- Man o' War
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This article is about the horse named Man o' War. For other uses, see Man O' War.
Man o' War 
Man o' War, 1920Sire Fair Play Grandsire Hastings Dam Mahubah Damsire Rock Sand Sex Stallion Foaled 1917 Country United States Colour Chestnut Breeder August Belmont, Jr. Owner Samuel D. Riddle Trainer Louis Feustel Record 21: 20–1–0 Earnings $249,465 Major wins Tremont Stakes (1919)
Grand Union Hotel Stakes (1919)
United States Hotel Stakes (1919)
Hopeful Stakes (1919)
Futurity Stakes (1919)
Youthful Stakes (1919)
Preakness Stakes (1920)
Belmont Stakes (1920)
Travers Stakes (1920)
Jockey Club Gold Cup (1920)
Lawrence Realization Stakes (1920)
Stuyvesant Handicap (1920)
Miller Stakes (1920)
Withers Stakes (1920)
Potomac Handicap (1920)
Dwyer Stakes (1920)Awards United States Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt (1919)
United States Horse of the Year (1920)
Leading sire in North America (1926)Honours U.S. Racing Hall of Fame (1957)
#1 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century[1]
Life-size statue at Kentucky Horse Park
Man o' War Stakes at Belmont Park
Man o' War Boulevard in Lexington, Kentucky
Man o' War Road in Riddlewood, PennsylvaniaHorse (Equus ferus caballus) Last updated on August 23, 2007 Man o' War, (March 29, 1917 Nursery Stud farm, Lexington, Kentucky – November 1, 1947, Faraway Farm) is considered one of the greatest Thoroughbred racehorses of all time.[2] During his career just after World War I, he won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses.[3]
By the prominent sire Fair Play, his dam Mahubah was by the U.K. Triple Crown Champion, Rock Sand. 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 he was overseas, his wife named a new foal "Man o' War" in honor of her husband.[4] However, the Belmonts decided to liquidate their racing stable. At the Saratoga yearling sale in 1918, Man o' War was sold at a final bid of $5,000 to Samuel D. Riddle who brought him to his Glen Riddle Farm near Berlin, Maryland. The underbidder at the auction was believed to be Robert L Gerry, Sr.[5]
Contents
Racing career
As a two-year old
Trained by Louis Feustel and ridden by 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. Horses circled around and then lined up behind a piece of webbing known as the barrier and were sent away when it was raised.[6] In Man o' War's only loss, the Sanford Memorial Stakes, he still was circling with his back to the starting line when the barrier was raised (though some accounts give other reasons).[7] After Man o' War turned around, he already was far behind the starters. Johnny Loftus, the jockey, put Man o' War in bad positions, getting boxed in by other horses. Despite this, he came close to winning, losing by only a half-length as Man o' War charged across the finish line, going much faster than any other horse on the track, and ultimately finishing second. The winner was Upset, whose name is sometimes erroneously thought to have popularized a new phrase in sports ("upset" meaning an upstart beating the favorite)[8] Man o' War finished his two-year-old campaign with nine wins from ten starts.
Weight carrying
As a two-year-old, he carried 130 pounds (59 kg) in six races; few horses ever carried that much (at any age) as he did at that age. As a three-year-old, he carried as much as 138 pounds (63 kg) in races, conceding as much as 32 pounds (15 kg) to other horses.
As a three-year old
In 1920, Johnny Loftus was denied a renewal of his jockey's license by The Jockey Club and was replaced as Man o' War's rider by Clarence Kummer. Loftus retired and became a trainer.
At three, Man o' War was a strapping 16 hands 2 inches (167.6 centimeters) high and weighed about 1,150 pounds (520 kg) with a 72-inch girth.[9] That May, 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 called that at the time.[10] It gained that prestige and importance 10 years later, when Gallant Fox accomplished the feat under a great deal of media attention.
Man o' War in the 1920 Stuyvesant Handicap
In easily winning the 1⅛-mile Preakness Stakes, Man o' War set a new Pimlico track record of 1:38-3/5 for a mile then was eased up for the final eighth of a mile to finish in a time of 1:51-3/5. [1] The horse was next sent to Elmont, New York for the Belmont Stakes. Man o' War won the then-1⅜-mile race by 20 lengths, setting another American record with a time of 2:14.20, beating Sir Barton's record set the previous year by over three seconds. That year he 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 against the seemingly invincible Man o' War, who had easily won every race he entered. In the Lawrence Realization Stakes, no other horse was willing to go up against him until a racehorse named Hoodwink was good-heartedly entered by Mrs. Riddle's niece, Sarah Jeffords. Man o' War won by more than 100 lengths while setting a new world record of 2:40-4/5 for a mile and five-eighths, besting the previous record by six seconds, a track record that still stands.
