*Ambiorix
1946 - 1975, dark bay, by Tourbillon – Lavendula, by Pharos
Bred and owned by Marcel Boussac.One of the last great sons of Tourbillon, the foundation sire of Marcel Boussac’s breeding empire, *Ambiorix took only three starts at two to draw comparisons to his close relative and year-older Guineas winner, My Babu (by a son of Tourbillon out of a daughter of Lavendula). In his second start, he won a maiden stakes at Goodwood by six lengths, and in only his third start won championship honors by taking the Grand Criterium by two lengths. At three, he won two 10-furlong races in quick succession but failed to stay the extra quarter-mile in the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby).
Retired with a record of four wins in seven starts, *Ambiorix was sold for the staggering sum of $250,000 to an American syndicate headed by A.B. Hancock. He stood his first season at Claiborne in 1950 and went on to a long and successful career, siring 51 stakes winners among his 423 foals.
His best offspring included Champion filly High Voltage, Hitting Away, Pinjara, Pleasure Seeker, Rash Statement, Sarcastic, Ambiopoise, Count Amber (sire of Belmont Stakes winner Amberoid), Ambehaving, and Amber Morn (sire of two Queens Plate winners). Several of his sons paid their way without getting a top sire son, thus dooming this branch of the Herod line in the U.S. His daughters made excellent broodmares and nicked particularly well with Claiborne’s Bold Ruler, getting Vitriolic, Stupendous, Bold Commander, and Bold and Brave. Leading Sire of 1961, *Ambiorix contributed to a 15-year run of Claiborne Farm stallions topping the North American General Sire List.
1948 Champion Two-Year-Old Colt in France
1961 Leading Sire in North America
Buried at Claiborne Farm.
Arch
1994, Dark Bary / Brown colt by Kris S. – Aurora, by Danzig
Bred by Helen Alexander and Helen Groves
Owned by Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm
Trained by Frank Brothers
Longtime Claiborne Farm client Adele Dilschneider was at Oaklawn Park in 1984 when reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Althea demolished a field of colts in the Arkansas Derby. So, it was only fitting that a decade and a year later, she partnered with Claiborne Farm to purchase a handsome, dark bay grandson of that memorable filly.
Out of Aurora – one of four stakes winners produced by Althea – Arch was by the Roberto-line stallion Kris S., and he was a standout at the 1995 Keeneland July sale. Mrs. Dilschneider and Claiborne had their eyes on him and purchased the colt for $710,000. Arch broke his maiden first time out at Keeneland in October at two, then did not race until the next year. Arch turned in a stellar performance at Saratoga – winning by an impressive nine lengths, then scored back to back stakes wins. He won the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs, and defeated older horses in track record time in Keeneland’s Fayette S.
Arch’s impact at stud has been significant. He is the sire of international champions Arravale (Canadian Horse of the Year and Divisional Champion), Les Arcs (Champion Older Male in England and Darley Cup winner), and Overarching (three-time Champion Sprinter in South Africa). In addition, he is the sire the brilliant filly Pine Island (G1) and turf specialist Prince Arch (G1).
Standing at Claiborne Farm
Sire of 17% Stakes Horses from Starters.
3 Champions, 21 SWs, 5 Grade 1 SWs
Bold Ruler
1954 - 1971, dark bay, by *Nasrullah – Miss Disco, by Discovery
Bred and owned by Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps, Wheatley Stable.
Trained by James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons.
Whitney Tower described 1957’s three-year-old crop as “The Year of Greatness,” and trainer Jimmy Jones said before the start of the Classic season, “I don’t think there’s ever been anything like it before.”
Brilliant performances followed by track records then world records created an aura of excitement around a series of super 3-year-olds – Gen. Duke, Iron Leige, Round Table, and the one who would claim year-end Championship honors, Bold Ruler. In the spring, he gave Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps her first taste of Classic success in the Preakness. Then in November, the two Claiborne-raised Champions who were ironically born on the same night, Bold Ruler and Round Table, met another future Hall of Famer, *Gallant Man, in what was termed the “Race of the Lifetime,” the Trenton Handicap. Bold Ruler had won eight stakes at three, *Gallant Man six, and Round Table was on an 11-race winning streak. Afterward, winning jockey Eddie Arcaro told reporters, “I knew Bold Ruler could beat them… but I couldn’t believe I’d be that far in front going so easy.”
His four-year-old season proved that Bold Ruler was truly one of the great weight-carriers in a time when that quality was revered. He had all the attributes that Arthur (Bull) Hancock Jr. sought: early maturity, high speed, middle-distance stamina, weight-carrying ability, and a flawless pedigree. Expectations were high, and his sire potential was immediately verified.
His first foals arrived in 1960, and by 1963 with only two and three-year-olds racing, Bold Ruler led the General Sire List for the first time then stayed on top for the next six years, a modern record. He returned to the top of the standings in 1973 when his son, Secretariat, won the Triple Crown. In addition to Secretariat, his 11 Champions included fellow Hall of Famer Gamely as well as the great racemare Lamb Chop and sires Bold Bidder (sire of Spectacular Bid) and Bold Lad. Diagnosed with a tumor in 1970, he received radiation treatments at Auburn University then sired Champion Wajima in his final crop.
1957 Horse of the Year, Champion 3-Year-Old Male
1958 Champion Sprinter
1973 Hall of Fame Inductee
Lifetime race record: 33 starts, 23 wins, 4 seconds, 2 thirds, $764,204
Leading General Sire Eight Times, Seven Consecutive – 1963-69; 1973.
Leading Juvenile Sire Seven Times – 1963-64; 1966-68; 1972.
Leading Freshman Sire - 1962.
Buried at Claiborne Farm.
Buckpasser
1963 - 1978, bay, by Tom Fool - Busanda, by War Admiral
Bred and owned by Ogden Phipps.
Trained by Hall of Famers William Winfrey, then Edward Neloy.Bred by Odgen Phipps and foaled at Claiborne, Buckpasser was a horse who left racegoers speechless and turfwriters struggling to find adequate superlatives to describe his talent and class. Noted equine painter Richard Stone Reeves said, “Buckpasser was the most perfectly proportioned Thoroughbred I have ever seen.” New York racing official Dr. Manuel Gilman commented, “Generally, every horse has about a hundred faults of conformation. I would defy anybody to pick a flaw in Buckpasser.”
The winner of 25 of 31 career starts and $1,462,014, including the Champagne S, Hopeful S, Tremont S, Flamingo S, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Travers S, American Derby, and more, set a world record for a mile in 1:32 2/5 in the 1966 Arlington Classic. His staggering 15-race winning streak fell one short of the much-discussed record which lasted a half-century from Citation to Cigar. The streak ended with Buckpasser’s first and only grass attempt.
At Claiborne, Buckpasser sired 35 stakes winners from 313 foals (11%). Three Kentucky Derby winners trace to Buckpasser through their male lines: Spend a Buck, Lil E. Tee and Silver Charm. His daughters included two Broodmares of the Year (Toll Booth and Relaxing) and produced Classic winners Coastal, Easy Goer, Slew o’ Gold, Touch Gold, and With Approval, as well as distinguished sires El Gran Senor, Seeking the Gold, Miswaki, and Woodman.
Lifetime race record: 31 starts, 25 wins, 4 seconds, 1 thirds, $1,462,0141965 Champion 2-Year-Old Male
1966 Horse of the Year, Champion Handicap Male & Champion 3-Year-Old Male
1967 Champion Handicap Male
1970 Hall of Fame Inductee
1971 Leading Freshman Sire
1983-84, 88-89 Leading Broodmare SireBuried at Claiborne Farm.
DAHLIA
1970 - 2001, by *Vaguely Noble - Charming Alibi, by Honey's Alibi
Bred and owned by Nelson Bunker Hunt
Trained by Maurice Zilber (2-5), Charlie Whittingham at 6
Foaled and raised at Claliborne for her breeder Nelson Bunker Hunt, DAHLIA was a trailblazer and set the bar very high for those who came after.
Dahlia began her career racing sparingly at two, but from three on, she dazzled racegoers on both sides of the Atlantic. After winning the Prix St. Alary-G1 and the Irish Oaks-G1 in 1973, she took on the boys in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes-G1. The field included the winners of the English, French and Irish Guineas and the subsequent winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe-G1. In a lengendary performance, Dahlia flew past them all and won by six lengths. She was shipped to America and defeated a field of older runners in the Washington D. C. International-G1 at Laurel Park. She was named England's Horse of the Year and Europe's Champion 3-Year-Old.
