Person

1825 - 1899

Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, KG, PC, JP (13 October 1825 – 22 December 1899), was an English landowner, politician and racehorse owner. He inherited the estate of Eaton Hall in Cheshire and land in Mayfair and Belgravia, London. He was a member of parliament from the age of 22, and then a member of the House of Lords, his other interests were his estates, in horse racing, and in country pursuits. In 1875, he established a racing stables at Eaton, eventually employing 30 grooms and boys, with two or three stallions and about 20 breeding mares. He had a comprehensive knowledge of racing and breeding and was the only man to have been owner/breeder of two winners of the Triple Crown. He also bred the great mare Sceptre who came up for sale as a yearling after his death. The Dukes horses were trained by Robert Peck, and, after his retirement, by John Porter at Kingsclere. Porter prepared Shotover and Ormonde, the latter the Duke's best horse. In 1880, one of his horses, Bend Or, ridden by Fred Archer, won the Derby, and he had more Derby successes in 1882, 1886, and 1899.