Sefton (racehorse)

Sefton (1875–1891) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1877 to 1878 he ran thirteen times and won three races. He showed little promise as a two-year-old, but developed into a leading colt the following year, when his wins included the 1878 Epsom Derby. At the end of the season he was retired to stud where he had little success. He was put down in 1891.

Background

Sefton, a dark-coated bay horse with one white sock, was bred by Jonathan Peel at the Glasgow Stud at Enfield, Middlesex. As a yearling was sold for 1,000 guineas to William Stirling-Crawfurd, an "old school" sportsman who had married the widow of the Duke of Montrose. Sefton was trained at Manton by Alec Taylor, Sr..

Sefton’s sire Speculum was a top class stayer who won the Goodwood Cup. He went on to be a successful and influential sire, being the male-line ancestor of the Derby winners Sunstar and Phil Drake. Sefton’s achievements enabled Speculum to become Champion sire in 1878. Sefton’s dam was an unnamed mare by West Australian who was later given the name Lady Sefton. During Sefton's career, she was usually known as "Liverpool's dam" after a good colt she had produced in 1869.

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport, involving two or more jockeys riding horses over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports and its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has remained unchanged since the earliest times.

Horse races vary widely in format. Often, countries have developed their own particular horse racing traditions. Variations include restricting races to particular breeds, running over obstacles, running over different distances, running on different track surfaces and running in different gaits.

While horses are sometimes raced purely for sport, a major part of horse racing's interest and economic importance lies in the gambling associated with it, an activity that in 2008 generated a world-wide market worth around US$115 billion.

History

Horse racing has a long and distinguished history and has been practised in civilisations across the world since ancient times. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in Ancient Greece, Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. It also plays an important part of myth and legend, such as the contest between the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology.

Sefton

Sefton may refer to:

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See also

Sefton (horse)

Sefton (1963–1993) was a British Army horse who served for 17 years from 1967 to 1984, coming to prominence when he was critically injured in the Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings, which combined killed seven other horses, and eleven people. He recovered sufficiently to return to active service and was subsequently awarded "Horse of the Year". Sefton became one of the first horses to be placed in the British Horse Society's equestrian Hall of Fame, and with an annual award named after him.

Early life

Sefton was born in July 1963 in County Waterford, Ireland, as a cross between an Irish Draught mare and a local Thoroughbred stallion (thought to have been called Honour's Choice). He was purchased as a two-year-old by local Michael Conners, who then took him as a four-year-old to the nearby Pallas Stud to be inspected by the Army Purchasing Commission on 1 June 1967, who chose him immediately, paying the then standard £275.

He was then shipped via ferry from Dublin along with 25 other three- and four-year-old horses destined for the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery and other parts of the Household Cavalry. Here, he was named Sefton after Lord Sefton, a former Household Cavalry officer, but was nicknamed 'Sharky' in the stable, due to his predilection for biting.

Metropolitan Borough of Sefton

The Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England and its local authority is Sefton Council. Sefton was formed by the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the former county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, and, from the administrative county of Lancashire, the municipal borough of Crosby, the urban districts of Formby and Litherland, and part of the Rural District of West Lancashire. It also formed part of the new county of Merseyside. The borough consists of a coastal strip of land on the Irish Sea, and extends from Bootle in the south, to Southport in the north. In the south-east, it extends inland to Maghull. The district is bounded by Liverpool to the south, Knowsley to the south-east, and West Lancashire to the east.

It is named after the village and parish of Sefton, near Maghull, that had formerly served as the seat of the Molyneux family and the watermill located there served as inspiration for Sefton Council's Crest. When the borough was created in the Local Government Act 1972 a name was sought that would not unduly identify the borough with any of its constituent parts, particularly the former county boroughs of Bootle and Southport. The locality had strong links with both the Earl of Sefton and the Earl of Derby, resident of Knowsley Hall, and given the fact that the immediately adjacent borough was subsequently named Knowsley it seems equally likely that the choice of name was derived from the names of the local nobility. A Sefton Rural District covering some of the villages in the district had existed from 1894 to 1932.