She may have been even better in 1974. She won the Gran Prix de St. Cloud-G1, repeated in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S.-G1, the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup S.-G1, defeating the Derby and Arc winners. Sent across the pond for a second year, she won the Man o' War S.-G1, the Canadian International S.-G1 and closed out her year with an unlucky third in the Washington D. C. International. She became the first filly or mare to earn more than a million dollars and more accolades came her way with another Horse of the Year title in England and Eclipse Award as Champion Turf Horse.
She raced two more seasons, taking another addition of the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup S.-G1 at five and the Hollywood Invitational-G1 at six and retired with earnings of $1,535,443. She had competed in 31 G1 races, defeated nine classic winners and at the time of her retirement, she was the first horse to win G1 races in five different countries.
In the breeding shed, Dahlia proved equally brilliant. She produced four individual G1 winners in Dahar, Rivlia, Delegant and Dahlia's Dreamer and two additional graded stakes winners. She died in 2001 at the age of 31.
Lifetime race record: 48 starts, 15 wins, 3 seconds, 7 thirds, $1,5535,443
England's Horse of the Year (1973-1974)
European Champion 3-Year-Old (1973)
Eclipse Award-Champion Turf Horse (1974)
Inducted in the National Racing Museum Hall of Fame in 1981
Danzig
1977 - 2006, bay, by Northern Dancer – Pas de Nom, by Admiral’s Voyage
Bred by W. S. Farish & Derry Meeting Farm. Owned by Henryk de Kwiatkowski.
Trained by Woody Stephens.
The late, great Danzig followed Bold Ruler as the second Claiborne Farm stallion to lead the North American General Sire List at least three years in a row. The sire of 200 stakes winners including ten Champions topped the sire list each year from 2001 through 2003. He was also the Leading Freshman/Juvenile Sire of 1984 and claimed the Leading Juvenile Sire title again in 1986. The compact bay was trained by Woody Stephens for owner Henryk de Kwiatkowski. He won all three of his starts in a racing career cut short by injuries.
His offspring include Breeders’ Cup race winners Lure, Dance Smartly, Chief’s Crown, and War Chant; U.S. Classic race winners Pine Bluff and Danzig Connection; and Europe’s brilliant sprinting Horse of the Year, Dayjur.
The incredible success of Claiborne’s Danzig and Nijinsky II put the seal on Northern Dancer’s reputation as a sire of sires, sending prices for his male offspring skyrocketing into a new stratosphere. Likewise, Danzig’s sons made such an immediate mark that his colts commanded top prices, amassing an average of nearly $600,000 for 216 yearling colts in 24 crops. He remains the best sire of sires by Northern Dancer: More than 50 sons of Danzig have sired Grade 1/Group 1 winners, including Danehill, the first Thoroughbred to sire 300 or more stakes winners.
Leading General Sire 1991, 1992 & 1993
Leading Juvenile Sire 1986
Leading Juvenile & Freshman Sire 1984
Pensioned in 2004. Died in 2006 at age 29.
Buried at Claiborne.
Easy Goer
1986 - 1994 Alydar – Relaxing, by Buckpasser
Bred and Owned by Ogden Phipps
Trained by Claude R. (Shug) McGaughey III
A glistening chestnut with a fluid stride, Easy Goer seemed destined for stardom from the beginning. Foaled and raised at Claiborne Farm, Easy Goer was bred and owned by Ogden Phipps. The son of Calumet Farm stallion Alydar, Easy Goer is the fourth foal out of Phipps’ homebred champion and major producer Relaxing.
At two, Easy Goer won the Cowdin S.-G1 by three lengths and the Champagne S.-G1 by four in back-to-back performances. “Was it easy?” quipped jockey Pat Day in a post race interview, “with him everything is easy.” Easy Goer was named Eclipse Champion 2-year-old colt on the strength of those wins, in spite of a second-placed finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Colts-G1.
The following year, Easy Goer dominated the Gotham S.-G2 and Wood Memorial-G1, then cruised to victory in Whitney-G1, Travers-G1, Woodward-G1 and Jockey Club Gold Cup-G1. He was perhaps best known for his rivalry with Sunday Silence, who defeated him in three of four meetings. However, Easy Goer emphatically defeated that rival when he won the Belmont S.-G1 in runaway style. At four, Easy Goer added a win in the Suburban H.-G1 to his resume before an injury sidelined him.
Returned to his birthplace for stud duty, Easy Goer was awarded another honor when he took up residence in the stall once occupied by Bold Ruler and Secretariat. Easy Goer died prematurely at the age of eight with only 136 foals to his credit. While his legacy as a stallion was cut short, Easy Goer sired 9 stakes winners, 6 graded stakes winners. They include Breeders’ Cup Juvenile FIllies-G1 winner My Flag, who produced Breeders’ Cup winner and Eclipse Champion Storm Flag Flying.
1988 Eclipse Champion 2-Year-Old Colt
14 wins in 20 starts, earned $4,873,770
Inducted in to the Hall of Fame in 1997
Buried at Claiborne
Forego
1970 - 1997 by *Forli - Lady Golconda, by Hasty Road
Bred and raced by Mrs. Edward H. Gerry
Trained by Sherrill Ward (3-6), Frank Whiteley (6-7)
On June 9, 1973, history will remember Secretariat's thirty-one length march into Triple Crown immortality, but it was an allowance race winner earlier on the card that day which would dominate the handicap ranks for years to come. Forego was characterized by his Hall of Fame trainer Sherrill Ward as a 'fast stayer' and he earned his place in history as one of the greatest weight carriers of the second half of the twentieth century.
A massive bay gelding with delicate underpinnings, Forego was unraced at two, but started eighteen times at three, winning half and earning the first two of his twenty-four stakes wins.
Forego began his dominance of the handicap ranks at four. He earned the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year honors three straight seasons (1974-1976), Champion Handicap horse four straight (1974-1977) and Champion Sprinter in 1974.
Asked to carry 130 pounds or more twenty-four times, he won or placed in twenty-one of those races. He carried 137 pounds to victory in the Marlboro Cup, 134 pounds in his Carter Handicap and set a track record carrying 132 pounds in the Brooklyn Handicap. He won the Woodward Handicap four consecutive years (1974-1977), the Brooklyn Handicap three straight (1974-1976) and the Metropolitan Mile in 1976 and 1977. In total, Forego won thirty-four races, placed in sixteen others and he earned $1,938,957.
Foaled at Claiborne Farm, Forego retired in 1978 as the second leading money earner of all time, $40,000 shy of Kelso's record. He spent his retirement years continuing to thrill his fans as a treasured member of the Hall of Champions at the Kentucky Horse Park. He was buried at the Horse Park upon his death in 1997.
Won 34 times in 57 starts, earnings $1,938,957
Horse of the Year 1974-1976
Champion Handicap Horse 1974-1977
Inducted into National Racing Hall of Fame 1979
Champion Sprinter 1974
*Forli
1963 - 1988, chestnut, by Aristophanes - Trevisa, by Advocate
Bred in Argentina by Haras Ojo de Agua. Owned by Jorge Azevedo, then A. B. (Bull) Hancock Jr. Trained in the U.S. by Charlie Whittingham.
One of the greatest horses in Argentine turf history, *Forli won his three starts at two by margins of 12, 17 and 5 lengths. The classy chestnut colt at three captured Argentina’s “quadruple crown” consisting of the Guineas equivalent, which he won by 12 lengths, the Derby, the Jockey Club, and the Pellegrini against elders. He also caught the eye of Claiborne’s A. B. (Bull) Hancock Jr., who acquired *Forli to race in the U.S. Unbeaten in his native land, *Forli won two races including a course-record setting performance at Hollywood, then placed in Arlington’s Citation Handicap where he was injured in his only career loss and thus retired to Claiborne.
For a stallion’s first visit to his paddock, it is customary to have workers posted nearby to wave, shout, and keep the horse away from the fence. Out of a stall and free from the shank for the first time since their weanling days, most stallions will run around the paddock, but heed their protectors and soon settle in to graze. Not this one. With Hancock and his crew watching in horror, *Forli made that first visit memorable as he charged between the shouting men and jumped the paddock fence.
*Forli soon settled in for a long and successful stud career. His 60 stakes winners (9% from foals) included Champions Asteroid Field, Sadeem, Thatch and the inimitable three-time Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer, Forego. His lasting effect on the breed was cemented by his daughters, including Claiborne’s Special (full sister to Thatch), dam of Nureyev and granddam of Sadler’s Wells. *Forli is also the broodmare sire of Claiborne’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner, Swale, and of Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner, Precisionist.
