Prince Charlie, held by his jockey, John Osborne, before Bedford Lodge, Newmarket

Prince Charlie was a chestnut colt foaled in 1869 by Blair Athol out of Eastern Princess. He was bred and later raced by a Mr Jones, a farmer from Littleport, which was an unusual background for one of the best horses of that period. This picture shows Prince Charlie at Bedford Lodge, the stables of his trainer Joseph Dawson, now the Bedford Lodge Hotel on the Bury Road going out of Newmarket. Prince Charlie ran in the name and colours of his trainer, Dawson and not his owner, Farmer Jones. The horse is held by John Osborne who rode Prince Charlie on occasion although his more usual rider was Tom French.

Prince Charlie had a remarkable career which saw him win no less than 25 of his 29 races. He was placed second twice, third once and his only unplaced run was in the Derby of 1872. He was virtually unbeatable over shorter distances and three of his four defeats came when he had raced beyond a mile, when he lacked the stamina to keep up his fast pace. He was one of the two or three best specialist sprinters of all time and his only defeat in a sprint was by Blenheim, a horse who he had beaten several times before, and was clearly a fluke. Apart from the 2000 Guineas he won five of his six races at Royal Ascot, performing a double in both 1872 and 1873. As a stallion, he was shipped to America, where he got Salvator and Lochid.