Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Man o' War (horse)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Man o' War, (March 29, 1917 Nursery Stud farm, Lexington, Kentucky - November 1, 1947, Faraway Farm) is considered by most to be the greatest thoroughbred racehorse of all time. During his career just after World War I, he won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses.
From the prominent sire Fair Play, out of the mare Mahubah, Man o' War was owned and bred by August Belmont, Jr. (1851-1924), whose father's accomplishments were recognized through the naming of the Belmont Stakes. Belmont Jr. joined the United States Army at age 65 to serve in France during World War I. While overseas, his wife named the new foal "Man o' War" in honor of her husband.[1] However, the Belmonts decided to liquidate their racing stable. At Saratoga yearling sale in 1918, Man o' War was sold for $5,000 to Samuel D. Riddle, who brought the horse to his Glen Riddle Farm near Berlin, Maryland.
Trained by Louis Feustel and ridden by jockey Johnny Loftus, Man o' War made an impressive racing debut at Belmont Park on June 6, 1919, winning by six lengths. Three weeks later he won the Keene Memorial Stakes.
In the early 1900s, there were no starting gates. Jockeys circled around but then gathered their horses in a line behind a flimsy piece of webbing, known as the barrier, and were sent away when it was raised.[2] In Man o' War's only loss, the Sanford Memorial Stakes, he still was circling and had his rump toward the starting line when the barrier was raised (though other accounts give other reasons, such as it was rigged.[3]). After Man o' War was turned around by his jockey, Johnny Loftus, he already was far behind the pack. In frustration, Loftus made three major errors while in the race, allowing Man O' War to be boxed in three times by the other horses in the race. Despite this, Man o' War came close to winning, losing by only a half-length as he charged across the finish line, going much faster than any other horse on the field, and ultimately finishing second. The horse that won was Upset, whose name is sometimes thought to have popularized a new phrase in sports ("upset" meaning an upstart beating the favorite). Also quite interesting is the fact that Upset's jockey's middle name was Sanford. Man o' War finished his 2-year-old campaign winning 9 of 10 races.
In 1920, Johnny Loftus was denied a renewal of his jockey's license by the racing commission and was replaced as Man o' War's rider by Clarence Kummer. That May, 3-year-old Man o' War was not entered in the Kentucky Derby because his owner did not like racing in Kentucky and believed it was too early in the year for a young horse to go a mile and a quarter. The previous year, Sir Barton had won the first-ever U.S. Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, though it was not yet called that.[4] The title would gain that prestige and importance 10 years later when Gallant Fox accomplished the feat under a great deal of media attention.
After handily winning the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, Maryland, the horse was sent to Elmont, New York for the Belmont Stakes. Man o' War won the then-1 3/8th mile race by 20 lengths, setting another American record with a time of 2:14.20, beating Sir Barton's mark set in the previous year by more than three full seconds. That year Man o' War also won the Dwyer Stakes, the Travers Stakes, the Stuyvesant Handicap and the Jockey Club Gold Cup. As the racing season wound down, no one wanted to race his horse against the seemingly invincible Man o' War, who had easily won every race he entered. At the Lawrence Realization Stakes, no other horse was willing to go up against him; finally, a racehorse named Hoodwink was good-heartedly entered by Mrs. Riddle's Niece, Mrs. Jeffords. Man o' War won by an astonishing margin, in excess of 100 lengths (some say more), while setting a new world record of 2:40 4/5 for a mile and five-eighths, lowering the record by six full seconds! His record still officially stands at the track.
The final start of Man o' War's illustrious career came in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, in the Kenilworth Park Gold Cup, a race that for the first time was filmed in its entirety. For this 1ΒΌ-mile match race, Man o' War was up against the great Sir Barton. Man o' War easily drew away from the first Triple Crown winner within the first furlong, and he won by seven lengths. Following his undefeated season of 11 straight wins, the superstar horse was shipped to Faraway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, to stand at stud. Over his two-year career, Man o' War won 20 of 21 races, setting three world records, two American records and three track records.
Contents |
As a sire, Man o' War was impressive as well, producing more than 64 stakes winners and 200 various champions. Though many complain that Mr. Riddle did not breed him to good enough mares after the first five seasons, Man o'War still sired many greats, including American Flag and Crusader, who won back-to-back runnings of the Belmont Stakes in 1925 and 1926. Both colts earned U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt honors, and Crusader was also voted U.S. Horse of the Year. Among Man o' War's other famous offspring were Battleship, who won the 1938 English Grand National steeplechase, and War Admiral, the 1937 Triple Crown winner. Another of his offspring, Hard Tack, sired Seabiscuit. His son War Relic was his most successful sire. Tiznow, Honour and Glory, and Bertrando are all sire-line descendants of Man o' War. Many great horses, if you look long into their pedigrees, are related in some way to Man O' War.
Man o' War died at the age of 30 in 1947, a very short time after his longtime groom, Will Harbut, died. The cause of death was an apparent heart attack. Man o' War was originally interred at Faraway Farm, but in the early 1970s his remains were moved to a new burial site at the Kentucky Horse Park, where his grave is marked with a statue by American sculptor Herbert Haseltine. He has been the subject of three notable biographies: the first, Man o' War, by Page Cooper and Roger Treat, was published in 1950 and is a classic of its kind; Walter Farley, author of The Black Stallion series, also wrote a biography of Man o' War; in 2006, Dorothy Ours wrote a new, extensively sourced biography entitled Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning.
Man o' War was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957. Soon after, the Man O' War Handicap Race was created in his honor. In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Man o' War was ranked No. 1.
| Sire Fair Play ch. 1905 |
Hastings br. 1893 |
Spendthrift | Australian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerolite | |||
| Cinderella | Tomahawk | ||
| Manna | |||
| Fairy Gold ch. 1896 |
Bend Or | Doncaster | |
| Rouge Rose | |||
| Dame Masham | Galliard | ||
| Pauline | |||
| Dam Mahubah b. 1910 |
Rock Sand br. 1900 |
Sainfoin | Springfield |
| Sanda | |||
| Roquebrune | St.Simon | ||
| St. Marguerite | |||
| Merry Token b. 1891 |
Merry Hampton | Hampton | |
| Doll Tearsheet | |||
| Mizpah | Macgregor | ||
| Underhand Mare (FNo.4-c) |
Through his sire, Man o' War is a descendant of the first English Triple Crown champion, West Australian and King Tom. His line traces to Godolphin Arabian.
- Man o' War's pedigree and racing stats
- Cooper, Page and Roger L. Treat (1950; reprinted 2004). Man o' War Westholme Publishing, Yardley ISBN 1-59416-005-8
- Ours, Dorothy (2006). Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning St. Martin's Press, New York ISBN 0-312-34099-0
- Bowen, Edward L. Man o' War: Thoroughbred Legends (2000) Eclipse Press ISBN 978-1581500400
- Man o' War (born 1917 - died 1947)
- The Ultimate Horse Dictionary
- [1]
- Man o' War video
- [2]
- Man o' War Funeral radio broadcast
Categories: 1917 racehorse births | 1947 racehorse deaths | Thoroughbred racehorses | Racehorses bred in Kentucky | Racehorses trained in the United States | American racehorses | American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year | United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees | Belmont Stakes winners | Preakness Stakes winners | Animal monuments