1966-67 Horse of the Year in Argentina
Buried at Claiborne.
Gallant Fox
1927 - 1954, bay, by *Sir Gallahad III – Marguerite, by Celt
Bred/Owned by Belair Stud. Trained by James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
America’s second Triple Crown winner was foaled at Claiborne Farm on March 23, 1927. Belair Stud owner William Woodward Sr. was not one to tax his two-year-olds, so Gallant Fox won only two races as a juvenile. Future Hall of Famer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons discovered that the sleek bay with a wall-eye and a temperamental attitude worked best in company, but he found it necessary to employ a relay of workmates as no horse in his barn could match Gallant Fox throughout his work.
Fitzsimmons coaxed Earle Sande out of retirement to become Gallant Fox’s regular rider in 1930. That year, he won nine of ten starts: the Triple Crown consisting of the Kentucky Derby (the first in which a starting gate was used), Preakness, and Belmont, plus the Lawrence Realization Stakes, Wood Memorial, Dwyer Stakes, Arlington Classic, Saratoga Cup, and Jockey Club Gold Cup. His only loss at three came at Saratoga in the Travers Stakes to 100-to-1 upsetter Jim Dandy.
“The Fox of Belair” won top honors at three and was retired to stud at Claiborne alongside his sire, Sir Gallahad III. Soon they were joined by Gallant Fox’s son Omaha, the only U.S. Triple Crown winner sired by a Triple Crown winner and a foal from Gallant Fox’s first crop.
In addition to Omaha in 1935, Gallant Fox sired the 1936 Belmont Stakes winner, champion 3-year-old and Horse of the Year, Granville. Also in his second crop came Flares, the full brother to Omaha who became only the second U.S.-bred horse to win Ascot’s Gold Cup. Gallant Fox sired twenty stakes winners before he died on November 13,1954, at Claiborne where he is buried near his sire.
Lifetime race record: 17 starts, 11 wins, 3 seconds, 2 thirds, $328,165
1930 Triple Crown Winner
1930 Champion 3-Year-Old Colt & Horse of the Year
1957 Hall of Fame Inductee
Buried at Claiborne Farm.
Gamely
1964 - 1975 Bay FIlly by Bold Ruler - Gambetta, by *My Babu
Breeder: Claiborne Farm
Owner: William Haggin Perry
Trainer: James W. Maloney
A strapping bay adorned with a large star and a snip, Gamely was a daughter of Bold Ruler bred by Claiborne. She raced in the colors of friend and long-time associate William Haggin Perry as part of an annual partnership agreement. Gamely's large stature kept her away from the races at two, but the career that followed proved that good things come to those who wait.
Gamely came into hand quickly at three in California under the watchful eye of trainer James Maloney. She won the Princess S. and was second in two additional stakes in the spring at Hollywood Park. Sent East to Saratoga, Gamely set a stakes record in a division of the seven-furlong Test S., and then proved the skeptics who questioned her stamina wrong when she equaled the stakes record in the historic Alabama S. at 1 1/4 miles. She was voted Champion 3-year-old filly by the TRA handicappers.
Gamely was even better at four. She rattled off victories early in the season in the Santa Maria H. and the Santa Margarita H., both at Santa Anita. Moving crosstown to Hollywood Park, she finished second to the great Dr. Fager in the Californian S., defeated males in the Inglewood H., and won the Vanity H. carrying a record 131 pounds. Returning to New York, she finished first in the Diana H., but was disqualified, then exacted her revenge winning the Beldame H. in her next start. At the end of the season, she was unanimous choice for Champion Older Mare.
Gamely came back at five to win the Beldame H. again and the Diana H. outright. She retired as the leading earner for her sire with a bankroll of $574,961. Gamely produced two foals and only one to race, Dewhurst S.-G1 winner Cellini.
Lifetime race record: 41 starts, 16 wins, 9 seconds, 6 thirds, $574,961
Co-Champion 3-Year-old-Filly in 1967
Champion Older Mare in 1968
Lifetime race record: 41 starts, 16 wins, 9 seconds, 6 thirds, $574,961
Inducted in the National Racing Hall of Fame in 1980
Go for Wand
1987 - 1990 by Deputy Minister – Obeah, by Cyane
Bred and Raced by Christiana Stables
Trained by William Badgett Jr.
Foaled in Pennsylvania, Go for Wand was sent to Kentucky at one month old and raised at Claiborne for Christiana Stables’ owner Jane DuPont Lunger. Mrs. Lunger and her husband, Harry, began their racing stable in 1937, had raced some 50 stakes winners, and long enjoyed an association with the Hancock family.
A striking bay filly with a big, white blaze, Go for Wand was trained by Bill Badgett, a former assistant to trainer Woody Stephens who Seth Hancock had recommended to Mrs. Lunger. Badgett said that April of her 2-year-old season, he knew she was something special. “You could see the other horses really working to do what they had to do,” recalled Badgett, “but Go for Wand did everything in hand all the time.’
She won her debut easily, then devastated the field by an eye-popping 18 1/4 lengths in her second start. After a game second in the Frizette-G1, Go for Wand stalked the pace in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies-G1 before scoring a professional 2 3/4-length win. She was voted the Eclipse Award as Champion 2-year-old Filly.
At three, Go for Wand won Keeneland’s Beaumont S. first time out that season, then scored a five-length win in the Ashland S.-G1 eleven days later. Second in the Kentucky Oaks, Go for Wand returned to the winner’s circle in the Mother Goose-G1, then turned in two dazzling performances winning both the Test-G1 and Alabama-G1 at Saratoga. She took on older mares and won in the Maskette-G1, then made her next start in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff-G1. Go for Wand had a slight lead over subsequent Champion Older Mare Bayakoa (ARG) when they hooked into a stretch duel, then tragedy stuck. Go for Wand went down at the 1/16th pole, suffering a compound injury in her right ankle and had to be euthanized.
“She raced with joy and abandon,” said Mrs. Lunger prior to Go for Wand’s induction into the Hall of Fame, “that is what I want people to remember about her.” Go for Wand was voted the Eclipse Award as Champion 3-Year-Old Filly posthumously. She is buried in the infield at Saratoga, appropriately the site of two of her most memorable victories.
1989 Eclipse Champion 2-Year-Old Filly
1990 Eclipse Champion 3-Year-Old Filly
13 Starts, 10 wins, 2 seconds, earning $1,373,338
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996
Hoist the Flag
1968 - 1980, Tom Rolfe - Wavy Navy, by War Admiral
Bred by John Schiff. Owned by Mrs. Stephen Clark Jr. Trained by Sidney Watters.
Hoist the Flag was purchased by the late Mrs. Stephen Clark Jr. as a yearling for a mere $37,000 as he had sustained an eye injury while in transport to Saratoga, However, he soon turned out to be quite a bargain – undefeated Champion 2-year-old, Experimental Free Handicap Highweight and winter-book favorite for the 1971 Kentucky Derby. The way he skimmed through his wins conjured up images of his immortal grandsire, Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Classic hopes crumbled for Mrs. Clark and his legion of fans, when he shattered a hind leg in a training accident while being prepared for the Kentucky Derby. With the heart of a champion, Hoist the Flag overcame great odds and survived ground-breaking surgeries in the months following his injury.
Retired to Claiborne, Hoist the Flag went on to sire two-time Arc de Triomphe winner Alleged, and an American champion who lived up to her name, Sensational. He is the broodmare sire of 85 stakes winners, including champions Personal Ensign, Sacahuista, and sires Cryptoclearance and Broad Brush. Thirty years after Hoist the Flag’s Triple Crown campaign came to a sudden and disappointing halt, his great-great grandson and Personal Ensign’s grandson, War Emblem, fulfilled the family’s promise with wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
In 1987, Claiborne sires topped the General Sire List (Mr. Prospector) and the Broodmare Sire List (Hoist the Flag). Not entirely coincidentally, that nick is responsible for more than 70 stakes winners including a winner of America’s richest race, the Breeders’ Cup Classic-G1. Like his racing career, Hoist the Flag’s stud career was brilliant and all too brief – he sired 51 stakes winners from only 246 foals during his eight seasons in the Claiborne breeding shed.
1978 2nd-Leading General Sire
1981 Leading Juvenile Sire
1987 Leading Broodmare Sire
Buried at Claiborne
Inside Information
1991 bay filly, Private Account - Pure Profit, by Key to the Mint
Bred and Owned by Ogden Mills (Dinny) Phipps.
Trained by Claude R. (Shug) McGaughey.
