Why is Potoooooooo in a museum? The great British art quiz

An equine star painted by John Nost Sartorius (1759-1828). Photograph: The National Horseracing Museum

This quiz is brought to you in collaboration with Art UK, the online home of the UK’s public art collections, showing art from more than 3,000 venues, by 45,000 artists. Each day, a different collection on Art UK sets the questions. 

Today, our questions are set by Palace House, Newmarket: The National Horseracing Museum. Palace House holds a comprehensive and world-class series of objects and paintings associated with the history of horses and horse racing.

You can see art from Palace House on Art UK. Find out more on the Palace House website.

1. 

   What was Admiral Rous’s great passion?

   1. Sailing yachts

   2. Painting

   3. Horse racing

   4. Military uniforms

2. 

   Why was this particular horse so important?

   1. He is the first horse ever painted in profile

   2. He is one of the most successful racehorses of all time

   3. This painting is artist John Sartorius’s last-ever work

   4. The painting’s background was painted by JMW Turner

3. 

   Who is this renowned racing commentator?

   1. John McCririck

   2. Peter O’Sullevan

   3. Jim McGrath

   4. Willie Carson

4. 

   What was this horse’s name?

   1. Argos

   2. Captivation

   3. Hercules

   4. Diomedes

5. 

   Where did this colourful event take place?

   1. Sandown Park

   2. Windsor Great Park

   3. Kempton Park

   4. Badminton

6. 

   Who is this legendary jockey?

   1. A P McCoy

   2. Frankie Dettori

   3. Pat Eddery

   4. Lester Piggott

7. 

   What world-famous horse race does this 1839 painting depict?

   1. The Derby

   2. The St Leger

   3. The 2000 Guineas

   4. The Grand National

8. 

   What was Tregonwell Frampton (1641-1727) known as?

   1. The Sage of Newmarket

   2. The Founder of the Jockey Club

   3. The Father of the Turf

   4. The Jockeys’ Jockey

Solutions

1:C - George Hayter’s splendid portrait of Admiral Rous (1795-1877) depicts one of the great champions of Victorian horseracing. Rous’s stellar career in the Royal Navy – which saw him rise from first-class volunteer (aged 13) during the Napoleonic wars to full admiral by 1863 – was supplemented by his passion for horse racing, in pursuit of which he wrote the magisterial On the Laws and Practice of Horse Racing of 1866. Image: Admiral Henry John Rous, by George Hayter (1792-1871)., 2:B - This celebrated racehorse – sired by the great, undefeated stallion Eclipse – had his name spelled either ‘Pot-8-Os’ or ‘Potoooooooo’ (pronounced Potatoes), and was one of the most successful of all time. Born in 1773, he won over 30 races before his retirement to stud in 1784. His skeleton can be seen preserved at The National Horseracing Museum. Image: Pot-8-Os, John Nost Sartorius (1759-1828)., 3:B - Peter O’Sullevan, popularly known across the UK as "The Voice of Racing", was the BBC’s leading racing commentator for 50 years, from 1947. He was knighted on his retirement from broadcasting in 1997.
 Image: Sir Peter O’Sullevan and Friends, by Peter Curling (b 1955), 4:D - Diomedes was the outstanding British sprinter of the 1920s, whose racing career has been described as "perfection". The Mares of Diomedes were a herd of man-eating horses in Greek mythology that belonged to Diomedes, king of Thrace. Image: Diomedes, by Alfred Grenfell Haigh (1870-1963)., 5:B - The British army played a crucial role in popularising horse racing. The Grand Military Steeplechase, open only to amateur military riders, is depicted here by Francis Turner in its last year at Windsor, 1840. The following year the race became the Grand Military Gold Cup and was moved to Sandown Park. This race is still run today, and in 2019 was won by Jody Sole. Image: Grand Military Steeplechase, 1840, by Francis Calcraft Turner (c 1772-1846)., 6:D - Piggott (born in 1935) had 4,493 race victories, including nine Derby wins, in a career beginning in 1948, when he was 12. He is considered one of the best flat racing jockeys in the history of the sport. Image: Lester Piggott, by Roy Cooper Miller (b 1938)., 7:A - The Derby takes place at Epsom racecourse in Surrey and was first run in 1780. This picture of the 1839 race by James Pollard records the controversial win of Bloomsbury over Deception. Deception’s owner subsequently claimed that Bloomsbury’s pedigree had been falsified, and although this objection was not upheld the Epsom bookies refused to pay out on "winning" bets. Image: The 1839 Derby, Bloomsbury Beating Deception, 1839, by James Pollard (1792-1867)., 8:C - Tregonwell Frampton (1641-1727) was a notorious gambler who, in 1695, switched to breeding and training horses. His success was such that for the next 32 years he trained horses for all the British monarchs from William III to George II. He died at the Newmarket Races in 1727.
 Image: William Tregonwell Frampton, 1728, attributed to John Wootton (c 1682-1764).

Scores

1. 7 and above.

   First past the post. Congratulations.

2. 0 and above.

   You are an also ran

3. 4 and above.

   You've hit your stride