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拍品專文
Bred by John Wood in 1833, Elis, by Langar out of Olympia, won eleven of his fifteen races between 1835 and 1837, and in his four defeats he finished second. Depictions of Elis are traditionally titled Lord Lichfield's Elis, referring to Thomas Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield, under whose colours he ultimately ran. In reality, the horse had been purchased as a yearling by Charles Greville on behalf of Lord George Bentinck, who was attempting to conceal the depth of his involvement in horseracing from his family.
Perhaps the most notable episode in Elis’s history was his victory in the St. Leger at Doncaster in 1836. At that time racehorses were typically walked to race meetings, often covering vast distances on foot. This would tire them, and also alert the bookmakers to their movements and their race entries, who could then adjust their odds accordingly. Assuming that Elis would enter the St. Leger, the bookmakers set short odds.
With the horse stabled at Goodwood, over two hundred miles from Doncaster, Bentinck made no visible preparations for the journey to the St. Leger, leading bookmakers to conclude that Elis would not run and allowing the odds to drift to 12-1. Five days before the race, Bentinck placed a substantial wager at these long odds. Unbeknownst to the betting public, Elis was covertly conveyed to Doncaster in under three days, in a newly-designed horse-drawn carriage, essentially the first horsebox. His victory in the race resulted in a substantial win for Bentinck, and his chosen method of transport spread quickly through the racing world.
See the preceding lot for Herring's painting of Crucifix, another racehorse owned by Lord Bentinck and ridden by John Barham Day.
Perhaps the most notable episode in Elis’s history was his victory in the St. Leger at Doncaster in 1836. At that time racehorses were typically walked to race meetings, often covering vast distances on foot. This would tire them, and also alert the bookmakers to their movements and their race entries, who could then adjust their odds accordingly. Assuming that Elis would enter the St. Leger, the bookmakers set short odds.
With the horse stabled at Goodwood, over two hundred miles from Doncaster, Bentinck made no visible preparations for the journey to the St. Leger, leading bookmakers to conclude that Elis would not run and allowing the odds to drift to 12-1. Five days before the race, Bentinck placed a substantial wager at these long odds. Unbeknownst to the betting public, Elis was covertly conveyed to Doncaster in under three days, in a newly-designed horse-drawn carriage, essentially the first horsebox. His victory in the race resulted in a substantial win for Bentinck, and his chosen method of transport spread quickly through the racing world.
See the preceding lot for Herring's painting of Crucifix, another racehorse owned by Lord Bentinck and ridden by John Barham Day.