A 19th century equestrian watercolour of racing filly 'Blink Bonny' and her handler
Titled 'BLINK BONNY Winner of The Derby & The Oaks, 1857'
 
Framed measurements: 12 inches x 15 inches
 
Blink Bonny (1854–1862) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In a career that lasted from 1856 to 1858, she ran twenty times and won fourteen races.
She was the leading British two-year-old of 1856, when she won eight races including the Gimcrack Stakes at York.
In 1857 Blink Bonny won five of her seven races and became the second filly, after Eleanor, to defeat the colts in The Derby.  In the same season, racing against her own sex, she won The Oaks, the Lancashire Oaks, and the Park Hill Stakes.
Blink Bonny was one of only six fillies to win the Derby, and has been regarded by both contemporary and modern authorities as one of the best fillies in Thoroughbred racing history.