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Description: Signed H ALKEN Doncaster St Leger, The Start,' 1847. Signed & inscribed with title lower right. Label verso: Arthur Ackermann & Son Ltd, 3 Old Bond St, London. Bears plaque 'Henry Alken Snr (1785-1851).' Provenance: Brookfield Multiplex collection of sporting pictures. Van Tromp was a brown colt owned by the 13th Earl of Eglinton, who bought him for 300 guineas from his breeder, Col Vansittart. Van Tromp came third in the Epsom Derby of 1847 which was won by Cossack, but got his revenge over that horse in the St Leger later that year. Van Tromp went on to win the Goodwood Cup in 1848 & the Ascot Gold Cup in 1849. The horse's jockey (Job Marson) was sacked after the St Leger as the Earl of Eglinton suspected him of having pulled the horse in the Derby, although this was never proven. The horse was eventually sold to Czar Nicholas of Russia for stud. 'Ruffs Guide to the Turf' shows there were 8 runners in the 1847 St Leger - the same number as in the painting.Oil on Canvas
36.5x51.5cm