On a mud-soaked Belmont track in the 1995 Breeders’ Cup, Inside Information eclipsed the stakes-record time and doubled the record winning margin for the $1 million Distaff-G1. Her retirement was already announced, so it was only fitting that the skies should clear and a rainbow appear as Inside Information arrived with breeder-owner Ogden Mills (Dinny) Phipps and trainer Claude (Shug) McGaughey to receive a fond farewell from her fans. This was the Phipps family’s second trip to that Breeders’ Cup winner’s circle (and second stakes record), after Ogden Phipps’ My Flag won the Juvenile Fillies-G1 earlier on the card.
The highest distinction an American Thoroughbred can receive is inclusion in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. For Inside Information, that recognition came from voters in 2008. The compact bay filly won 14 of 17 career starts (nine stakes – six Grade 1), never finished worse than third, and defeated the best females of her era, including champion Sky Beauty, future fellow Hall of Famer Serena’s Song, and the very talented Lakeway.
Inside Information's sire and grandsire, respectively, were Claiborne stallions Private Account and Damascus. She was foaled at Claiborne on May 23, 1991, and arrived in the same crop as Ogden Phipps’ Champion 3-year-old Filly Heavenly Prize. She was voted Eclipse Champion in 1995 – the same year as Claiborne-raised Thunder Gulch was top 3-year-old Colt. Ten years later, her daughter Smuggler, raised at Claiborne and sired by farm stallion Unbridled, won Eclipse honors as America’s Champion 3-year-old Filly. Inside Information’s year-older, half-sister by Mr. Prospector is Grade 1 winner Educated Risk, dam of Claiborne-raised and Phipps-owned 2009 stakes winner Consequence.
Owner Phipps commented after Inside Information’s spectacular Distaff win, “My grandmother and grandfather were deeply involved in racing, as is my father, and now my father has seen fit to let me own a piece of this stable, and all my children own a piece of this stable. So, I hope it’s going to go a long way from here.” Inside Information, Educated Risk and their descendants are the fulfillment of that hope and shining examples of the successful collaboration between the Phipps and Hancock families.
1995 Champion Handicap Female
2008 Hall of Fame Inductee
Kelso
1957 - 1983 Your Host - Maid of Flight, by Count Fleet
Bred and raced by Bohemia Stables of Mrs. Richard C. du Pont
Trained by Dr. John Lee at 2, Carl Hanford at 3-9.
“He can beat any horse at any distance,” said jockey Eddie Arcaro. “Kelso was the best horse I ever rode.” Arcaro summed up in a few words the eight year career of the bay gelding beloved by America’s racing fans and one of the greatest Thoroughbreds of the twentieth century.
Foaled at Claiborne Farm, Kelso earned the first of his unprecedented five consecutive Horse of the Year titles in 1960 as well as being named champion 3-year-old. In 1961, he swept the Handicap Triple Crown, carrying 130 pounds in the Metropolitan H., 133 pounds in the Brooklyn H. and 136 pounds in Suburban H. and he began three year win streaks in both the Whitney H. and the Woodward S.
Kelso continued his championship form over the next three seasons. In 1962, he became racing’s first millionaire. In 1963, he was even better, setting a single season earnings record of $572,762. As a 7-year-old, he set the American record for two miles, running in 3:19 1/5 posting his fifth victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. After more than one tough second, he won the Washington, D. C. International in World Record Time for a mile and one-half on the turf of 2:23 4/5.
Kelso won three races in 1965, but time finally caught up with him after one start in 1966. He earned a record $1,977,896, with thirty-nine victories, finished second twelve times and third twice in sixty-three starts. He spent his retirement years as a hunter at Bohemia Farm. His final public appearance came at Belmont Park on October 15,1983 with fellow legendary geldings Forego and John Henry. Making a splendid appearance he returned home and died the next day at age 26.
Lifetime race record: 63 starts, 39 wins, 12 seconds, 2 thirds, $1,977,896
Horse of the Year (1960-1964)
Champion Handicap Horse (1960-1964)
Champion 3-year-old 1960
*Le Fabuleux 1961 - 1985, Chestnut Colt, Wild Risk - Anguar, by Verso II
Bred and owned by Mrs. Guy Weisweiller. Trained by William Head.
1964 French Derby winner and Champion 3-year-old *Le Fabuleux won 8 of 11 career starts and was twice second-highweight on the French Free Handicap. In addition to his classic success, *Le Fabuleux won the Criterium de Saint-Cloud-G2, Prix Lupin-G2, Prix du Prince d’Orange-G2, Prix Noailles-G2, and Prix de Conde-G3. He entered stud in 1966 in France where he was among that nation’s leading sires for several seasons beginning in 1970. He was imported by A. B. (Bull) Hancock Jr. for the 1972 season and was reportedly syndicated into 32 shares at $65,000 each.
Certainly there are many meaningful patterns in all of the pedigrees of stallions stood and families collected by Hancock over the years. One example is his keenness for the blood of St. Simon. *Nasrullah and Round Table were inbred to St. Simon; *Princequillo and *Le Fabuleux were St. Simon line sires. Thus, collecting compatible breeding stock and planning for the long-term benefit of the breed paid handsome dividends for Hancock and for Claiborne’s clients.
*Le Fabuleux quietly but consistently sired stakes winners in crop after crop at Claiborne, achieving chef-de-race status and reaching the benchmark for great stallions – 10% stakes winners from foals. He is the sire of Horse of the Year Dauphin Fabuleux, two-time Canadian Champion Ben Fab, Ogden Phipps’ Grade 1 winner Effervescing, John Henry’s famous nemesis The Bart, Irish St. Leger winner Meneval, French St. Leger winner Bourbon, and top sire French Charmer. One of his most famous offspring, Gana Facil, was a modestly successful racehorse who won six of 19 career starts but secured her place in the history of the breed as the dam of Horse of the Year Unbridled. Other Grade 1 winners out of daughters of **Le Fabuleux include Unbridled’s brother Cahill Road, as well as Manila, Nastique, Zilzal, Joyeux Danseur and Le Glorieux.
1964 Champion 3-Year-Old Colt in France
*Le Fabuleux died at Claiborne on July 8, 1985.
Lure
1989, by Danzig – Endear, by Alydar
Bred by Claiborne Farm and The Gamely Corp.
Owned by Claiborne Farm and Nicole P. Gorman
Trained by Claude R. McGaughey III
Claiborne’s association with William Haggin Perry (The Gamely Corporation) spanned more than three decades and produced some 30 major stakes winners, but one of the most exciting horses the partnership campaigned was two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile-G1 winner Lure.
A son of Claiborne stallion Danzig out of Hempstead H. winner Endear, Lure was a standout from the beginning. In fact, when Queen Elizabeth II visited Claiborne she was shown only two foals from the entire foal crop – one of them was Lure. He was talented enough to win a graded stakes on dirt, but when switched to turf, Lure was a virtuoso. In 17 consecutive races, he won 11 times, was second 6 times, and earned 16 triple digit Beyer Figures. His victories include: the Dixie H., the Turf Classic, the Elkhorn, the Kelso, the Bernard Baruch H., and the Caesers’ International. Lure won both the 1992 and 1993 Breeders’ Cup Mile-G1 by daylight thus becoming one of only a handful of horses able to win back-to-back runnings of a Breeders’ Cup race.
Sadly, Lure was virtually infertile as a stallion. He made some progress with treatment and stood briefly siring Irish Champion 2-Year-Old Orpen (sire of 18 GSWs) and U.S. Grade 1 stakes winner England’s Legend. After it was evident that his career at stud was finished, Lure returned to Claiborne on September 29, 2003. Now an honored pensioner, Lure is living out his days on the farm where he was born and raised.
Lifetime race record: 25 starts, 14 wins, 8 seconds, 0 thirds, $2,514,809
Pensioned at Claiborne Farm.
Misty Morn
1952 - 1971 Bay Filly by *Princequillo – Grey Flight, by *Mahmoud
Bred and Raced by Wheatley Stable
Trained by James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Misty Morn was by the young Claiborne stallion *Princequillo, who initially stood at the Hancock family’s Virginia farm Ellerslie for $250. The stallion had been relocated to Kentucky after considerable success in his initial crops where he covered Wheately Stables’ blue hen mare Grey Flight.
The third foal from her dam, Misty Morn came to hand quickly for trainer "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons. At two and the three, the big, rangy filly raced 42 times, coming on in her 3-year-old season to be named year-end Champion 3-Year-Old and Handicap Female. That season’s highlights included victories in the Monmouth Oaks, Diana H., Molly Pitcher H., and Providence S. She also showed her toughness by defeating older males in the Gallant Fox H. in track record time.
