Tags
charles trevathan, glencoe, international racehorse, lexington, strains of the thoroughbred, the american thoroughbred
In his book, The American Thoroughbred (1905), Charles Trevathan noted that in the 19th century the strains of the Thoroughbred “had become absolutely a fixed one in America — so much so that with a fair degree of certainty one could count upon combining certain well-known American strains and certain imported strains and getting a race-horse of some capacity.”
And one of the greatest crosses in the 19th century Thoroughbred was the great sire Lexington mated with Glencoe mares, which produced numerous top-class racers, and both those stallions covered in Kentucky.
Naturally, Glencoe was nearly 20 years the elder, with Lexington born March 17, 1850. Glencoe was imported to the States in 1836, after serving his first season in England, when he sired the great broodmare Pocahontas. Trevathan wrote that
Glencoe was by Sultan and was bred in England by Lord Jersey in 1831. He was a beautiful golden chestnut, with both hind legs white half-way to the hocks, and a large star in his forehead. His head was a little Roman, very expressive in character, with fine, thin muzzle and well set on a stout neck, which ran into well-shaped shoulders, the latter being oblique and rather light in the blade. He had good length, with round barrel, well ribbed to strong, broad hips, a little swayed in the back, with heavy, muscular quarters, big stifles, sound legs, and feet inclined to be a little flat.
As a racehorse, Glencoe had speed and stamina, winning the Ascot Gold Cup, and he was sold to Col. James Jackson and brought to stand in the US. As a sire who combined the prevailing English qualities of speed and stamina, Glencoe sired many high-class racers and became a noted sire of broodmares.
Trevathan wrote that “At twenty-seven years of age the old chestnut died, at Georgetown, Kentucky; and his owner at the time, A. Keene Richards, Esq., caused him to be buried in his garden, near the spot where his [Glencoe’s] famed daughter Peytona had been laid to rest.”
bloodstock in the bluegrass 