Polymelus

Polymelus
Sire	Cyllene
Grandsire	Bona Vista
Dam	Maid Marian
Damsire	Hampton
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1902[1]
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe
Owner	Earl of Crewe David Faber Solomon Joel
Trainer	1) John Porter Mr. Baker Charles Peck
Record	31: 11–7–2
Earnings	£16,803
Major wins
Criterion Stakes (1904) Richmond Stakes (1904) Duke of York Stakes (1905) Duke of York Handicap (1906) Cambridgeshire Handicap (1906) Champion Stakes (1906) Princess of Wales's Stakes (1907)
Awards
Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland (1914, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1921)
Last updated on May 6, 2010

Polymelus (1902–1924) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for five years (1914, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1921). Among his most famous descendants are Secretariat and Northern Dancer. However, it was through his son Phalaris that he will forever be remembered. His great grandsire was Bend Or.

Contents

• 
  1 Background
  


• 
  2 Racing career
  


• 
  3 Stud record
  


• 
  4 Pedigree
  


• 
  5 References
  

Background

Polymelus was a bay horse bred by Lord Crewe. He was sired by Cyllene, an Ascot Gold Cup winner, who went on to become a highly successful stallion. In addition to Polymelus, he sired The Derby winners Cicero, Minoru, Tagalie and Lemberg and was champion sire in 1909 and 1910.

Polymelus's dam Maid Marian was a half-sister to the outstanding racemare La Fleche and later became an influential broodmare in her own right, being the foundation mare of Thoroughbred family 3-f. Her other descendants have included Big Red Mike, Mioland, Mont Tremblant, Pont l'Eveque, Right Royal and Saint Estephe.^[2]

Racing career

Poymelus showed great promise as a two-year-old, winning both the Criterion Stakes and the Richmond Stakes.

As a three-year-old in 1905 he showed form over a wide variety of distances, winning the Duke of York Stakes over six furlong and finishing second in the St Leger.^[3]

In 1906 Polymelus was offered for sale at Newmarket and bought for 4,200 Guinea by Solomon Joel.^[4] The colt reached his peak later that year when he recorded victories in the Duke of York Handicap, Cambridgeshire Handicap and Champion Stakes. He added a win in the Princess of Wales's Stakes in 1907 before being retired to stud.

Stud record

Polymelus stood at stud at Solomon Joel's Maiden Erlegh Stud near Reading, Berkshire where he died in 1924. Among his progeny, Polymelus sired:^[5]

• 
  Black Jester, won the 1914 St Leger Stakes
  


• 
  Pommern, the 1915 English Triple Crown champion


• 
  Fifinella, won 1916 Epsom Oaks and Epsom Derby
  


• 
  Humorist, won 1921 Epsom Derby


• 
  Phalaris, Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland (1925, 1928) and Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland (1937, 1941, 1942)


• 
  Parth won the 1923 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
  

The skeleton of Polymelus is now on display in the entrance lobby of the University of Cambridge Museum of Zoology, where it is an example of the specialised adaptations to high-speed running.^[6]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Polymelus (GB), bay stallion, 1902^[1]

Sire Cyllene (GB) 1895	Bona Vista (GB) 1889	Bend Or	Doncaster
			Rouge Rose
		Vista	Macaroni
			Verdure
	Arcadia (GB) 1887	Isonomy	Sterling
			Isola Bella
		Distant Shore	Hermit
			Lands End
Dam Maid Marian (GB) 1886	Hampton (GB) 1872	Lord Clifden	Newminster
			The Slave
		Lady Langden	Kettledrum
			Haricot
	Quiver (GB) 1872	Toxophilite	Longbow
			Legerdemain
		Young Melbourne mare	Young Melbourne
			Brown Bess (Family 3-f)[2]

References

• Details on page 44 in Designing Speed in the Racehorse by Ken McLean (2005) .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
  ISBN 978-0-929346-80-9
  

1. 
   ^ ^ab "Polymelus pedigree". Equineline.
   


2. 
   ^ ^ab "Maid Marian – Family 3-f". Thoroughbred Bloodlines.
   


3. 
   ^ "Doncaster St Leger". The Star (Christchurch). 14 September 1905.
   


4. 
   ^ Mortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane’s. ISBN 0-354-08536-0.
   


5. 
   ^ "Phalaris". Thoroughbred Heritage.
   


6. 
   ^ "'Picture This #14′ Polymelus, Museum of Zoology". Cambridge University Museum of Zoology. 1 February 2012.
   

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