John Gubbins
John Russell Gubbins (1838–1906) was an Irish racehorse owner and breeder.
He was born at Kilfrush, County Limerick, the fourth son of Joseph Gubbins and Maria Wise. His brother Stamer fought in the Crimean War and later bred horses; he died in 1879. John inherited Knockany and bought the Bruree estate. He also gained money from his uncle, Francis Wise. In 1868 he settled at Bruree and spent about £40,000 on kennels, stables, and buying horses and hounds. He hunted in Limerick with stag and fox hounds and enjoyed fishing, until the Land League disrupted his activities in 1882.
Gubbins loved racing from a young age. He started with steeplechasers and won races at Punchestown and other venues. He owned Seaman when that horse won a grand hurdle at Auteuil, but he had sold Seaman before it won the 1882 Grand National.
He bought stallions Kendal and St Florian and bred from the mare Morganette: Galtee More by Kendal and Ard Patrick by St Florian. Galtee More won the 2000 Guineas, the St Leger and the Derby in 1897, and was later sold to the Russian government for £21,000, who then sold him to Prussia for £14,000. Ard Patrick was bought by the government for £21,000 just before he won the Eclipse Stakes in 1903, a race he won in a dramatic contest against Sceptre and Rock Sand. Other notable Gubbins-bred horses included Blairfinde (Irish Derby) and Revenue.
In 1897 Gubbins was the leading winning owner with £22,739 and was third in 1903. Ill health kept him away from racing, and in 1903 he sold his horses in training. In 1905 he sent some yearlings to Cranborne, Dorset, to be trained by Sir Charles Nugent, but he died at Bruree on 20 March 1906. He was buried at Kilfrush.
Gubbins served as High Sheriff of County Limerick in 1886, and he was a justice of the peace and deputy lieutenant. He married Edith Legh of Adlington Hall, Cheshire, in 1889; she died before him and they had no children. His estates passed to his nephew, John Norris Browning, a retired naval surgeon.
His biographer described him as a warm-hearted, genial man, a kind landlord and employer, and a top-class sportsman.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 09:32 (CET).