{ { Infobox racehorse
| horsename = Margrave
| image_name = Margrave (horse).jpg
| caption = Margrave', the Winner of the Great St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster, 1832 by John Frederick Herring, Sr. | sire = Muley | grandsire = Orville | dam = Election mare | damsire = Election | sex = Stallion | foaled = 1829 | country = United Kingdom | colour = Chestnut | breeder = Alexander Nowell | owner = Mr WrefordMr DillyJohn Gully | trainer = John Scott | record = 10: 6-2-0 | earnings = | race = Criterion Stakes (1831)St Leger Stakes (1832)Gascoigne Stakes (1832)Grand Duke Michael Stakes (1832) | awards= | honours = | updated= }} Margrave (1829–1852) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for winning the St Leger Stakes in 1832. In a racing career which lasted from June 1831 until April 1833 he ran ten times and won six races. He was one of the leading British two-year-olds of 1831, when his three wins included the Criterion Stakes at Newmarket and he was one of the favourites for the following year's British Classic Races. He finished fourth in The Derby, allegedly being held back to allow another of his owner's horses to win. In autumn he won the St Leger and the Grand Duke Michael Stakes but ran poorly on his only race as a four-year-old the following spring. He was then retired to stud where he had some success as a sire of winners in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Background
Margrave was bred by Alexander Nowell at Underley Hall near Kirkby Lonsdale in Westmoreland where his sire Muley was based. Muley was a son of the Derby-winning mare Eleanor and won two races as a five-year-old at Newmarket in 1815. His early stud career was disappointing and he had been covering half-bred mares for some time before being bought by Nowell and relocated to Underley where he had considerable success. In addition to Margrave, he sired the Classic winners Little Wonder (Epsom Derby) and Vespa (Epsom Oaks).
Margrave was a very dark-coated chestnut with no white markings. He was a large, powerful colt, standing 16 hands high, but not an attractive individual, being described as "a great, ugly horse... with lopping ears". As a three-year-old, he was trained by John Scott, who sent out the winners of 41 classics, from his Whitewall Stables at Malton in North Yorkshire.
Racing career
1831: two-year-old season
Margrave racing career began at Stockbridge in Hampshire on 8 June 1831 when he raced in the colours of Mr Wreford. In a six furlong sweepstake he started 2/1 second favourite in a field of four and won by a length after "a good race" from Mr Sadler's filly Eleanor. After this race Margrave was sold and entered into the ownership of Mr Dilly. The colt did not run again until 24 August when he appeared for a half-mile sweepstakes at Winchester. He did not have to race for the prize, as his three opponents were withdrawn, allowing him to walk over. By late September, Margrave was being regarded as a potential winner of the following year's Derby, being offered at odds of 13/1.
In October, Margrave was sent to Newmarket Racecourse where he contested the five furlong Clearwell Stakes, one of the season's most important races for two-year-olds. He started at odds of 7/1 against twelve opponents. He started very poorly but made ground in the closing stages and finished second by half a length to the favourite Emiliana, a filly owned and trained by William Chifney. At the Newmarket Houghton meeting two weeks later, Margrave was one of nine runners for the equally important Criterion Stakes. Ridden by George Edwards, he started the 2/1 favourite and won from Colonel Peel's colt Archibald, who went on to win the 2000 Guineas.
1832: three-year-old season
Before his first run in 1832, Margrave was bought for 2,500 guineas by John Gully a former champion prize-fighter who had built a second career as a professional gambler and bookmaker. Gully, in association with Robert Ridsdale, also owned a colt named St Giles, who had shown little ability as a two-year-old, but showed improved form in early 1832. From the time he was purchased by Gully, Margrave's odds for the Derby lengthened, while St Giles was heavily supported, leading to speculation that the result of the race being arranged to bring off a betting coup.