Phalaris (GB)
May 16, 1913 – February 28, 1931
Polymelus (GB) x Bromus (GB), by Sainfoin (GB)
Family 1-i
May 16, 1913 – February 28, 1931
Polymelus (GB) x Bromus (GB), by Sainfoin (GB)
Family 1-i
Phalaris was an anomaly in the Classic-oriented stud of the 17th Earl of Derby. He made no pretense of staying the 1½ miles of the Earl's namesake race, the Derby Stakes; a mile was as much as he really wanted in good company and he preferred less when the pace was hot. When he concluded his racing career, Lord Derby offered him for sale for £5,000 and only put him to stud in his own program when no takers emerged. It was a stroke of fortune for the Earl. Crossed to Lord Derby's stoutly-bred mares, Phalaris provided a much-needed injection of high-quality speed that rejuvenated Lord Derby's breeding program. He also fathered four sires whose male lines are still extant today: Pharos, Fairway, Sickle and Pharamond II. Today, some 90 percent of modern Thoroughbreds trace in direct male line to the horse that Lord Derby didn't want to keep.
Race record
24 starts, 16 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third, £5,748
1915:
1916:
1917:
1918:
Assessments
Rated at 117 pounds on the Free Handicap for English juveniles of 1915, 9 pounds below the filly Fifinella and fifth overall.
Widely considered the best English sprinter of his time.
As an individual
Phalaris was a lengthy, impressive-looking horse with high withers, strong shoulders and muscular hindquarters but was slightly hollow-backed and somewhat back at the knee. According to his trainer, George Lambton, "He had absolutely first-class speed, an excellent constitution, and was up to very high weights. Furthermore, he had very good action and was as true as steel as far as he could go." He had a kindly disposition.
As a stallion
Phalaris led the English general sire list in 1925 and 1928 and was ranked among the top 10 on seven other occasions. He led the English juvenile sire list in 1925-1927. He also led the English broodmare sire list in 1937, 1940, and 1942 and ranked among the top 10 on seven other occasions, including runner-up finishes in 1935 and 1941. Phalaris was particularly effective when crossed to daughters of the St. Simon horse Chaucer. He tended to throw an attractive, short-coupled, somewhat short-legged physical type and usually imparted some of his own speed. He is a Brilliant chef-de-race in the Roman dosage system.
Notable progeny
Caerleon (GB), Chatelaine (GB), Christopher Robin (GB), Colorado (GB), Fair Isle (GB), Fairway (GB), Manna (GB), Pharamond II (GB), Pharos (GB), Plantago (GB), Sickle (GB), Trinidad (GB), Warden of the Marches (GB)
Connections
Phalaris was bred and owned by the 17th Earl of Derby. He was trained by George Lambton.
Pedigree notes
Phalaris is inbred 4x5 to 1863 St. Leger Stakes winner Lord Clifden. He is a half brother to Hainault (by Swynford), a stakes winner but perhaps a better horse than he ever had the opportunity to show as his racing career was impeded by a fractured knee. Phalaris' dam Bromus won her only victory in the important Seaton Delaval Plate as a juvenile and is a half sister to Ortelle (by Orvieto), dam of the good Australian stakes winner Duke Foote (by Sir Foote). Bromus' dam Cheery (by St. Simon) was stakes-placed as a juvenile and is a half sister to Greeba (by Melton), whose son Eager (by Enthusiast) was a top sprinter whose victories included the 1899 July Cup. Another half sister to Cheery, Lindal (by Kendal), produced Limond, a minor stakes winner in England and a highly successful sire in Australia and New Zealand, and Sandal, who ranked among the top 10 Argentine sires five times and sired the great Argentine runner Macon.
Books and media
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the collection of Quarter Horse Record (Susan Larkin); used by permission.