Retired with earnings of $212,575, Misty Morn carried her Champion performance to the breeding shed by producing two Champion Juvenile Colts (both by Bold Ruler). The first was Bold Lad, a foal of 1962. The handsome chestnut was dominant at two, winning the Hopeful, Futurity, and Champagne. His performances were so spectacular that he received a whopping 130 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap. The second was Successor in 1964. Successor won the Garden State S. and Champagne S., and defeated Dr. Fager, which gave him an edge in the balloting for year-end Champion.
In addition, Misty Morn produced stakes winners Sunrise Flight, Beautiful Day, and Bold Consort. Named Broodmare of the Year in 1963, Misty Morn appears in the pedigrees of Kentucky Oaks winner Dispute, Champagne S. winner Adjudicating, as well as through Sunrise Flight, broodmare sire of Champion Pleasant Colony.
1963 Broodmare of the Year
Dam of 10 foals, 8 starters, 7 winners, 5 stakes winners
Died in 1971
*Nasrullah
1940 - 1959, Nearco - Mumtaz Begum, by *Blenheim II
Bred and owned by the Aga Khan III; Trained by Frank Butters
When A. B. (Bull) Hancock Jr. imported *Nasrullah for stud duty to the United States, he gave breeders a bloodline that continues to shape the breed. As Kent Hollingsworth wrote in The Kentucky Thoroughbred, “Nasrullah was the most influential, most important stallion imported to America since the first English Derby winner, Diomed, arrived in Virginia in 1800.”
*Nasrullah was a champion from the first crop by unbeaten Nearco. Hancock wanted a son of Nearco and set his sites on *Nasrullah while he was racing. It would take several offers over seven years plus assistance from his father-in-law, Nashville attorney Seth Walker, to finalize the transaction that would bring *Nasrullah to Claiborne in July, 1950, the same year *Nasrullah’s son *Noor defeated champion Citation four times. He quickly became one of the most important sires of the 20th century and helped establish the modern-day dominance of Nearco’s male line. He earned five titles as Leading Sire and his son, Bold Ruler, earned eight. He was a three-time Leading Sire of Juveniles from only nine crops sired at Claiborne. The Hall of Fame has enshrined his sons Bold Ruler, *Noor and Nashua, as well as second-generation offspring, Secretariat and Ruffian.
*Nasrullah provided a needed boost to the Claiborne stallion roster as *Sir Gallahad III was deceased and *Blenheim II was aged 24 when the “lovable rogue” arrived. The combination of *Nasrullah, a carefully-culled broodmare band, and retaining their progeny for racing, soon made Claiborne one of the nation’s top owners as well as a leading breeder.
1942 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt in England
1955-56, 1959-60, & 1962 Leading Sire in North America
1954, 1956, & 1962 Leading Juvenile Sire in North America
Stood at Claiborne from 1951
Died May 26, 1959. Buried at Claiborne Farm.
Omaha
1932 - 1959 Chestnut colt by Gallant Fox – Flambino, by *Wrack
Bred and owned by William Woodward Sr.
Trained by "Sunny" Jim Fitzsimmons
From the first crop of Gallant Fox and foaled at Claiborne Farm, Omaha remains as the only Triple Crown winner sired by a Triple Crown winner. Sir Barton had won all three races in 1919, however the concept of a "Triple Crown" accomplishment comprising of victories in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont was not acknowledged by name until the father-son duo of Gallant Fox and Omaha.
With a penchant for slow starts, Omaha showed his talent as he won at five furlongs in :58 3/5 for his lone victory in nine starts as a 2-year-old. He continued to show promise with strong, late-closing finishes to be fourth in the Saratoga Special, Hopeful and Futurity Stakes. And, with good seconds in the Sanford, Junior Champion, and Champagne Stakes, Omaha was regarded as a Classic prospect for the following season, but not considered the top prospect of rising sophomores.
With a win in his first start that season, Omaha again was off slowly and finished third in the Wood Memorial. Starting from the tenth post position in a 17-horse field in the Kentucky Derby, Omaha's habit for a slow start for once might have been a help. Staying wide, jockey Willie Saunders kept Omaha out of trouble through the early stages of the Derby as he drew off to win by 1 1/2 lengths after taking the lead as they turned for home. With another patented off the pace move, Omaha stormed to a 6-length victory in the Preakness, just missing the track record at Pimlico. In true 'old school' tradition, Omaha ran in the one mile Withers Stakes, finishing second before posting a resounding victory in the third jewel of the Triple Crown. With two weeks' rest after his Belmont victory, Omaha was third in the Brooklyn Handicap in his first test against older horses. One week afterward, Omaha won the Dwyer Stakes before shipping to Chicago to post an impressive win in the Arlington Classic over two top fillies, Black Helen and Bloodroot, in record time.
Owner William Woodward shipped Omaha to England to run as a 4-year-old in hopes that his late-running style and ability to get a distance would be effective in their premier races. He won a small stakes at Kempton in his first try, then captured the Queen's Plate. In the grueling 2 1/2 mile test of the Ascot Gold Cup, Omaha put up a gallant effort but lost to a nose to the filly Quashed. In his last career start, Omaha was second in the Princess of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket.
Unlike his Triple Crown-winning sire, Omaha had an unsuccessful career at stud.
Lifetime race record: 22 starts, 9 wins, 7 seconds, 2 thirds, $154,705
Inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame, 1965
Personal Ensign
1984, Bay filly by Private Account – Grecian Banner, by Hoist the Flag
Bred and raced by Ogden Phipps
Trained by Claude R. (Shug) McGaughey
Two-year-old Personal Ensign won her 7-furlong debut by a dazzling 12 3/4 lengths. Propelled into Grade 1 company next out, she gamely won the one-mile Frizette. Plans had been made to ship her to the 1986 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita when she suffered a severe injury to left rear pastern. Dr. Larry Bramlage performed surgery, inserting five surgical pins, and told the filly’s connections that she “had a chance” to make it.
Personal Ensign recovered completely, and came back at three, after an 11-month layout to win two allowance races and the Rare Perfume in succession, then posted her second Grade 1 win in the Beldame S. against older mares. At four, she won the Shuvee and the Maskette (over Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors) and dominated the Hempstead H., the Beldame S. and the Molly Pitcher H. Always a sportsman, owner Ogden Phipps decided to let her have a chance against males in the Grade 1 Whitney H. Personal Ensign rose to the occasion, winning by a determined 1 1/2 lengths. In one of the most dramatic races ever, Personal Ensign kept her perfect record intact when she overcame adversity and a stellar field to win the Breeders’ Cup Distaff by a nose at the wire.
As a broodmare, the impact of Personal Ensign was immediate. Her first foal, Miner’s Mark (by Claiborne’s Mr. Prospector), won the Jockey Club Gold Cup. In addition, she produced other G1 SWs Traditionally, winner of the Oaklawn H., and the brilliant filly My Flag. By the Phipps/Claiborne stallion Easy Goer, My Flag won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies as well as the Ashland S. and Gazelle. She herself is the dam of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Storm Flag Flying and the granddam of GSW Parading. Personal Ensign is the dam of three other stakes horses: Salute, Proud and True and Our Emblem. The latter sired dual Classic winner War Emblem.
13 Starts, 13 Wins, $1,679,880
Eclipse Champion Older Female 1988
Broodmare of the Year 1996. Dam of 9 foals, 8 starters, all winners including
G1 SWs My Flag, Miner’s Mark, and Traditionally
Pensioned at Claiborne Farm
*Princequillo
1940 - 1964, bay colt by Prince Rose – *Cosquilla, by *Papyrus
Bred by Laudy B. Lawrence. Owned by Boone Hall Stable.
Trained by Horatio Luro.
Bred by an American in Paris, *Princequillo was conceived in France, but when World War II broke out, his pregnant dam was shipped to Ireland where he was foaled. While his sire remained in France and became a casualty of German air fire, *Princequillo and his dam were shipped over high seas and smuggled through a German submarine blockade to safety. Eventually shipped to the United States for his racing career, *Princequillo arrived in poor condition after his dangerous journey. Sold shortly after arriving in New Orleans, he was subsequently claimed by Horatio Luro for the Boone Hall Stable. In Luro’s capable hands, *Princequillo developed into an effective distance horse winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Saratoga H., and Saratoga Cup.
