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Zoedone

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Zoedone
SireNew Owestry
GrandsireKnight of Kars
DamMiss Honiton
DamsireHoniton
SexMare
Foaled1877[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
ColourChestnut
OwnerCount Charles Kinsky
TrainerW Jenkins
Major wins
Grand National (1883)

Zoedone (foaled 1877) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Grand National in 1883 while being ridden by her owner Count Charles Kinsky.

Zoedone was a chestnut filly and was initially bought as a hunter for £170 by Edward Clayton who quickly saw the racing potential she had and so he entered her into the 1882 Grand National. Clayton asked his experienced jockey friend, Arthur Smith to ride Zoedone. She finished third in bad, rainy and snowy conditions,[2] but she was noted for he sturdiness, jumping ability and stamina. She followed this by winning the Warwick Grand Annual steeplechase.

She was spotted by Count Charles Kinsky while hunting in Melton and the Czech count bought her in late 1882 for £800, with a £200 contingency, should she win the Grand National.[1] Count Kinsky decided to ride her himself and so both himself and Zoedone went to Upton to be trained by Snowy Harding.[3]

Zoedone and Kinsky went on to win the 1883 Grand National. The race consisted of 10 horses making it the smallest field in Grand National history.[4] In heavy going Kinsky rode Zoedone to an easy victory with the slowest time ever recorded for the Grand National: 11 minutes, 39 seconds.[4] This record would stand for 118 years until Red Marauder ran even slower in 2001.[3][5]

In 1884 Zoedone was ridden by Kinsky again in the Grand National where she placed fourth. The following year, 1885, she was second favorite but she fell when schooling over a hurdle before the race and then fell at Beachers Brook. Rumours persisted that she had been poisoned.

Zoedone was retired and sent to the Kinsky stud in Europe.[1]

Grand National record

[edit]
Grand National Position Jockey Age Weight SP Distance
1882 3rd Arthur Smith 5 10-0 20/1 A distance
1883 1st Count Charles Kinsky 6 11-0 100/8 Won by 10 lengths
1884 6th Count Charles Kinsky 7 12-2 100/7
1885 DNF Count Charles Kinsky 8 11-1 15/1 Fell at fence 21

Pedigree

[edit]
Pedigree of Zoedone (GB), chestnut filly, 1877[1]
Sire
New Owestry (GB)
1864
Knight of Kars
Pocahontas
Debonnaire
Dam
Miss Honiton (GB)
Honiton
Stockton

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "HB family 1". tbheritage.com. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Sickly Seaman Carries the Day". Race Call. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b "1883".
  4. ^ a b Haywood, Linda. (4 April 2008) A Big Long History of the Grand National Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Popular Nostalgia. Retrieved on 11 March 2011.
  5. ^ London Evening Standard, Saturday 31 March 1883, Page 3, Column 6