In spite of his sweep of the English Triple Crown, Rock Sand had his share of detractors. He was certainly not the equal of his older contemporaries Ard Patrick and Sceptre, and there were those who questioned whether he was the equal of Zinfandel, who had to miss the 1903 Classics but beat Rock Sand soundly in the 1904 Coronation Cup. Nonetheless, he was a consistent colt, and at 3 and 4 he was never beaten save by horses of the very highest class. At stud, he overcame difficult circumstances to make a lasting mark on the breed.
Race record
20 starts, 16 wins, 1 second, 3 thirds, £47,913
1902:
1903:
1904:
Honors
Assessments
In their book A Century of Champions (1999, Portway Press Ltd.), English experts John Randall and Tony Morris rated Rock Sand as an “average” Derby winner.
As an individual
Rock Sand stood 15.3 hands. A handsome, elegant dark bay or brown horse, he was said to have borne a closer resemblance to his maternal grandsire, St. Simon, than his sire Sainfoin. He had a lovely shoulder and long hip but also had the upright pasterns of his dam Roquebrune. He was said to have been such a poor mover at his slower paces that many thought him crippled until he got up to racing speed. He was quite highly strung and a notorious stall kicker, requiring padded walls in his stall to prevent his injuring himself.
As a stallion
Rock Sand's highest sire rankings came in 1912 and 1913, when he was fourth on the English general sire list. He was also fifth on the American juvenile sire list in 1915 but never reached higher than 11th on the American general sire list. As a broodmare sire, he was third on the American broodmare sire list in 1924, fourth in 1925, eighth in 1926, and seventh in 1929.
While on the surface Rock Sand's results suggest only modest success, they are actually excellent considering the relatively small number of foals Rock Sand sired in each country where he stood. His results must also be evaluated in light of the impacts of the New York racing blackout of 1911-1912 and August Belmont's policy of racing his fillies lightly or not at all, which further limited racing opportunities for Rock Sand's progeny. Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1925-1967 credits Rock Sand as the sire of 19 stakes winners in the United States and Europe but does not include the English stakes winners Coastwise (Liverpool Cup) and Rochester (Newbury Spring Cup), the French stakes winner Gave (twice winner of the Prix Jean Prat) or the Australian stakes winner High Rock (WATC All-Aged Stakes).
Rock Sand is a Classic/Solid chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Notable progeny
Damrosch (USA), Friar Rock (USA), Hour Glass II (FR), Mahubah (USA), Malachite (USA), Qu'elle est Belle (FR), Rock View (USA), Tracery (USA), Vulcain (FR)
Connections
Rock Sand was bred and owned by Sir James Miller, who had also won the Derby with his sire Sainfoin. He was trained by George Blackwell. Miller died in 1906, and Rock Sand was sold to August Belmont II for a reported £25,000 (US$125,000 per author Edward Bowen) following the 1906 breeding season, having sired only 22 foals in England. Prior to the 1913 breeding season, Rock Sand was resold to a syndicate for £25,000 and sent to France, where he died of what was described as heart disease on July 20, 1914.
Pedigree notes
Rock Sand is inbred 4x4x4 to the “Emperor of Stallions,” dual English Classic winner Stockwell. He is also inbred 5x4 to two-time leading English sire Newminster, himself winner of the 1851 St. Leger Stakes, and 5x5x5x5 to the great matron Pocahontas. His dam Roquebrune is a stakes-winning half sister to 1888 Oaks Stakes and St. Leger Stakes winner Seabreeze and stakes winners Antibes, Le Var and Riviera, all by Isonomy. Roquebrune is also a half sister to stakes winner Sweet Marjorie (by Kendal) and her full brother Tredennis, who was a useless racehorse but became a leading sire in Ireland and headed the English broodmare sire list in 1926. Another half sister to Roquebrune, St. Marina (by Jannissary), is the second dam of the excellent broodmare Marguerite, dam of 1930 American Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox and others. The dam of Roquebrune, St. Marguerite, won the 1882 One Thousand Guineas and is a full sister to Thebais, winner of the 1881 One Thousand Guineas and Oaks Stakes; to the good sprinter Clairvaux, winner of the 1883 July Cup; and to Heloise, winner of the 1887 Coronation Stakes.