The final start of Man o' War's 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 1¼-mile match race, Man o' War was running up against the Sir Barton but easily drew away in the first furlong, showing a decided superiority to the first Triple Crown winner, and was slowed to win by seven lengths. Over his two-year career, Man o' War won 20 of 21 races, setting three world records, two American records and three track records.
(*The Kenilworth Park Gold Cup was in actuality a "match race" between Sir Barton and Man o' War. Another champion horse, Exterminator, was invited to compete in the race, since Canada did not allow match races. Due to the owners of the three not coming to a compromise on the conditions of the race, Exterminator was scratched, and in fact raced that same day on a different track.)
Stud record
Following his undefeated season of 11 straight wins, Man o' War traveled to Lexington, Kentucky, to enter at stud at Elizabeth Daingerfield's Haylands and later moved to Riddle's Faraway Farm. Man o' War was an impressive sire that produced more than 64 stakes winners and various champions. Though many believe that Riddle did not breed the stallion to enough good mares after the first five seasons, he still sired many great horses. Man o' War sired American Flag and Crusader, who won successive Belmont Stakes in 1925 and 1926. Although there were no official champions in America at the time, both colts were generally considered the best three-year-old colts of their year, and Crusader was also largely accepted as the best racehorse of 1926. Among Man o' War's other famous offspring were 1929 Kentucky derby winner, Clyde Van Dusen, Battleship, who won the 1938 English Grand National steeplechase, and War Admiral, the 1937 Triple Crown winner and the second official Horse of the Year. Another of his offspring, Hard Tack, sired Seabiscuit, who was Horse of the Year in 1938. Man o' War's most successful sons at stud were War Admiral and War Relic, and War Relic's branch of the male line survives today. Tiznow, Honour and Glory, and Bertrando are also all sire-line descendants of Man o' War. According to Kent Hollingsworth, 37 per cent of stakes winners in 1966 were descendants of Man o' War. Despite not covering more than 25 mares in a season Man o' War sired 379 named foals during 22 seasons at stud. His daughters kept Man o' War listed in the 10 leading broodmare sires list for 22 years.[11]
Man o' War died in 1 November 1947 at age 30 of an apparent heart attack only a very short time after his longtime groom, Will Harbut, died. He 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.
Honors
He has been the subject of four 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 slightly fictional biography of Man o' War; in 2000, Bowen, Edward L. wrote an eloquent and thoroughly researched biography called Man o' War: Thoroughbred Legends from Eclipse Press; and 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 Stakes was made 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.
Pedigree of Man o' War Sire
Fair Play
ch. 1905Hastings
br. 1893Spendthrift
ch. 1876Australian
ch. 1858Aerolite
ch. 1861Cinderella
b. 1888Tomahawk
br. 1863Manna
b. 1874Fairy Gold
ch. 1896Bend Or
ch. 1877Doncaster
ch. 1870Rouge Rose
ch. 1865Dame Masham
br. 1889Galliard
br. 1880Pauline
b. 1883Dam
Mahubah
b. 1910Rock Sand (GB)
br. 1900Sainfoin
ch. 1887Springfield
1873Sanda
ch. 1878Roquebrune
br. 1893St.Simon
br. 1881St. Marguerite
ch. 1879Merry Token
b. 1891Merry Hampton
b. 1884Hampton
b. 1872Doll Tearsheet
1877Mizpah
b. 1880Macgregor
b. 1867Underhand Mare (FNo.4-c)
1863Through his sire, Man o' War is a descendant of the first English Triple Crown champion, West Australian, and Man o' War's dam, Mahubah, is a daughter of English Triple Crown winner Rock Sand. This male line traces to the Godolphin Arabian.
Cultural references
In Sterling A. Brown’s poem about Kentucky and an African American in pre-Civil Rights America, “Kentucky Blues” from “Southern Road,” a reference is made to Man o’ War. The poem discusses thoroughbred horses and other characteristics attributed to the state.
According to Joey DeMaio, the heavy metal band Manowar was named after the horse.[12]
See also
- War Admiral
- Seabiscuit
- Tiznow
- List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses
Notes
- ^ Thoroughbred Champions: Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century
- ^ Ours 2006, p. 283.
- ^ Ours 2006, p. 277.
- ^ Ours 2006, pp. 18, 286.
- ^ http://www.eclipsepress.com/mediaroom/pdf/SireLines_ex.pdf
- ^ Ours 2006, p. 40.