He was retired to the Hancock family’s Ellerslie in Virginia. Although *Princequillo probably would have earned his way to Claiborne after the success of his first two crops, he was moved to Kentucky after his second season at stud. A welcomed addition to the Claiborne stallion ranks, A. B. (Bulll) Hancock later recalled that he had been quite keen on the horse because he won at six furlongs and then continued to prove himself as a stayer.
Referred to as “Mr. Fixit” at stud for his ability to sire sound, correct foals, *Princequillo is most recognized as the sire of 1958 Horse of the Year, three-time Turf Champion, and leading money winner Round Table. The leader of the General Sire List in 1957 and 1958, *Princequillo also sired Champions Misty Morn, Hill Prince, Dedicate, and Quill. His greatest legacy, however, is as a top broodmare sire as his daughters cemented his immense influence on the breed. He lead the Broodmare Sire List eight times and had some 170 stakes winners to his credit. They include the dams of Secretariat, as well as his rival Sham, Mill Reef, Sir Gaylord, Key to the Mint, and Kris S.
Leading Sire 1957-58
Leading Broodmare Sire 1966-70, 1972-73, 1976
Buried at Claiborne.
Pulpit
1994 Bay colt by A.P. Indy – Preach, by Mr. Prospector
Bred and owned by Claiborne Farm
Trained by Frank Brothers
Trainer Frank Brothers said that Pulpit made a big impression on him as yearling. The following winter, when Pulpit was in training at Holly Hill Training Center in South Carolina, Brothers said it became clear the colt had talent. “He was the man in the group,” recalled Brothers, “he had a real presence about him.”
A couple of small setbacks kept Pulpit from running at two. Early in his 3-year-old year, however, the long-striding colt jumped onto the national stage thanks to two eye-catching wins at Gulfstream Park. Made the favorite for the Fountain of Youth-G2 in only his third start, Pulpit came off the pace to win by a length and a half. Second in the Florida Derby-G1, Pulpit then rolled to an impressive victory in Keeneland’s Blue Grass S. and gave hope of another Claiborne classic win. Injured in the Kentucky Derby while finishing fourth, Pulpit was retired with a sense of untapped potential.
At stud, he made an immediate mark. Pulpit’s first crop included Dubai Classic and Super Derby winner Essence of Dubai, and his second crop included Grade 1 winners Sky Mesa and Stroll. In his third crop came Tapit (G1) and Purge (G1). Known as a stallion with remarkable versatility, Pulpit sires top level 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds and older horses, colts and fillies, and runners that excel on dirt, turf and synthetic surfaces. In addition, he has become known as a “sire of sires” with several sons already enjoying success at stud.
Standing at Claiborne Farm
Sire of 38 SWs, 21 Graded SWs, 6 Grade 1 SWs
Relaxing
1976-1999 Buckpasser – Marking Time, by To Market
Bred and Owned by Ogden Phipps
Trained by John Dunlop in England and Angel Penna in the U.S.
A few years before the death of legendary sportsman and breeder Col. E. R. Bradley, Ogden Phipps, a shrewd breeder in his own right, negotiated buying the mare Big Hurry, a daughter of La Troienne, from Bradley. Among the rewards reaped from that purchase was Champion Distaffer and Broodmare-of-the-Year Relaxing.
Bred in the purple, Relaxing is a product of Big Hurry’s granddaughter Marking Time, winner of the 1966 Acorn Stakes, and Phipps’ Champion and world-class stallion Buckpasser. As a young horse, Relaxing was sent to race on the turf in England where it was to best suit her. She won four of nine races there, then was returned to the U.S. A big, rangy mare, Relaxing showed that she could win on dirt, and at five, she was voted Eclipse Champion Older Mare after winning the Ruffian, Delaware and Assault Handicaps. In addition, she proved herself against colts, winning the John B. Campbell H. and Gallant Fox, and she finished third by less than a length to John Henry in The Jockey Club Gold. She liked to go a distance, and set a track record for 1 5/8 miles.
Relaxing was bred to Calumet Farm stallion Alydar in 1985 and the result was Easy Goer, a gleaming chestnut whose stride matched his name. As a juvenile, he won the Cowdin S. and Champagne S. and was named Champion 2-Year-Old. The following year, he won the Gotham, Wood Memorial, Whitney, Travers, Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup. Easy Goer is perhaps best known for his battles with rival Sunday Silence, who won three of the four times they met. Easy Goer, however, denied Sunday Silence the Triple Crown when he won the Belmont Stakes by an emphatic eight lengths.
Relaxing also produced two Grade 1-winning daughters, Easy Now and Cadillacing. The last-named is the dam of Graded stakes winner Easing Along, an important sire of G1 winners in South America.
Champion Older Mare in 1981
13 wins in 28 starts, $589,185
Dam of 12 foals, 9 starters, 3 Grade 1 winners
Riva Ridge
1969 - 1985 Bay Colt, by First Landing - Iberia, by *Heliopolis
Bred and raced by Christopher T. Chenery's Meadow Stable
Trained by Lucien Laurin
In 1958, Christopher Chenery campaigned the 2-year-old champion, First Landing. Fifteen years later, Chenery's Meadow Stud bred a bay colt which was foaled at A. B. (Bull) Hancock Jr.'s Claiborne Farm by First Landing who followed as Champion 2-year-old colt. Named Riva Ridge, he dominated the 2-year-old division in 1971 winning five stakes races including the Champagne S. by 7 lengths, Laurel Futurity by 11 lengths, and the lucrative Garden State Stakes.
The following season, trainer Lucien Laurin announced to the astonishment of seasoned Turf writers and fellow horsemen that Riva Ridge would make only three starts prior to that year's Kentucky Derby. He won the Hibiscus Stakes, was unplaced in the Everglades at Hialeah over a sloppy surface and then won the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland nine days prior to the Derby. With a brilliant wire-to-wire victory in the Kentucky Derby as the 3-2 favorite, Riva Ridge couldn't handle a sloppy track in the Preakness and finished fourth. He redeemed himself with a resounding 7-length win in the Belmont Stakes, prompting the question of what might have happened "if it only had been dry for the Preakness. . ." Three weeks after the Triple Crown, Riva Ridge won the Hollywood Derby in hard-fought fashion. The effort took a lot out of him and compromised his form for the rest of the year, as he failed to win again in his remaining five starts that season. He lost out on the 3-year-old championship to Key to the Mint.
Riva Ridge raced to a championship season the following year as his much-heralded and year younger stablemate became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. With a major win in the Massachusetts H., Riva Ridge set a New World Record of 1:52:2 for 1 3/16 miles in the Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont. In late Summer, Riva Ridge carried highweight of 127 and finished a game second to stablemate Secretariat in the inaugural Marlboro Cup Invitational H. at Belmont Park. Both of the Meadow Stable entries broke the World Record for 1 1/8 miles in this race and afterward Penny (Chenery) Tweedy led in the winning Secretariat, but then sought out Riva Ridge later explaining, "I have the greatest admiration for Secretariat, but I love Riva Ridge."
Riva Ridge was retired after that season as the twelfth equine millionaire. He was syndicated for the impressive sum of $5,120,000, and entered stud in 1974 at the Hancock family's Claiborne Farm.
At the time of his death of a heart attack at age 16, Riva Ridge was one of a dozen Claiborne sires ranked among the top 50 Leading Active Sires by Average Earnings Index. Riva Ridge sired only 359 foals in his 12 crops at Claiborne. Of those, 29 were stakes winners, including Tap Shoes, Rivalero, Alada, Blitey, Expressive Dance, Cerada Ridge. Daughters of Riva Ridge produced more than 50 stakes winners, 4 champions, and G1 winners Dancing Spree, Classy Mirage, Life At the Top, etc.
Riva Ridge
Champion 2-Year-Old Colt, 1971
Champion Older Horse, 1973
Inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame, 1998
Lifetime race record: 30 starts, 17 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, $1,111,497
Round Table
1954-1987 by Princequillo – Knight’s Daughter, by Sir Cosmo
Bred by Arthur (Bull) Hancock Jr.
Owned by Claiborne Farm and Travis M. Kerr
Trained by Moody Jolley, then Wilton Molter.
Round Table and Bold Ruler were both foaled at Claiborne on the night of April 6, 1954. Both were Hall of Fame racehorses, and both went on to illustrious careers as Claiborne stallions, joining that elite club siring 20% stakes winners from foals. In the words of Pete Axhelm, “The coincidence of the birth date is mind-boggling. The odds of two horses of such stature being born in the same year are considerable; the chances of arriving on the same farm on the very same night infinitesimal.”
