Sir Visto

Sir Visto (1892–1914) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1894 to 1896 he ran thirteen times and won three races. As a three-year-old in 1895 he won both The Derby and the St Leger at Doncaster. He failed to win in six subsequent races and was retired to stud at the end of the 1896 season.

Sir Visto was described as “a lengthy, rather plain bay with sickle hocks”, but an excellent mover. He was also described as looking powerful but "unfurnished" and "split-up". He was bred at the Crafton Stud by his owner Lord Rosebery, a prominent Liberal statesman who became Prime Minister in 1894. Sir Visto's St Leger was the last of twenty-eight classic wins gained by his trainer Mathew Dawson. Dawson, who was over seventy at the time had "retired" from large-scale training in 1885, but continued to handle a small number of horses at his Melton House Stable.

Sir Visto's sire was the undefeated Irish champion Barcaldine, a representative of the Godolphin Arabian sire line, who also sired the double Classic winner Mimi. Sir Visto's dam, Vista, was an excellent broodmare who also produced the Derby runner up Velasquez, and Bona Vista the 2000 Guineas winner who, as the grandsire of Phalaris is the male-line ancestor of most modern thoroughbreds.

Sir Visto made his first appearance at Epsom at the Derby meeting in June. Ridden by John Watts, he was not particularly fancied and finished unplaced behind Saintly in the Woodcote Stakes. Later reports claimed that he was only "half-fit" for the race. He was then off the course for four months before reappearing in the valuable Imperial Produce Stakes at Kempton. He led into the final furlong and held off the late challenge of the filly Float by a short head with the future 1000 Guineas Galeottia in third.

At the end of the year, a writer in The Sportsman noted that Sir Visto had "grown and gone on well", and had been seen working with the stable's 1894 Derby winner Ladas.

Before the season began, Sir Visto was identified as one of the "most-fancied" Derby contenders in what was regarded as an unusually open year, with no dominant champion. Lord Rosebery was reported to have described the colt as a stayer who would be well suited by the Derby distance of one and a half miles. On his three-year-old debut, Sir Visto ran in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on 1 May and started 5/1 third favourite of the eight runners. Ridden by Walter Bradford, he raced prominently and led at half way. In the last quarter mile he was overtaken, but ran on to finish third, three lengths behind the winner Kirkconnel and two behind the runner-up Laveno.

Two weeks later he finished third, beaten a neck and three quarters of a length, to The Owl and Solaro in an "exciting race" for the Newmarket Stakes, with Kirkconnel fourth

At Epsom on 29 May, Sir Visto started at odds of 9/1 in a field of fifteen for the Derby. The race took place on a bright, breezy day in front of a crowd including the Prince of Wales. Chibiabos made the early running before Beckhampton took over and led the field into the straight. Sir Visto, ridden by Sam Loates, had been held up at the back of the field and began to make steady "almost unobserved" progress in the last half mile. Curzon and Kirkconnel moved past Beckhampton two furlongs from the finish and raced alongside each other with the race apparently between them until Sir Visto appeared on the stands-side traveling with a "remarkable rapidity" to take the lead fifty yards from the line. He won by three-quarters of a length from Curzon with Kirkconnel half a length further back in third.