- ^ Ours 2006, p. 102.
- ^ Hillenbrand, Laura. "Seabiscuit"
- ^ Edward L. Bowen (2000), Man o' War: Thoroughbred Legends, Eclipse Press, USA, page 83, ISBN 978-1581500400: states "he filled out to 1,150...height reached 16.2 hands".
- ^ Ours & 2006 Ours, p. 58.
- ^ Montgomery, E.S, "The Thoroughbred", Arco, New York, 1973 ISBN 0-668-02824-6
- ^ Michael Custodis, chapter: Manowar und das Erbe Richard Wagners, in: Klassische Musik heute. Eine Spurensuche in der Rockmusik, Bielefeld transcript-Verlag 2009 ISBN 978-3-8376-1249-3.
References
- Bowen, Edward L. (2000), Man o' War: Thoroughbred Legends, Lexington, KY: Eclipse Press, ISBN 1581500408.
- Cooper, Page & Treat, Roger L. (2004) [1950], Man o' War (Reprinted ed.), Yardley: Westholme Publishing, ISBN 1594160058.
- Hewitt, A. S. & Hewitt, A. S. (1982), The Great Breeders and Their Methods, Lexington, KY: Thoroughbred Publishers.
- Ours, Dorothy (2006), Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning, New York: St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0312340990.
External links
- Man o' War's pedigree and racing stats
- Man o' War came close to perfection
- Man o' War - Racing Icon
- Detailed race record for Man o' War at www.secondrunning.com
- August 24, 1919 New York Times article on Man o' War's win in the Grand Union Hotel Stakes
- Man o' War came close to perfection
- Thoroughbred Heritage: Man o' War
- Man O' War, Racehorse at Find a Grave
1873 Survivor • 1874 Culpepper • 1875 Tom Ochiltree • 1876 Shirley • 1877 Cloverbrook • 1878 Duke of Magenta • 1879 Harold • 1880 Grenada • 1881 Saunterer • 1882 Vanguard • 1883 Jacobus • 1884 Knight of Ellerslie • 1885 Tecumseh • 1886 The Bard • 1887 Dunboyne • 1888 Refund • 1889 Buddhist • 1890 Montague • 1894 Assignee • 1895 Belmar • 1896 Margrave • 1897 Paul Kauvar • 1898 Sly Fox • 1899 Half Time • 1900 Hindus • 1901 The Parader • 1902 Old England • 1903 Flocarline • 1904 Bryn Mawr • 1905 Cairngorn • 1906 Whimsical • 1907 Don Enrique • 1908 Royal Tourist • 1909 Effendi • 1910 Layminster • 1911 Watervale • 1912 Colonel Holloway • 1913 Buskin • 1914 Holiday • 1915 Rhine Maiden • 1916 Damrosch • 1917 Kalitan • 1918 War Cloud • 1918 Jack Hare Jr. • 1919 Sir Barton • 1920 Man o' War • 1921 Broomspun • 1922 Pillory • 1923 Vigil • 1924 Nellie Morse • 1925 Coventry • 1926 Display • 1927 Bostonian • 1928 Victorian • 1929 Dr. Freeland • 1930 Gallant Fox • 1931 Mate • 1932 Burgoo King • 1933 Head Play • 1934 High Quest • 1935 Omaha • 1936 Bold Venture • 1937 War Admiral • 1938 Dauber • 1939 Challedon • 1940 Bimelech • 1941 Whirlaway • 1942 Alsab • 1943 Count Fleet • 1944 Pensive • 1945 Polynesian • 1946 Assault • 1947 Faultless • 1948 Citation • 1949 Capot • 1950 Hill Prince • 1951 Bold • 1952 Blue Man • 1953 Native Dancer • 1954 Hasty Road • 1955 Nashua • 1956 Fabius • 1957 Bold Ruler • 1958 Tim Tam • 1959 Royal Orbit • 1960 Bally Ache • 1961 Carry Back • 1962 Greek Money • 1963 Candy Spots • 1964 Northern Dancer • 1965 Tom Rolfe • 1966 Kauai King • 1967 Damascus • 1968 Forward Pass • 1969 Majestic Prince • 1970 Personality • 1971 Canonero II • 1972 Bee Bee Bee • 1973 Secretariat • 1974 Little Current • 1975 Master Derby • 1976 Elocutionist • 1977 Seattle Slew • 1978 