Lot 163: John Ferneley, Jnr. (Melton Mowbray 1815-1862 Manchester)

John Ferneley, Jnr. (Melton Mowbray 1815-1862 Manchester)
Melbourne, held by a trainer, in a landscape
signed and indistinctly dated 'John Ferneley Jnr/Melton Mowbray/1833' (lower left)
oil on canvas
28 x 36 in. (71.1 x 91.4 cm.)

'The Celebrated Henry L. Straus Collection of British Sporting Paintings'; Parke-Bernet, New York, 8 November 1950, lot 41.

By Humphrey Clinker, out of a mare by Cervantes, Melbourne was a brown colt foaled in 1834. In 1839 he won six races and in 1840 he won the Chester Cup after which he was retired to stud. He was leading sire in England in 1853 and 1857. He achieved seven classic winners, including the first English Triple Crown winner, West Australian.