraits of trainers on their hacks.