Lord Murphy

Lord Murphy
SirePat Malloy
GrandsireLexington
DamWenonah
DamsireCaptain Elgee
SexStallion
Foaled1876
CountryUnited States
ColourBay
BreederJ. T. Carter
Owner1) George W. Darden & Co.
2) James R. Keene
TrainerGeorge Rice
Record14: 6-5-0
Earnings$11,400
Major wins
Belle Meade Stakes (1879)
Kentucky St. Leger Stakes (1879)
January Stakes (1879)

American Classic Race wins:
Kentucky Derby (1879)

Lord Murphy (1876 – after 1881) was an American thoroughbred racehorse that was bred in Tennessee and is best known for winning the 1879 Kentucky Derby. He was originally named Patmus and was a grandson of Lexington. He descended from the Byerly Turk.[1]

The 5th Kentucky Derby was run on a fast track with a field of nine horses, including the notable racer and future leading sire Falsetto. Lord Murphy was knocked almost to his knees by Ada Glenn on the first turn, but managed to pull himself up from 7th to 1st place at the mile marker to win over the fast approaching Falsetto.[2]

Lord Murphy was bought soon after his Derby win by horseman James R. Keene, who promptly shipped him overseas to the British racing circuit. His arrival was greeted with interest in Britain, as he was "purely American", rather than being bred from relatively recent European exports.[3] Lord Murphy did not race well in Britain,[4] being unplaced in the 1880 Chatsworth Handicap Plate at Derby and the 1881 Visitors Plate run at the Craven meeting.[5] He acquired a "savage" temper[6] and became a "roarer", an ailment that Keene thought developed secondary to the change in weather between the United States and England.[7] Keene sold Lord Murphy to Richard Ten Broeck in May 1881.[8] He was later sold at a British public auction in Newmarket on July 6, 1881, the horse fetching a small sum of 10 guineas ($50).[9][10]

  1. ^ "Lord Murphy information". Everything2.com. 2002-06-21. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
  2. ^ Lord Murphy racing stats[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS18800522.2.9&srpos=2&e=-------10--1----2Lord+Murphy-- [bare URL]
  4. ^ NY Times article on trials and tribulations of James R. Keene.May 29, 1908
  5. ^ Staff (April 22, 1881). "The turf in England: The Newmarket Craven Meeting Second Day of the Craven Meeting". Turf, Field, and Farm.
  6. ^ Farfadet (November 24, 1883). "English Turf and Horse Gossip: Doncaster September Meeting, 1883". Turf, Field, and Farm.
  7. ^ Staff (June 10, 1881). "The American victory in the English Derby". Turf, Field, and Farm.
  8. ^ Staff (May 31, 1881). "Latest foreign news: Leading Events and Topics Abroad". The Sun.
  9. ^ Duncan, John (July 20, 1881). "Livestock and turf: Splinters from Hoof and Horn at Home and Abroad". Courier-Journal.
  10. ^ "When The Bloom Is Off The Roses", Sports Illustrated, April 28, 1980.[1]