Shiny Tenth, foaled in 1967, was a good sprinter who won seven of his 20 races. He would have cost more than the 7,200 guineas trainer Doug Marks paid for him if he’d been born four or five years later. His sire was Queen’s Hussar, whose chief progeny was Brigadier Gerard.
He won twice as a juvenile and after winning the 1970 Free Handicap over seven furlongs he ran in the 2,000 Guineas. He finished lame and last behind Nijinsky. His performance was attributed to his foot being pricked while being shod before his final canter, after which he’d shown no ill-effects. He reverted to shorter distances after that bur failed to win again till the spring of 1972. Before April was out he’d won the best three early-season sprints, the Sceptre Stakes (qv) at Kempton, the Abernant (qv) and the Palace House (qv) at Newmarket.
Shiny Tenth didn’t win at Warwick, but by April 1974 he had a race there named after him with a trophy given until 1981. Perhaps there was a local connection to do with his part-owner Colin Berlin, a theatrical agent. Des O’Connor’s Tringa won the race in 1976. Berlin also had a horse called Hot Pants. The Shiny Tenth Trophy lasted until 1981, by which time an early season Warwick racecard regularly consisted of several good fillies from earlier in the century. A ladies race took the place of the Shiny Tenth in 1982.
But what does Shiny Tenth mean? Well, the 10th Regiment of Dragoons was created in 1715 to help combat the Jacobite rebellion. A century later its name had become the 10th Royal Hussars. They were originally known as the Chainy Tenth because of their uniform’s elaborate cross belts, and this evolved into the Shiny Tenth. The racehorse was the product of the mating of Queen’s Hussar with Floss, so his name makes perfect sense.