West Australian (1850–1870) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from October 1852 until June 1854 he ran ten times and won nine races. After being beaten on his debut, he won all his remaining starts including the 2000 Guineas, The Derby the St Leger and the Ascot Gold Cup. He has been retrospectively recognised as the first Triple Crown winner. West Australian was regarded by contemporary experts as one of the best British horses of the nineteenth century. After his retirement from racing he had some success as a sire of winners in England and France and was largely responsible for the survival of the Godolphin Arabian sire-line. Background West Australian was a "hard, yellow" bay horse standing 15.3 hands high with a narrow white blaze bred by John Bowes of Streatlam Castle, County Durham. He was described as having a "blood-like head... peculiar ears... good shoulders... clean-looking legs" and "plenty of bone". The New Sporting Magazine called him "one of the finest specimens of English racehorse ever seen". He was foaled in 1850, being by Melbourne the sire of seven classic winners. He was the second foal of his dam Mowerina, a daughter of Touchstone, who had finished second in the 1,000 Guineas Stakes and was a sister of the Derby winners Mundig and Cotherstone. Apart from West Australian Mowerina produced the winners Marley Hill (bl c 1851), Victoria (b f 1853), Go-Ahead Nassau Stakes, The Old Orange Girl (b f 1860 Kingston) thrice winner of the Bentinck Memorial Stakes, Baragah (ch c 1861 Stockwell) twice winner of the Bentinck Memorial Stakes and Ebor Handicap and Westwick (b c 1863 Stockwell). Bowes sent West Australian into training with John Scott who trained forty classic winners at his base at Whitewall stables, Malton, North Yorkshire. He was ridden in most of his races by Frank Butler. Racing record 1852: two-year-old season West Australian was highly tried by Scott on the gallops at Malton before he appeared on a public course. In August 1852 he was pitted against the three-year-old Stewards' Cup winner Longbow in a trial race over six furlongs at weight-for-age terms and won easily by several lengths. Bowes was so impressed that he immediately took the express train to London where he backed his colt to win £30,000 in the following year's Derby. The colt made his racecourse debut at the