Two Horses Named Topaz
- Rebecca Drew
- Jun 9
- 3 min read
The last segment of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, took place on June 7th of 2025. This means we will take another dive into equine history. As mentioned before, the top three winners (Sovereignty, Journalism, and my personal favorite, Baeza) had ancestors from the horse breeding program of John Randolph of Roanoke. We have talked a lot about the two horses named Flora, and now it is time to talk about their relatives named Topaz. Looks like we have another case of two horses with the same name!
A Horse Named Topaz
A previous post referred to Joseph Lewis' Flora who had offspring named Topaz. Interestingly, John Randolph once wrote a letter in 1828 to his friend, Dr. Brockenbrough, mentioning that he also had a colt named Topaz. The reference can be found on page 676 of a book titled John Randolph of Roanoke by William Cabell Bruce. Randolph states that Topaz is "...out of Ebony..." and further stated that Topaz would be deemed one of the ten wonders of the world, along with another horse named Sylph and his puppy named Ebony. How confusing! Topaz came from a horse named Ebony while there is a puppy roaming about with the same name! Further complicating the matter, Randolph wrote a letter to the editior of the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine (Volume 4, Number 12) stating that the puppy Topaz was originally named Dash.
But wait! Back at the ranch, Topaz was born to Jet, not Ebony. This is recorded in the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine (Volume 5, Number 9) showing John Randolph's stud list. The sire of Topaz is Randolph's favorite horse named Roanoke, the one who appears in pedigrees of Kentucky Derby winners. Perhaps Jet was renamed Ebony, and then another Ebony was born. When you look at the entire stud list, Jet was born in 1820 while Topaz is listed as a bay colt born on May 13, 1828. He had a little bit of white on the hind legs and a speck of white near a fore foot. Then, there is an Ebony listed as being born in 1829, sharing the same parents as Topaz. Unless there is a recording error, this means Ebony cannot be the mother of Topaz. Was there another Topaz with a different sire? Or was there an error in Randolph's letter to Dr. Brockenbrough? Or was the original letter incorrectly copied? It seems odd, because Randolph was known for being meticulous with his breeding program.
Then, there is another Topaz out of Flora eventually belonging to James DuPree, but prior to that, he was part of the estate sale of Joseph Lewis as advertised in the Genius of Liberty, Volume 18, Number 29, July 19, 1834. He was listed as the "beautiful" brother of Ace of Diamonds who is mentioned as "that hard bottomed four mile horse." Topaz was also noted as a "splendid looking stallion." This appears to be the same Topaz who eventually appears in Hinds County, Mississippi as belonging to James Dupree, as indicated in a previous post.
Going back to John Randolph's Topaz, let's return to Bruce's book on page 676. Topaz is one of the horse names found numerous times throughout Randolph's letters and diary. This is meaningful, considering that Randolph had over 150 horses at the time of his death. Just for fun, let's look at the names of the horses who were often mentioned by Randolph:
Minimus, Duette, Brunette, Hyperion, Everlasting, Spot, Roanoke, Topaz, Rosetta, Boojet, Witch, Rob Roy, Black Warrior, Yellow Jacket, Gascoigne, Junius, Fairy Queen, Agnes Sorel, Wildfire, Fidget, Bloomsbury, John Hancock, Rinaldo, Earl Grey, Miss Peyton, Hob, Ranger, Never Tire, Daredevil, and Sylph.
Going back to the sister of Topaz, we see a horse named Ebony who was sold after the death of John Randolph in the 1835 edition of the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine (Volume 6). This Ebony was sold to Captain Henry A. Watkins of Charlotte County, Virginia. She did not have to travel far to her new home, unlike other horses who were sold out of state. For example, her half-sister, Sylph (who, along with Topaz, was noted as one of Randolph's ten wonders of the world) was sold to Mr. Ransom of North Carolina. Others went further to states like South Carolina, Maryland, Alabama, and Kentucky.
Again, back to Randolph's Topaz, he wished to give Topaz to a relative along with horses named Never Tire, Whalebone, Janus, Camilla, and Marcella. This was the last note in the same will where he bequeathed Flora and Gascoigne to John Wickham. His estate was settled many years after his death due to squabbles amongst relatives, so did Topaz survive that long? Just like any other good research project, one piece of information simply leads to more questions.
