John Frederick Herring Snr.

With Arthur Ackermann & Sons Ltd, London;
Probably Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875–1968):
Certainly his son Alfred Chester Beatty (1907–1983), Owley, Wittersham, Kent;
By descent to the current owner.

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar Ltd who are external specialists and not employees of Sotheby's: Structural Condition The canvas is lined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher. This is ensuring a stable structural support. There is a slight canvas draw in the upper right corner of the composition. There is dried bird excrement on the reverse of the lower horizontal stretcher member. Paint surface The paint surface has a relatively even and discoloured varnish layer and the painting would respond well to cleaning. There are also scattered fly spots and minor accretions on the paint surface. The paint surface has an overall pattern of very fine craquelure. This appears entirely stable. Inspection under ultra-violet light confirms the heavily discoloured varnish layers which prevent the ultraviolet light from fully penetrating. Inspection under ultra-violet light also shows an area of retouching on the upper part of Matilda's hind legs which appears to correspond to a historic tear, and a few very small spots of retouching within the sky and on the extreme edges of the composition, most notably in the extreme lower right corner. Due to the opaque varnish layers it is difficult to ascertain the extent of any previous restoration work. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in relatively good and stable condition and would benefit cleaning restoration and revarnishing including the removal of a discoloured varnish layer and for inpainting where required.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The 1827 St Leger Stakes was a major encounter in the long running battle between the North and the South. The North, represented by the small, fidgety and temperamental bay mare Matilda, beat the South, represented by the leggy and powerfully-quartered bay colt Mameluke, by just half a length after a series of false starts that were wickedly engineered to undermine the chances of the favourite, Mameluke. Mameluke was initially the favourite at 5-2 but became so worked up by the false starts that he eventually started at 100-30. Matilda, the much smaller horse, had very much been the underdog at 10-1. Thomas Henry Taunton wrote that ‘A handsomer little filly than Matilda, and a finer and more slashing colt than Mameluke, never met together on any race-course’.¹

Matilda was bred by the Hon. Edward Petre of Stableton Park, Yorkshire, scion of an old Catholic family who also owned Ingatestone Hall in Essex. He eventually bankrupted himself through his enthusiasm for the Turf, but not before chalking up many winners. Matilda was by Comus, a descendant of the Godolphin Arabian, out of Lord Egremont’s Juliana, a daughter of Platina, winner of the 1795 Epsom Oaks, and sister of Chestnut Skim. She was trained by John Scott at his Whitewall Stables at Malton in North Yorkshire. Scott trained 41 classics winners and was one of the leading trainers of the 19th century – fondly referred to as ‘The Wizard of the North’. Matilda’s jockey, the celebrated Jem Robinson, rode her without spurs, as Herring shows in this painting. Matilda’s adversary Mameluke, by Partisan out of Miss Sophia, was bred by Mr Elwes. He was sold to the Earl of Jersey, for whom he won the 1827 Derby with Robinson up. He was then sold to Mr John Gully, the famous ex-prizefighter, for the huge sum of 4,000 Guineas, and was ridden by Sam Chifney in the 1827 St Leger. Mameluke is known to have been usually even tempered, but following the series of false starts he became almost unmanageable and Chifney had a great deal of difficulty in getting him to the Post. Matilda had shot away and was on the top of the hill before Mameluke was half-way. Mameluke staged a magnificent comeback, but Matilda won by half a length, much to the pleasure of the North for whom ‘the jealousy of a south-country horse winning the St Leger is too well-known to be enlarged upon’.²

Matilda was in fact Petre’s second string as he also owned Granby, who started as favourite after the false starts, ridden by Will Scott and also trained by John Scott. Herring shows Matilda carrying Petre’s normal colours of black and pink, although in the actual race she carried black, white sleeves and a white cap. Herring painted several portraits of Matilda, including one in the collection of the Jockey Club, which are among his finest pictures. Herring’s paintings provide almost unparalleled documentation of the history of the Turf in the first half of the nineteenth century; it was written in The Annals of Sport in 1822 that ‘We were struck by the exquisite accuracy of the likeness, and charmed by the colouring, the shades and the character thrown into each animal and its rider… and we may safely predict from these specimens that he will at no distant period rank with the most celebrated animal painters the country has ever patronised’.³ Herring painted another version of the current composition (with only minor differences in the sky), which was sold Sotheby’s, New York, 6 November 2014, lot 91.

1. T.H. Taunton, Portraits of Celebrated Racehorses, London 1887, vol. II, p. 289.
2. Taunton 1887, p. 283.
3. O. Beckett, J.F. Herring, London 1981, p. 36.