Mambrino, a grey stallion in a wooded landscape

Mambrino was foaled in 1768 by Engineer out of a mare by Cade. He was bred by John Atkinson and sold by his executors to Lord Grosvenor to whom he belonged for the rest of his life. Although he raced with considerable success in the four seasons 1773-1776, including wins in the King's Plate and Jockey Club Plate of 1775, his reputation rests on his achievement at stud, siring a number of significant racehorses. His line also included successful hunters, coach horses and trotting horses. Mambrino's celebrity to later generations is due in large part to well-known prints after Stubbs in which, as with the present picture, he is depicted retired to stud. However the church in the background of the prints differs from that in the present picture by having a spire.