Spearmint (horse)

Spearmint showed modest form in three starts as a two-year-old in 1905. He made his debut in the £835 Great Foal Plate at Lingfield on 15 July, where he started at odds of 9/4 in a field of ten runners and won by a head in a time of 59.2 seconds, despite meeting interference in running.[2] He was then moved up in class for the Breeders' Foal Plate at Derby Racecourse in September and finished third to Black Arrow. On his final start of the year, he ran in the Richmond Nursery, a handicap race for two-year-olds at the Newmarket Houghton meeting in late October. Carrying top weight, he finished fourth. He was regarded as probably the third best juvenile in his stable after the colt Admirable Crichton (a half-brother to Pretty Polly) and the filly Flair. There was some speculation that Spearmint had only been entered in the Derby to act as a pacemaker for one of his more fancied stable companions.[8]

Spearmint made good progress over the winter, and Gilpin planned to prepare the colt to challenge for the Grand Prix de Paris[9] at Longchamp in June, a race which had not been won by a British horse since the victory of Spearmint's maternal grandsire Minting in 1886. By spring, however, Admirable Crichton failed to make the expected progress between two and three, while Flair sustained a serious injury after winning the 1000 Guineas, leaving Spearmint as the stable's only viable Derby contender. He did not race in public before the Derby but beat Pretty Polly and the Cesarewitch winner Hammerkop in a private trial race.[10][11] When the results of this "private" trial became public, Spearmint began to attract serious support in the betting markets, and his odds fell from 20/1 on 15 May[12] to 11/2 a week later.[13]

At Epsom on 30 May, Spearmint started the 6/1 second favourite for the Derby behind Lally (on 4/1) and was ridden by the American jockey Danny Maher. He faced twenty-one opponents in what was considered an unusually strong field. The race run in fine weather attracted a crowd estimated at 500,000, including King Edward VII.[14] Despite sweating freely in the hot conditions, Spearmint made a strong impression before the race as he demonstrated his "long-sweeping stride"[15] on the way to the start. The early pace was exceptionally strong as the lead passed back and forth between Troutbeck and Picton, with Spearmint settled close behind. Two furlongs from the finish, Spearmint produced a strong run to take the lead and pulled ahead "in determined fashion"[9] to win by one and a half lengths from Picton, with Troutbeck two lengths back in third. The winning time of 2:36.8 broke the race record set a year earlier by Cicero by 2.8 seconds. It was the third Derby win in four years for Maher, who had won on Cicero and on Rock Sand in 1903.[16]

Eleven days later, Spearmint was sent to Longchamp for the Grand Prix de Paris, run over a distance of 3000 metres. Ridden by the Irish jockey Bernard Dillon, he started 9/10 favourite in a field of thirteen which included the Prix du Jockey Club winner Maintenon. After a sprint for the lead to the first turn, Spearmint was settled in front by Dillon and held a clear advantage into the straight. The outsider Brisecoeur emerged as his only serious challenger, but Spearmint ran on strongly to win by half a length with Storm finishing third.[17][18] Dillon revealed that he had taken the colt to the lead from the start to forestall any attempts by the French jockeys to impede him. He described Spearmint as "the gamest horse I think I ever was on" and claimed that "the farther we had to go the farther he would have won".[19] Spearmint received a warmer reception from the French crowd than was customary for a British winner,[20] and was even kissed by several "fashionable French ladies".[21] Major Loder was personally congratulated by French President Armand Fallières, who also paid a visit to the racecourse stables to view the winner.[22] During his return from Longchamp, Spearmint had a "remarkable escape" when he emerged from a train accident near Amiens with only minor bruising to his head.[23] Spearmint developed leg problems after his win in Paris, reportedly throwing a splint, and was withdrawn from his remaining engagements in 1906.[24]

Spearmint was kept in training in 1907, but his problems continued and by summer it was becoming clear that his legs would not stand up to further racing.[25][26] He did not run again, and at the end of the year he was retired to stud.