Historical Mystery of the day . . .

Historical mystery of the day: Have you ever heard of the first gray Grand National winner, The Lamb?

According to the UK Jockey Club, just three gray horses in history have won the world's greatest steeplechase—and The Lamb won it twice. When I was doing a little historical research for Saddled with Murder, I stumbled across The Lamb's story—and I knew I wanted to include him in the book in some capacity.

The Lamb was a small foal born in Ireland around 1862 (there is some confusion about his exact age). "His weedy appearance and meek nature lead to the breeder’s young son naming him The Lamb" (The Limerick Leader, 2013). Maturing to just under 15 1/2 hands, people of the time considered him an overgrown pony.

As the story goes, a veterinarian bought The Lamb as a pet for his daughter, who was suffering from consumption. She never rode the horse, as he was "too frisky" for her, even jumping out of his paddock on occasion.

Because of The Lamb's size, one prospective buyer turned him down with the comment that the horse was "not strong enough to carry a man’s boots” (The Guardian, 2011). After finding a new owner and beginning to have some success in flat racing, the little gray caught the attention of Lord Poulett, an English nobleman determined to win the Grand National. Those who saw the horse didn't think much of his chances in a steeplechase. ". . . the joke was that the horse would not be able to see over the fences let alone jump them" (The Limerick Leader, 2013).

But The Lamb won the Grand National in 1868 at odds of 9/1, and more incredibly, again in 1871! I found mention of a Grand National print showing The Lamb leaping over both Valentine's Brook and a horse that fell in front of him—but sadly, I couldn't find the print online.

In Saddled with Murder, I loosely patterned Brioso's sire, Horizon, after The Lamb (Bertie explains in Chapter 27). But I changed the dates along with one very important detail: The Lamb was a gelding, and I needed Horizon to be a stallion.

There is a little mystery surrounding The Lamb, though. Take a look at the two paintings. The Lamb was certainly a gray, as the first painting shows (along with records of the time). But the second painting was supposedly done at the time of his second win, three years after the first. Notice anything different about him?

In Anne Holland's book, The Grand National, she indicates that The Lamb "changed color" at some point (The Guardian, 2011). From the look of it, he went from light gray to nearly black. As we know, gray horses are born black or very dark and gradually fade out to a lighter color—but I've never heard of one going the other way, have you? Are the dates on the paintings wrong? Did the artist in the second painting get the wrong horse? Or perhaps there's another explanation . . .

After his 1868 victory, The Lamb is said to have suffered from a "wasting disease" which nearly put an end to his racing career—and, one assumes, his life. Which makes it even more remarkable that this diminutive horse went on to win a second time in 1871, a feat which only 7 horses have accomplished since the Grand National was first run in 1839. Did his mysterious illness cause The Lamb to shed his light gray coat for a much darker one?

"There were reports that he actually shed his grey coat to one that was black. Therefore, many still question his second National win as being won by a ‘grey horse’ " (grandnational.org.uk, 2024).