Lord Murphy (USA)
1876 – ?
Pat Malloy (USA) x Wenonah (USA), by Capt. Elgee (USA)
American Family 10
1876 – ?
Pat Malloy (USA) x Wenonah (USA), by Capt. Elgee (USA)
American Family 10
While Tennessee has long since fallen by the wayside as a breeding ground for Thoroughbreds, there was a time during the post-Civil War era when the state's top nurseries could rival the best of their Kentucky counterparts. Lord Murphy was one of the top horses to carry the flag for the Volunteer State during that period, and he proved his merit in the Kentucky Derby by defeating as good a horse as Falsetto (later acknowledged as the co-champion 3-year-old male of that year) after being all but knocked to his knees on the first turn. He followed up his Derby win by capturing the St. Leger Stakes at Churchill Downs, but after that, he began a long slide into obscurity.
Race record
14 starts, 6 wins, 5 seconds, 0 thirds, USA$11,400
1878:
1879:
As an individual
A bay horse, Lord Murphy was described as “a grand-looking animal” in contemporary accounts, lengthy with strong hips and an attractive head and neck. He was troubled with soreness in his forelegs at 2, and when James R. Keene purchased him late in his 3-year-old season, he made the purchase contingent on a veterinary inspection that pronounced the horse “sound.” By the time he was 5, Lord Murphy had reportedly developed a savage temper and had become a roarer as well, a condition that Keene attributed to the change in weather between America and England.
As a stallion
Lord Murphy does not appear to have sired any registered foals.
Connections
Foaled in Sumner County, Tennessee, Lord Murphy was bred by J. T. Carter. He was purchased as a yearling for US$400 and raced for George Darden & Co. with co-owner George Rice as his trainer through his St. Leger Stakes win. Although his owners had previously refused an offer of US$3,000 cash for him as a 2-year-old, following the St. Leger he was sold to James R. Keene for US$10,000 and ran second in three more stakes races to finish out the season. He raced in England at 4 and 5 without success, starting only once each year. Sold by Keene to Richard Ten Broeck in May 1881, Lord Murphy was auctioned off two months later, fetching a mere 10 guineas (then equivalent to US$50). His whereabouts following this sale remain unknown.
Pedigree notes
Sired by Lexington's good son Pat Malloy, Lord Murphy is inbred 5x5x5 to the great 19th century sire Sir Archy. He is a half brother to Sue Walton (by Jack Malone), dam of 1881 Jerome Handicap winner Barrett (by Bonnie Scotland) and of juvenile stakes winner Bathgate (by Bonnie Scotland).
Wenonah, the dam of Lord Murphy and Sue Walton, was sired by Capt. Elgee, a son of five-time American champion sire Leviathan. Her dam was an unnamed daughter of the English import Albion out of an unnamed daughter of Pacific (one of Sir Archy's many stallion sons), and traces back in direct female descent to a matriarch known as the Harrison of Brandon Mare. This mare (believed to have also been known as “Merry Lass” and “Lovely Lass”) was imported from Spain about 1740; nothing more is known of her.
Books and media
Lord Murphy's story is recounted in “The Tennessee Lord,” the fifth chapter of Jim Bolus' Derby Dreams (1996, Pelican Publishing Company).
Fun facts
Last updated: March 24, 2022
Race record
14 starts, 6 wins, 5 seconds, 0 thirds, USA$11,400
1878:
- 2nd Young America Stakes (USA, 6FD, Nashville)
- 2nd Colt and Filly Stakes (USA, 8FD, Nashville; second of 2 runners)
1879:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 12FD, Churchill Downs; new track record 2:37)
- Won St. Leger Stakes (USA, 16FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Belle Meade Stakes #1 (USA, 12FD, Nashville)
- Won January Stakes (USA, 1-mile heats, St. Louis)
- 2nd Dixie Stakes (USA, 16FD, Pimlico)
- 2nd Trial Stakes (USA, 14FD, Chicago)
- 2nd Illinois Derby (USA, 12FD, Chicago)
As an individual
A bay horse, Lord Murphy was described as “a grand-looking animal” in contemporary accounts, lengthy with strong hips and an attractive head and neck. He was troubled with soreness in his forelegs at 2, and when James R. Keene purchased him late in his 3-year-old season, he made the purchase contingent on a veterinary inspection that pronounced the horse “sound.” By the time he was 5, Lord Murphy had reportedly developed a savage temper and had become a roarer as well, a condition that Keene attributed to the change in weather between America and England.
As a stallion
Lord Murphy does not appear to have sired any registered foals.
Connections
Foaled in Sumner County, Tennessee, Lord Murphy was bred by J. T. Carter. He was purchased as a yearling for US$400 and raced for George Darden & Co. with co-owner George Rice as his trainer through his St. Leger Stakes win. Although his owners had previously refused an offer of US$3,000 cash for him as a 2-year-old, following the St. Leger he was sold to James R. Keene for US$10,000 and ran second in three more stakes races to finish out the season. He raced in England at 4 and 5 without success, starting only once each year. Sold by Keene to Richard Ten Broeck in May 1881, Lord Murphy was auctioned off two months later, fetching a mere 10 guineas (then equivalent to US$50). His whereabouts following this sale remain unknown.
Pedigree notes
Sired by Lexington's good son Pat Malloy, Lord Murphy is inbred 5x5x5 to the great 19th century sire Sir Archy. He is a half brother to Sue Walton (by Jack Malone), dam of 1881 Jerome Handicap winner Barrett (by Bonnie Scotland) and of juvenile stakes winner Bathgate (by Bonnie Scotland).
Wenonah, the dam of Lord Murphy and Sue Walton, was sired by Capt. Elgee, a son of five-time American champion sire Leviathan. Her dam was an unnamed daughter of the English import Albion out of an unnamed daughter of Pacific (one of Sir Archy's many stallion sons), and traces back in direct female descent to a matriarch known as the Harrison of Brandon Mare. This mare (believed to have also been known as “Merry Lass” and “Lovely Lass”) was imported from Spain about 1740; nothing more is known of her.
Books and media
Lord Murphy's story is recounted in “The Tennessee Lord,” the fifth chapter of Jim Bolus' Derby Dreams (1996, Pelican Publishing Company).
Fun facts
- Lord Murphy was the first Kentucky Derby winner to be foaled outside Kentucky and was the first of three Tennessee-bred horses to win the great race. The other Tennessee-breds to do so were Kingman (1891) and Typhoon II (1897).
- Lord Murphy's Kentucky Derby win meant that Tennessee-bred horses swept Kentucky's top spring races for colts and fillies, as Tennessee-bred Liatunah won the Kentucky Oaks the same year. The two met in the Trial Stakes at Chicago later that year, with Lord Murphy finishing second and Liatunah third.
- Lord Murphy was originally named “Patmus.”
- The 1879 Kentucky Derby featured a filly named Wissahickon among the entries. A full sister to the first Derby winner, Aristides, she showed none of his ability and finished up the track.
- Lord Murphy's Kentucky Derby was the first for which pari-mutuel betting was available.
Last updated: March 24, 2022