Lord Rosebery's Race Horses

Available for over a year

Professor Sir David Cannadine explores political fame and image by looking at how an object or prop can come to define a political leader. In this episode - Lord Rosebery's race horses. It's claimed that, early in his life, Lord Rosebery said that he had three aims - to marry an heiress, to become Prime Minister, and to win the Derby. And whether he said it or not, Rosebery undeniably accomplished all these ambitions. Rosebery achieved his second ambition when he served as Britain’s Prime Minister from March 1894 to June 1895 and, at the same time, realising his third goal, as his horses won the Derby in both of those years. No other Prime Minister has rivalled such a success on the turf, but no other Prime Minister has allowed themselves to be so closely connected to such an elite sport. Ultimately, it didn't enhance Rosebery’s public image. David meets Harry Dalmeny, who is the current chair of Sotheby's and a direct descendant of Lord Rosebery’s, to discuss his love of racing and he goes to Epsom downs to look at the graves of Lord Rosebery’s beloved racehorses. Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald Series Researcher: Martin Spychal Readings by Will Huggins A Zinc Audio production for BBC Radio 4