Foaled in 1891, Florizel II (by St Simon out of Perdita II) was considered 'coarse, plain and backward'; he was however, good-tempered. He won five races in 1894, and was watched by the Prince of Wales at Newmarket in October that year. In 1895 he won six out of his seven races, including the Goodwood Cup and the Jockey Club Stakes; in addition he brought in the not inconsiderable sum of £4,359 in prize money. In 1896, Florizel II developed ligament problems and was retired to the Sandringham Stud as a stallion.

Geoffrey Douglas Giles was born on 9 November 1857, in Karachi, India (now Pakistan). In 1884 he retired from the British army in India with the rank of major, then travelled to Paris to study painting with Carolus Duran (1837-1917). He painted hunting scenes and horses, especially in Newmarket. He exhibited scenes from his campaigns in the Sudan and Afghanistan at the Royal Academy in London from 1884 to 1888 and at the Paris Salon in 1885.

Here Florizel II is depicted within a partly tiled stable; a horse blanket bearing the Prince of Wales's feathers lies on the straw to the left.

A watercolour study of Florizel II in a stall, signed and dated 1895, inscribed Florizel II, 8 ½ x 10 ½ " at Sport & County Gallery, Nuneaton November 1986