Priam was one of the most celebrated racehorses of the 19th Century. The trainer John Kent, Jun., wrote 'I have seen all the best horses that have flourished and had their day for more than sixty years past, and I now repeat my well-considered opinion, that Priam was the most perfect racehorse I ever saw'.

Bred by Sir John Shelley, Priam was foaled in 1827, by Emilius out of Cressida by Whiskey, but trained by William Chifney, who paid 1,000 guineas for the racehorse - the first recorded sale of a yearling for such a price. Priam won fourteen of his sixteen races, including the 1830 Derby and the Goodwood Cup in 1831 and 1832. In 1831 William Chifney sold him for 3,000 guineas to Lord Chesterfield who later exported Priam to America for 3,500 guineas where he became a successful stallion at stud, being champion on four occassions.

It is, however, his Derby victory which is celebrated in the present picture. Sam Day wears the Chifney colours and, held by his owner, Priam is set in front of the Derby crowd and the newly completed grandstand on Epsom Downs.

Aubrey Noakes' listing of the picture seems confused in a number of respects, including his recording the 1930 Christie's provenance under no. 195, while illustrating the picture as no. 195a. One known variant of the picture, larger and without the jockey Sam Day, and showing the grandstand to the left of the groom, remains in an English Private Collection.