Affirmed • 1979 Spectacular Bid • 1980 Codex • 1981 Pleasant Colony • 1982 Aloma's Ruler • 1983 Deputed Testimony • 1984 Gate Dancer • 1985 Tank's Prospect • 1986 Snow Chief • 1987 Alysheba • 1988 Risen Star • 1989 Sunday Silence • 1990 Summer Squall • 1991 Hansel • 1992 Pine Bluff • 1993 Prairie Bayou • 1994 Tabasco Cat • 1995 Timber Country • 1996 Louis Quatorze • 1997 Silver Charm • 1998 Real Quiet • 1999 Charismatic • 2000 Red Bullet • 2001 Point Given • 2002 War Emblem • 2003 Funny Cide • 2004 Smarty Jones • 2005 Afleet Alex • 2006 Bernardini • 2007 Curlin • 2008 Big Brown • 2009 Rachel Alexandra • 2010 Lookin At Lucky • 2011 Shackleford
1867 Ruthless ♥ • 1868 General Duke • 1869 Fenian • 1870 Kingfisher • 1871 Harry Bassett • 1872 Joe Daniels • 1873 Springbok • 1874 Saxon • 1875 Calvin • 1876 Algerine • 1877 Cloverbrook • 1878 Duke Of Magenta • 1879 Spendthrift • 1880 Grenada • 1881 Saunterer • 1882 Forester • 1883 George Kinney • 1884 Panique • 1885 Tyrant • 1886 Inspector B • 1887 Hanover • 1888 Sir Dixon • 1889 Eric • 1890 Burlington • 1891 Foxford • 1892 Patron • 1893 Commanche • 1894 Henry of Navarre • 1895 Belmar • 1896 Hastings • 1897 Scottish Chieftain • 1898 Bowling Brook • 1899 Jean Bereaud • 1900 Ildrim • 1901 Commando • 1902 Masterman • 1903 Africander • 1904 Delhi • 1905 Tanya ♥ • 1906 Burgomaster • 1907 Peter Pan • 1908 Colin • 1909 Joe Madden • 1910 Sweep • 1913 Prince Eugene • 1914 Luke McLuke • 1915 The Finn • 1916 Friar Rock • 1917 Hourless • 1918 Johren • 1919 Sir Barton ₩ • 1920 Man o' War • 1921 Grey Lag • 1922 Pillory • 1923 Zev • 1924 Mad Play • 1925 American Flag • 1926 Crusader • 1927 Chance Shot • 1928 Vito • 1929 Blue Larkspur • 1930 Gallant Fox ₩ • 1931 Twenty Grand • 1932 Faireno • 1933 Hurryoff • 1934 Peace Chance • 1935 Omaha ₩ • 1936 Granville • 1937 War Admiral ₩ • 1938 Pasteurized • 1939 Johnstown • 1940 Bimelech • 1941 Whirlaway ₩ • 1942 Shut Out • 1943 Count Fleet ₩ • 1944 Bounding Home • 1945 Pavot • 1946 Assault ₩ • 1947 Phalanx • 1948 Citation ₩ • 1949 Capot • 1950 Middleground • 1951 Counterpoint • 1952 One Count • 1953 Native Dancer • 1954 High Gun • 1955 Nashua • 1956 Needles • 1957 Gallant Man • 1958 Cavan • 1959 Sword Dancer • 1960 Celtic Ash • 1961 Sherluck • 1962 Jaipur • 1963 Chateaugay • 1964 Quadrangle • 1965 Hail To All • 1966 Amberoid • 1967 Damascus • 1968 Stage Door Johnny • 1969 Arts and Letters • 1970 High Echelon • 1971 Pass Catcher • 1972 Riva Ridge • 1973 Secretariat ₩ • 1974 Little Current • 1975 Avatar • 1976 Bold Forbes • 1977 Seattle Slew ₩ • 1978 Affirmed ₩ • 1979 Coastal • 1980 Temperence Hill • 1981 Summing • 1982 Conquistador Cielo • 1983 Caveat • 1984 Swale • 1985 Creme Fraiche • 1986 Danzig Connection • 1987 Bet Twice • 1988 Risen Star • 1989 Easy Goer • 1990 Go And Go • 1991 Hansel • 1992 A.P. Indy • 1993 Colonial Affair • 1994 Tabasco Cat • 1995 Thunder Gulch • 1996 Editor's Note • 1997 Touch Gold • 1998 Victory Gallop • 1999 Lemon Drop Kid • 2000 Commendable • 2001 Point Given • 2002 Sarava • 2003 Empire Maker • 2004 Birdstone • 2005 Afleet Alex • 2006 Jazil • 2007 Rags to Riches ♥ • 2008 Da' Tara • 2009 Summer Bird • 2010 Drosselmeyer • 2011 Ruler on Ice
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