Last updated: June 15, 2021
Race record
24 starts, 16 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third, £5,748
1915:
- Won Stud Produce Stakes (ENG, 5FT, Newmarket)
- Won Redmere Nursery (ENG, 5FT, Newmarket)
1916:
- Won Beaufort Stakes (ENG, 7FT, Newmarket)
- Won St. George's Handicap (ENG, 6FT, Newmarket)
- Won Royal Stakes (ENG, 10FT, Newmarket)
- 2nd Limekiln Stakes (ENG, 10FT, Newmarket)
- 3rd Craven Stakes (ENG, 8FT, Newmarket)
1917:
- Won Bretby Handicap (ENG, 6FT, Newmarket)
- Won Chesterfield Stakes (ENG, 5FT, Newmarket)
- Won St. Ives Handicap (ENG, 5FT, Newmarket)
- Won Bury St. Edmunds Plate (ENG, 8FT, Newmarket)
- Won Snailwell Stakes (ENG, 5FT, Newmarket)
- Won Challenge Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Newmarket)
- Won The Whip (ENG, 16f+118yT, Newmarket; by walkover)
- 2nd Crawfurd Stakes (ENG, Newmarket)
1918:
- Won Abingdon Plate (ENG, 5FT, Newmarket)
- Won June Stakes (ENG, 8FT, Newmarket)
- Won Lanwades Plate (ENG, 7FT, Newmarket)
- Won Challenge Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Newmarket; by walkover)
Assessments
Rated at 117 pounds on the Free Handicap for English juveniles of 1915, 9 pounds below the filly Fifinella and fifth overall.
Widely considered the best English sprinter of his time.
As an individual
Phalaris was a lengthy, impressive-looking horse with high withers, strong shoulders and muscular hindquarters but was slightly hollow-backed and somewhat back at the knee. According to his trainer, George Lambton, "He had absolutely first-class speed, an excellent constitution, and was up to very high weights. Furthermore, he had very good action and was as true as steel as far as he could go." He had a kindly disposition.
As a stallion
Phalaris led the English general sire list in 1925 and 1928 and was ranked among the top 10 on seven other occasions. He led the English juvenile sire list in 1925-1927. He also led the English broodmare sire list in 1937, 1940, and 1942 and ranked among the top 10 on seven other occasions, including runner-up finishes in 1935 and 1941. Phalaris was particularly effective when crossed to daughters of the St. Simon horse Chaucer. He tended to throw an attractive, short-coupled, somewhat short-legged physical type and usually imparted some of his own speed. He is a Brilliant chef-de-race in the Roman dosage system.
Notable progeny
Caerleon (GB), Chatelaine (GB), Christopher Robin (GB), Colorado (GB), Fair Isle (GB), Fairway (GB), Manna (GB), Pharamond II (GB), Pharos (GB), Plantago (GB), Sickle (GB), Trinidad (GB), Warden of the Marches (GB)
Connections
Phalaris was bred and owned by the 17th Earl of Derby. He was trained by George Lambton.
Pedigree notes
Phalaris is inbred 4x5 to 1863 St. Leger Stakes winner Lord Clifden. He is a half brother to Hainault (by Swynford), a stakes winner but perhaps a better horse than he ever had the opportunity to show as his racing career was impeded by a fractured knee. Phalaris' dam Bromus won her only victory in the important Seaton Delaval Plate as a juvenile and is a half sister to Ortelle (by Orvieto), dam of the good Australian stakes winner Duke Foote (by Sir Foote). Bromus' dam Cheery (by St. Simon) was stakes-placed as a juvenile and is a half sister to Greeba (by Melton), whose son Eager (by Enthusiast) was a top sprinter whose victories included the 1899 July Cup. Another half sister to Cheery, Lindal (by Kendal), produced Limond, a minor stakes winner in England and a highly successful sire in Australia and New Zealand, and Sandal, who ranked among the top 10 Argentine sires five times and sired the great Argentine runner Macon.
Books and media
- Phalaris is one of 205 stallions whose accomplishments at stud are profiled in Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, The Australian Bloodhorse Review), a massive reference work written by Jennifer Churchill, Andrew Reichard and Byron Rogers.
- Phalaris is profiled in Chapter 17 of Abram S. Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and re-released by Eclipse Press in 2006).
Fun facts
- Phalaris was named for a tyrant of the Greek city of Acragas (modern Agrigento) on Sicily. Unlike his good-natured equine namesake, the human Phalaris was a despot who was said to have condemned his enemies to be roasted alive within the hollow statue of a brazen bull.
- Phalaris raced only at Newmarket, as most other race courses were being used for other purposes during World War I.
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the collection of Quarter Horse Record (Susan Larkin); used by permission.
Last updated: June 15, 2021