Sceptre was arguably the best filly of the 20th century, perhaps the best horse; her record of four Classic wins is unlikely to be matched, let alone surpassed.
Bred by the Duke of Westminster, she was bought by the chancer Robert Sievier for the colossal sum (in 1902) of 10,000 guineas. Sievier, who alleged he was born in a hansom cab, made and lost a fortune over and again. Apart from owning and training horses he gambled heavily, edited an often scurrilous racing paper, The Winning Post, and was frequently seen in the courts attacking or defending some hard-held view.
Sceptre’s career path as a three-year-old is not one we’re used to in the 21st century. She finished second, beaten a head, in the Lincoln. Soon after she won both the Guineas. She was fourth in the Derby after suffering a bruised foot and being left at the start but duly won the Oaks two days later. She won at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood, in amongst some defeats, before taking the St Leger and finishing second in the Park Hill Stakes two days later.
Four more Group 1-equivalent victories followed in 1903, by which time Sievier had sold her for 25,000 guineas. She won 13 of her 21 races in all. The excellent John Welcome biography of her owner-trainer, Neck or Nothing, and to a lesser extent Sievier’s own more fanciful autobiography will fill in all the details.
CHESTER
The five furlong Sceptre Stakes for juvenile fillies was introduced at Chester in 1937 and it was run at the May meeting there until 1996. Jack Berry and Richard Hannon were responsible for five of the last six winners.
KEMPTON
Despite her never running at Kempton, a Sceptre Stakes was run there in late May or early June from 1966, only to move to late March by 1970 before giving up the ghost after the 1975 race.
DONCASTER
Doncaster got in on the act in 1982 with a one mile contest for fillies and mares at the St Leger meeting. The race name was shared with Reference Point in 1991-93, at which time the distance was changed to seven furlongs. In 2011 it was promoted from Listed to Group 3 status. In both 2018 and 2020 owner-breeder Jeff Smith won it with a home-bred filly descended from Lochsong, another 20th century great.