Claiborne’s John Sosby described Round Table as tough to handle in his youth, “He broke away at least once from every man that tried to lead him.” At the track, he quickly learned to break away from his competition. Round Table won 43 of 66 starts, 31 stakes and $1,749,869. Five times he blazed 1 ¼ miles in under two minutes, three while carrying 130 pounds or more. The fans’ darling drew huge crowds who made him the favorite 47 times. He set course records on dirt and turf and was the leading earner of 1957 with $600,383 and in 1958 won a single-season record $662,780. At four and five, Round Table carried 130 pounds or more in 23 races. He won seven of ten thrilling photo-finishes, and in two losses conceded 17 and 21 pounds to the photo winners.
The first-ballot Hall of Famer was Thoroughbred racing’s all-time leading money-winner when he entered stud at Claiborne and became the first million-dollar winner to sire a million-dollar winner, Royal Glint. His 83 stakes winners also included Champion Apalachee as well as Poker and Advocator. His modern influence on the breed is seen primarily as the broodmare sire of 124 stakes winners including Seattle Slew. The warrior survived to the age of 33, and Dell Hancock recalls his later years fondly, “In his last years, Round Table lived in a paddock right behind the house. Every evening, we’d grate up carrots and go out to him. He’d see us coming and take off on those little old peglegs and hurry over. He was one of the kindest horses I’ve ever been around.” Undoubtedly, and in every conceivable way, Round Table was kind to the Hancocks.
Lifetime race record: 66 starts, 43 wins, 8 seconds, 5 thirds, $1,749,869
1957 Champion Grass Horse
1958 Horse of the Year, Champion Handicap Horse & Champion Grass Horse
1959 Champion Handicap Horse & Champion Grass Horse
1972 Hall of Fame Inductee
1972 Leading Sire
Pensioned in 1979
Buried at Claiborne Farm
Ruffian
1972 - 1975, Dark Bay / Brown Filly by Reviewer – Shenanigans, by Native Dancer
Bred and Owned by Mr. and Mrs. Stuart S. Janney Jr. (Locust HIll Farm)
Trained by Frank Y. Whiteley Jr.
According to journalist William H. Rudy, Ruffian “had an ease of motion that all but masks her wonderful speed.” Nearly black and larger than most colts, Ruffian was foaled and raised at Claiborne for Stuart and Barbara Janney. Seth Hancock recalled that she weighed a whopping 890 pounds as a yearling. By the time she was two, she stood 16.1 hands and had a girth just over 75 inches. By comparison, Secretariat had a girth of 76 inches and Forego had a girth of 77 inches – both at age four.
In her very first start at two, Ruffian won by 15 lengths and equalled the Belmont Park track record for 5 1/2 furlongs which has been set by the brilliant Raise a Native. Undefeated in five starts that year, she won the Fashion S., the Astoria S., the Sorority S., and the Spinaway. In the latter, she won by 12 3/4 lengths and set a new stakes record for the nearly 100-year-old race. Bill Rudy wrote that the “big, beautiful dark bay filly sent a surge of excitement through seasoned professionals and racing public alike.”
Returning to the races at three, Ruffian posted a five-length win in a six-furlong allowance race, won the Comely-G3 by eight, then rolled through the three races that made up the New York Filly Triple Crown: the one-mile Acorn-G1, the 1 1/8-mile Mother Goose-G1, and the 1 1/2 Coaching Club American Oaks-G1.
With nothing left to prove in her division, a match race was arranged, Ruffian was to meet Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure going 1 1/4 miles at Belmont Park. Ruffian broke a tick behind the colt, but was gradually pulling away when regular rider Jacinto Vasquez heard a sharp crack. Ruffian had suffered a grave injury in her right front leg. All efforts were made to save her, but the spirited filly re-injured herself in recovery and had to be euthanized. The spectacular Ruffian is still recognized as a standard by which other top fillies are measured even some 30 years after her death.
1974 Eclipse Champion 2-Year-Old Filly
1975 Eclipse Champion-Year-Old Filly
Inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1976
11 starts, 10 wins, earning $313,428
Buried at Belmont Park.
Seabiscuit
1933 – 1947 Bay Colt by Hard Tack – Swing On, by Whisk Broom II
Bred by Wheatley Stable
Owned by Charles S. Howard
Trained by Tom Smith
Midway through the 1936 racing season, no one could have predicted the bay colt foaled and raised at Claiborne Farm and campaigned with moderate success by his breeder, Wheatley Stable, would soon begin his ascension into legend. After a juvenile season where he started thirty-five times and a dozen starts at three, Seabiscuit was acquired by automotive dealer Charles S. Howard and placed into the hands of future Hall of Fame trainer "Silent Tom" Smith and jockey John "Red" Pollard. The rest, as they say, is history.
Showing a hint of what was to come with two stakes victories at Bay Meadows at the end of his sophomore year, Seabiscuit rose to the top of the racing world in 1937. Setting four track records, he won eleven of his fifteen starts, ten stakes and he topped the earnings list with $168,580. He was named Champion Handicap Horse.
The most popular horse in training, fans clamored for a meeting between Seabiscuit and the 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral. The Pimlico Special match race finally took place on November 1, 1938. Broadcast nationwide, Seabiscuit went wire-to-wire, winning by four lengths and setting a new track record for a mile and three-sixteenth. Seabiscuit was named Horse of the Year and Champion Handicap Horse.
Injured early in 1939, he returned in 1940, making one last attempt to win the Santa Anita Handicap and to break Sun Beau's all time earnings mark. In fairy tale fashion, he won the Big 'Cap by four lengths in track record time and retired with a record bankroll of $437,730. He died at age 14 at his owner's Ridgewood Farm in California.
Seabiscuit
Horse of the Year, 1938
Champion Handicap Horse, 1937 and 1938
Retired in March, 1940 as World's Leading Money Earner
Inducted into Racing Hall of Fame, 1958
Lifetime race record: 89 starts, 33 wins, 15 seconds, 13 thirds, $437,730
Secretariat
1970 - 1989, Chestnut colt by Bold Ruler – Somethingroyal, by *Princequillo
Bred and owned by Meadow Stable. Trained by Lucien Laurin.
The story of “Big Red” begins with a 1969 coin toss to determine who got first pick of the foals produced by sending certain Meadow Stable mares to Ogden Phipps’ important sire, Bold Ruler. Phipps “won” the toss and selected a weanling filly, thus leaving the Chenery family’s Meadow Stable with the yet-unborn 1970 foal out of Somethingroyal.
By the end of 1972, Secretariat was the first-ever, two-year-old Horse of the Year, edging out Claiborne-raised La Prevoyante in year-end balloting. In 1973, he became the darling of not just horseracing but the entire nation; he won the Triple Crown in record time for all three events; graced the covers of Time, Sports Illustrated and Newsweek; repeated as Horse of the Year; and forever raised the bar by which all Thoroughbreds are measured.
Between his two- and three-year-old seasons, Meadow Stable’s founder Christopher Chenery passed away, and daughter Penny Chenery called upon the new master of Claiborne Farm, 23-year-old Seth Hancock, to syndicate Secretariat in order to settle estate taxes without liquidating the farm’s bloodstock. Syndicating a colt who had not yet raced at three, with a record price tag of $6.08 million and contractual terms calling for him to race for Meadow Stables in 1973 was a monumental task, and in a matter of days Hancock pulled it off with established Claiborne clients as well as new investors.
Larger than life, Secretariat was more than the “Super Horse" Time magazine dubbed him when he graced its cover. The bright chestnut with three white stockings was the most celebrated racehorse of all time and the only non-human ranked among ESPN’s 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century.
Taking over the premier stall at Claiborne, that of his sire Bold Ruler, Secretariat left his enduring mark on the breed first through the exploits of his own sons and daughters (such as dual Classic winner, Risen Star, and Horse-of-the-Year, Lady’s Secret). More emphatically, his impact as a champion sire of broodmares reshaped the breed through some of the most celebrated sires of the last quarter-century, chief among them Storm Cat and A.P. Indy.
In 1989, after Secretariat was euthanized to prevent further suffering from incurable laminitis, a necropsy revealed what his fans always knew – Secretariat had a huge heart. His organs were all normal in size and shape except his heart which was twice the size and a third heavier than normal. “He was the man,” said Claiborne manager John Sosby, “He was the one they wanted to see … and rightly so.”
