Sancho

Sancho (1801–September 1809) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes in 1804. In a racing career which lasted from May 1804 until October 1806 he won eight of his twelve competitive races. Originally trained in Yorkshire, he was undefeated in four races as a three-year-old in 1805, culminating with his victory in the St Leger at Doncaster Racecourse. In the following season he was transferred to race in the south of England where he won a series of lucrative match races against some of the leading horses of the day. His five-year-old season proved disappointing and expensive for his owner as he was injured and beaten in both of his races. Sancho was retired from racing and showed considerable promise as a sire of winners in a brief stud career. Background Sancho was a bay horse owned and bred Colonel Henry Mellish, a veteran of the Peninsular War, who engaged in duelling, prize-fighting and dog-fighting. His enthusiasm for racing of any kind was such that he once trained a pig to race and gambled on which of two raindrops would be the first to reach the bottom of a window-pane. Sancho was trained by the former jockey Bartle Atkinson. Sancho's, sire Don Quixote was a chestnut son of Eclipse bred by Mr Taylor. Apart from Sancho, his most notable offspring was the successful breeding stallion Cervantes. Sancho's dam, an unnamed mare by Highflyer, was a sister of the St Leger winner Cowslip and of the influential broodmares Maid of All Work and Rachel.