Books and media
Fun facts
Race record
20 starts, 16 wins, 1 second, 3 thirds, £47,913
1902:
- Won Bedford Stakes (ENG, 5FT, Newmarket)
- Won Woodcote Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Epsom)
- Won Coventry Stakes (ENG, about 5.5FT, Ascot)
- Won Chesterfield Stakes (ENG, Newmarket)
- Won Champagne Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Doncaster)
- Won Dewhurst Stakes (ENG, 7FT, Newmarket)
- 3rd Middle Park Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Newmarket)
1903:
- Won Bennington Stakes (ENG, Newmarket)
- Won Two Thousand Guineas (ENG, 8FT, Newmarket)
- Won Derby Stakes (ENG, 12FT, Epsom)
- Won St. James's Palace Stakes (ENG, 8FT, Ascot)
- Won St. Leger Stakes (ENG, about 14.5FT, Doncaster)
- 2nd Jockey Club Stakes (ENG, 14FT, Newmarket)
- 3rd Eclipse Stakes (ENG, 10FT, Sandown)
1904:
- Won Hardwicke Stakes (ENG, 12FT, Ascot)
- Won Princess of Wales's Stakes (ENG, 12FT, Newmarket)
- Won Lingfield Park Plate (ENG, 10FT, Lingfield)
- Won First Foal Stakes (ENG, Newmarket)
- Won Jockey Club Stakes (ENG, 14FT, Newmarket)
- 3rd Coronation Cup (ENG, 12FT, Epsom)
Honors
- English champion 2-year-old male (1902)
- English champion 3-year-old male (1903)
Assessments
In their book A Century of Champions (1999, Portway Press Ltd.), English experts John Randall and Tony Morris rated Rock Sand as an “average” Derby winner.
As an individual
Rock Sand stood 15.3 hands. A handsome, elegant dark bay or brown horse, he was said to have borne a closer resemblance to his maternal grandsire, St. Simon, than his sire Sainfoin. He had a lovely shoulder and long hip but also had the upright pasterns of his dam Roquebrune. He was said to have been such a poor mover at his slower paces that many thought him crippled until he got up to racing speed. He was quite highly strung and a notorious stall kicker, requiring padded walls in his stall to prevent his injuring himself.
As a stallion
Rock Sand's highest sire rankings came in 1912 and 1913, when he was fourth on the English general sire list. He was also fifth on the American juvenile sire list in 1915 but never reached higher than 11th on the American general sire list. As a broodmare sire, he was third on the American broodmare sire list in 1924, fourth in 1925, eighth in 1926, and seventh in 1929.
While on the surface Rock Sand's results suggest only modest success, they are actually excellent considering the relatively small number of foals Rock Sand sired in each country where he stood. His results must also be evaluated in light of the impacts of the New York racing blackout of 1911-1912 and August Belmont's policy of racing his fillies lightly or not at all, which further limited racing opportunities for Rock Sand's progeny. Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1925-1967 credits Rock Sand as the sire of 19 stakes winners in the United States and Europe but does not include the English stakes winners Coastwise (Liverpool Cup) and Rochester (Newbury Spring Cup), the French stakes winner Gave (twice winner of the Prix Jean Prat) or the Australian stakes winner High Rock (WATC All-Aged Stakes).
Rock Sand is a Classic/Solid chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Notable progeny
Damrosch (USA), Friar Rock (USA), Hour Glass II (FR), Mahubah (USA), Malachite (USA), Qu'elle est Belle (FR), Rock View (USA), Tracery (USA), Vulcain (FR)
Connections
Rock Sand was bred and owned by Sir James Miller, who had also won the Derby with his sire Sainfoin. He was trained by George Blackwell. Miller died in 1906, and Rock Sand was sold to August Belmont II for a reported £25,000 (US$125,000 per author Edward Bowen) following the 1906 breeding season, having sired only 22 foals in England. Prior to the 1913 breeding season, Rock Sand was resold to a syndicate for £25,000 and sent to France, where he died of what was described as heart disease on July 20, 1914.
Pedigree notes
Rock Sand is inbred 4x4x4 to the “Emperor of Stallions,” dual English Classic winner Stockwell. He is also inbred 5x4 to two-time leading English sire Newminster, himself winner of the 1851 St. Leger Stakes, and 5x5x5x5 to the great matron Pocahontas. His dam Roquebrune is a stakes-winning half sister to 1888 Oaks Stakes and St. Leger Stakes winner Seabreeze and stakes winners Antibes, Le Var and Riviera, all by Isonomy. Roquebrune is also a half sister to stakes winner Sweet Marjorie (by Kendal) and her full brother Tredennis, who was a useless racehorse but became a leading sire in Ireland and headed the English broodmare sire list in 1926. Another half sister to Roquebrune, St. Marina (by Jannissary), is the second dam of the excellent broodmare Marguerite, dam of 1930 American Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox and others. The dam of Roquebrune, St. Marguerite, won the 1882 One Thousand Guineas and is a full sister to Thebais, winner of the 1881 One Thousand Guineas and Oaks Stakes; to the good sprinter Clairvaux, winner of the 1883 July Cup; and to Heloise, winner of the 1887 Coronation Stakes.
Books and media
- Rock Sand is profiled in Chapter 1 of Abram S. Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and re-released by Eclipse Press in 2006).
- Rock Sand is profiled in Chapter 12 of Sir Charles Leicester's Bloodstock Breeding (1957, J. A. Allen and Co. Ltd.; revised by Howard Wright and re-released by the same publisher in 1983).
- Rock Sand 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.
Fun facts
- An unverified story regarding Rock Sand is that he was kept in a paddock by himself as a youngster and so never had the opportunity to develop his physique or his slower paces in romping about with other colts.
- Rock Sand's son Gun Rock became the mascot of the University of California, Davis.
- Following his death, Rock Sand's skeleton became an exhibit in the Gallery of Comparative Anatomy and Paleontology at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.