Ace Admiral
Encyclopedia
Ace Admiral was an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. His sire, Heliopolis
, was the leading sire in North America
in 1950 and again in 1954. His grandsire, Hyperion
, was a six-time leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
. His dam, War Flower, was a daughter of the legendary Man o' War
.
Ace Admiral was born in the same year as the great Calumet Farm
colts Citation
and Coaltown
. In his two-year-old season, Ace Admiral ran third to Citation in the Pimlico Futurity. Citation went on to dominate U.S. racing in 1947 and continued to master the competition in the Spring of 1948 leading up to the U.S. Triple Crown races. As such, like many other owners at the time, Maine Chance Farm
felt it was in their best interest not to enter Ace Admiral in the Triple Crown races. Under trainer Jimmy Smith
and jockey Ted Atkinson
, Ace Admiral won a number of important races that year in New York
, including the Lawrence Realization Stakes
at Aqueduct Racetrack
and the prestigious Travers Stakes
at Saratoga Race Course
.
Sent to compete in California
in 1949, Ace Admiral's training was handled by William Molter
. At Santa Anita Park
the four-year-old horse won the Santa Anita Maturity
and at Hollywood Park Racetrack won the Sunset Handicap
, Argonaut Handicap
, and the Inglewood Handicap
.
Ace Admiral was retired to stud at Spendthrift Farm
in Lexington, Kentucky
where he sired:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. His sire, Heliopolis
Heliopolis (horse)
Heliopolis was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion sire bred and raced by Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby. He was raced from age two to four and then exported during World War II to the Coldstream Stud of E. Dale Shaffer in Lexington, Kentucky and arrived at the port of New York on...
, was the leading sire in North America
Leading sire in North America
The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...
in 1950 and again in 1954. His grandsire, Hyperion
Hyperion (horse)
Hyperion was a British bred Thoroughbred, a dual classic winner and an outstanding sire. Owned by Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, Hyperion won £29,509 during his career - a considerable sum at the time. His victories included the Epsom Derby and St...
, was a six-time leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
The list below shows the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1751. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season.----- References :* -See also:...
. His dam, War Flower, was a daughter of the legendary Man o' War
Man O' War
Man O' War, man o' war or manowar may refer to:* Man-of-war, a warship* Man of war for uses with this spelling - Places :...
.
Ace Admiral was born in the same year as the great Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...
colts Citation
Citation (horse)
Citation was the eighth American Triple Crown winner, and one of three major North American Thoroughbreds to win at least 16 consecutive races in major stakes race competition...
and Coaltown
Coaltown
Coaltown was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse of whom the New York Times said "was probably the most underrated Thoroughbred of the 20th Century."...
. In his two-year-old season, Ace Admiral ran third to Citation in the Pimlico Futurity. Citation went on to dominate U.S. racing in 1947 and continued to master the competition in the Spring of 1948 leading up to the U.S. Triple Crown races. As such, like many other owners at the time, Maine Chance Farm
Maine Chance Farm
Maine Chance Farm was an American Thoroughbred horse racing stable in Lexington, Kentucky owned by cosmetics tycoon, Elizabeth Arden.Elizabeth Arden raced under the nom de course "Mr. Nightingale" until 1943 when she adopted the name Maine Chance Farm from her health spa in Mount Vernon, Maine...
felt it was in their best interest not to enter Ace Admiral in the Triple Crown races. Under trainer Jimmy Smith
James W. Smith
James W. "Jimmy" Smith was an American Thoroughbred horse trainer. He was the son of Tom Smith, trainer of Seabiscuit.James Smith trained for automotive industrialist Charles T. