| Color: b
Height: 15.2
(GB)
8-8-0-0
AKA Devonshire Childers and Childers
Col. Leonard Childers of Carr House, near Doncaster, England
At stud from ~1723 died 1741
Flying Childers is considered the first truly great racehorse in the history of the Thoroughbred. In this, he followed his maternal grandsire (Old) Careless, who was said to be the best racehorse since his own sire, Spanker, who raced during the time of Charles II.
sired by Richard Darleys Arabian, imported from Aleppo, Syria around 1704. Darley kept his bay Arabian primarily as a private stallion at Aldby Park in Yorkshire but accepted a few outside mares, including Childers mare Betty Leedes.
In 1714 Betty Leedes gave birth to a bright bay colt, even flashier than his blazed-faced sire, with a blaze and four white stockings. He matured to about 15.2 hands, which was upstanding for his time, although about the same size as his own sire. Carrying the name of his breeder, Childers was sold to the Duke of Devonshire, for whom he raced and alternately became known as Devonshire Childers or Flying Childers.
Flying Childers came to the races at the age of six, competing in three races, winning all of them. The first was on April 26, 1721, a race at Newmarket in which he defeated Speedwell. The second, also at Newmarket was in October. He scared off all comers and won in a walk over. In the third, he defeated the older horse Almanzor, also by the Darley Arabian, and a mare, Brown Betty, in a three-horse match.
The following year, Flying Childers started only once, winning a race at Newmarket on October 22, defeating Chaunter. In a more notable effort that year, he defeated the celebrated runner Fox in a trial at York by a quarter mile. In 1723, as an eight-year-old, he made his final two starts, walking over for an event at the April Newmarket meeting, and walking over again in November for a match with a horse named Bobsey, which paid a forfeit.
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H, THOROUGHBRED, 1715