Lifetime race record: 21 starts, 16 wins, 3 seconds, 1 thirds, $1,316,808
Champion 2-Year-Old Male & Horse of the Year
1973 9th U.S. Triple Crown Winner
1973 Champion Grass Horse, Champion 3-Year-Old Male & Horse of the Year
1974 Hall of Fame Inductee
1992 Leading Broodmare Sire
1999 U.S. Postage Stamp Honoree
Seeking the Gold
1985 Bay Colt by Mr. Prospector - Con Game, by Buckpasser
Bred and owned by Ogden Phipps.
Trained by Claude (Shug) McGaughey
Longtime Claiborne client Ogden Phipps enjoyed a stellar year in 1988 and dominated the Eclipse Awards -- Phipps was recognized as both Champion Owner and Champion Breeder, Claude (Shug) McGaughey won the trainer title, Personal Ensign and Easy Goer earned divisional honors, and another homebred, Seeking the Gold, enjoyed Grade 1 success in the Dwyer and again in the $1 million Super Derby. Runner-up efforts in the Breeders’ Cup Classic-G1, Travers-G1, Haskell-G1, and Wood Memorial-G1 added to an outstanding 3-year-old campaign. At year end, Seeking the Gold was the third-highweighted sophomore on the Daily Racing Form Free Handicap -- just one pound below Claiborne's Forty Niner and two below Champion Risen Star.
Seeking the Gold retired to stud at Claiborne as Mr. Prospector’s third-leading money winner with earnings of $2.3 million. He quickly rose to the elite sire ranks: In just his first two crops, he had 15 stakes winners including Flanders and Heavenly Prize, who combined to win seven Grade 1 races in 1994 when both earned divisional Eclipse Awards. Some of Seeking the Gold’s other important offspring include Dubai Millennium, winner of the Dubai World Cup as well as Group 1 races in France and England; Breeders’ Cup Distaff-G1 winner Pleasant Home; Belmont Stakes-G1 winner Jazil; Wood Memorial-G1 winner Bob and John; Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies-G1 winner Cash Run; and French Champion Seeking the Pearl.
Seeking the Gold resides at Claiborne Farm where he sired 19 crops before he was pensioned. To date, he is represented by 151 stakes horses including 89 stakes winners of which nearly 50 are graded stakes winners. Also a leading broodmare sire, Seeking the Gold is the sire of the dams of 80 stakes winners, 16 in 2009, and he currently ranks fourth on the Leading Broodmare Sires List.
1993 Leading Freshman Sire
1994 Leading Juvenile Sire
Pensioned after the 2008 breeding season.
Resides at Claiborne Farm.
Shenanigans
1963 - 1977, Gray Filly by Native Dancer – Bold Irish, by Fighting Fox
Bred, Raced & Owned by Locust Hill Farm
In 1963, Locust Hill Farm owners Mr. and Mrs. Stuart S. Janney Jr. bred one of their foundation mares (a gift from Mrs. Janney’s mother Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps) to Native Dancer. The result was a filly named Shenanigans whose modest racing career boasted three wins from 22 starts and a single stakes placing in the 1965 Maryland Futurity. Her performance on the track, however, was no indicaton of her impact as a broodmare.
Shenanigans got off the mark quickly. Her first foal, by Nearctic, was Icecapade. Winner of seven stakes races, including the William duPont Jr. H. and Nassau County H., Icecapade also placed in the Fall Highweight and the Withers and set a six-furlong track record (1:08 flat) at Monmouth Park. After his racing career, Icecapade also proved to be a successful stallion siring over 70 stakes winners, including the influential stallion Wild Again.
Three years after she produced Icecapade, Shenanigans produced a filly by Reviewer, a son of Bold Ruler who also stood at Claiborne. Named Ruffian, the big, black filly sent the racing world into a tailspin with her runaway ability. She chalked up wins in the Fashion S., the Astoria, the Sorority, and the Spinaway at two, then continued her dominance at three winning the Comely, the Acorn, the Mother Goose, and the Coaching Club American Oaks. Tragically, Ruffian suffered a grave injury to her right front leg in a match race against the year’s Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure. All efforts were made to save her, but the spirited filly re-injured herself in recovery and had to be euthanized. Champion Filly at two and at three, Ruffian was such a spectacular racehorse that in the more than 30 years since she raced, she remains the benchmark by which all other top fillies are measured.
Shenanigans also produced another stakes winner in 1974, Buckfinder by Claiborne stallion Buckpasser. Buckfinder won the William duPoint Jr. H. and Celanese Cup and also placed in the seven other stakes including the Metropolitan H. Shenanigans appears in the pedigrees of Offlee Wild, Louis Quatorze, Milwaukee Brew, Sarava, Wild Zone, etc.
1975 Broodmare of the Year
Dam of 6 foals, 6 winners, including 3 stakes winners
Died in 1977.
Storm Flag Flying
2000, Dark Bay / Brown Filly by Storm Cat – My Flag, by Easy Goer
Bred by Ogden Phipps, Raced by Ogden Mills Phipps
Trained by Claude R. (Shug) McGaughey III
When Storm Flag Flying relinquished the lead in the stretch in the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies then retook it in three rapid strides, trainer Shug McGaughey commented, “I didn’t even have a chance to say ‘I’m beat’ – she was back on it that quickly.”
As remarkable as her performance was that day, it also carried considerable historical significance. Storm Flag Flying is a third generation Breeders’ Cup winner – the only Breeders’ Cup winner produced by a Breeders' Cup winner who was produced by a Breeders’ Cup winner. Her dam, My Flag won the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and her granddam, Personal Ensign, won the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The breeder of all three mares and one of the most successful breeders of all time, Ogden Phipps had died the previous April at the age 93. So when Storm Flag Flying made her determined move in the stretch and crossed the wire in front, the victory became an exclamation point on the remarkable career of Mr. Phipps.
In addition to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, Storm Flag Flying had also won the Matron S. and Frizette S. earlier in the season. With those victories she sewed up the Eclipse Award as Champion 2-Year-Old Filly. Plagued with some problems at three, she managed only two starts that season which included a second in the Comely S. Given some time and kept in training, Storm Flag Flying came back at four and won the Shuvee H. and added and appropriate victory in the Personal Ensign, a race named to honor her granddam.
Storm Flag Flying is now part the Phipps’ broodmare band at Claiborne Farm.
Storm Flag Flying
Champion 2-Year-Old Filly in 2002
Lifetime race record: 14 starts, 7 wins, 3 seconds, 3 thirds, $1,951,828
Swale
1981 - 1984, Dark Bay / Brown Colt by Seattle Slew – Tuerta, by *Forli
Bred by Claiborne Farm
Owned by Raceland Partnership (Claiborne Farm, William Haggin Perry, Peter Brant & Edward Cox Jr.)
Trained by Woodford C. Stephens
When Swale won the 1984 Kentucky Derby-G1, the victory belonged to more than a single generation. Both the colt’s second and third dams (Continue, Courtesy) were bred and raised at Claiborne, and his dam, homebred Tuerta, won the 1972 Blue Hen S., in what was to be the last time A. B. (Bull) Hancock Jr. saw the Claiborne silks carried to victory in a stakes race. Swale’s grandsire (Bold Reasoning) and great grandsire (Bold Ruler) both stood at Claiborne, so it was fitting that Ben Castleman (breeder of Swale's sire Seattle Slew) was quick to credit Seth Hancock with the mating that produced Seattle Slew.
As a young horse, Swale was known for an inclination to take naps. One morning, it appeared that the colt was missing from his paddock. Concern ensued, then finally a farm worker noticed the distinct sound of snoring. There, in a dip in the ground obscured from sight, the colt was found – stretched out and fast asleep. It was this incident that prompted Mrs. A. B. Hancock Jr. to select the name Swale.
“He trains like a good one,” Woody Stephens said about the colt in the summer of his 2-year-old year, and the legendary trainer was right. That season, Swale won the Saratoga Special, Futurity S., Breeders’ Futurity and Young America S. In his 3-year-old debut, Swale won the Hutcheson S. by eight, then held off a late challenge to win the Florida Derby. In the Kentucky Derby, Swale’s performance was text book. He settled just off the pace, then pulled away from the field in the stretch to win by 3 1/4 lengths. After a loss in the Preakness S., Swale redeemed himself in the Belmont S.-G1 with a four-length primer on how to win.
Tragedy struck eight days later, when Swale collapsed and died suddenly at his Belmont Park barn after a routine morning gallop. An autopsy revealed small lesions in the heart region which could have produced fatal arrhythmia.
1984 Champion 3-Year-Old Colt
Lifetime race record: 14 starts, 9 wins, 2 seconds, 2 thirds, $1,583,660
Buried at Claiborne.
