Royal Order of Saint George for the Defense of the Immaculate Conception Saint George, which by decision of the Holy See in 1701 was recognized as pertaining to the Italian Farnese dynasty. The tradition of loyalty to the patron saint of chivalry, Saint George, was long established in Germany, and various Bavarian Princes who in the fifteenth century had made pilgrimages to the Holy Sepulcher and were there invested as knights had each made a promise to Saint George. Maximilian's son, the Elector Karl-Albrecht, gave the new Order its title of Order of the Holy Knight and Martyr Saint George and the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary and established its
Patron Saint (horse) exceptionally cold and led to fears that the Cheltenham Festival would be abandoned but a break in the weather allowed the meeting to take place. Patron Saint was entered in the Gold Cup as a five-year-old meaning that he carried seven pounds less than his older rivals. With the leading chaser of the season Easter Hero absent, the 1926 Gold Cup winner Koko started the 4/5 favourite ahead of Patron Saint on 7/2 whilst the most notable of the other five runners was the 1927 Grand National winner Sprig. Ridden by Dick Rees, Patron Saint tracked Koko before being driven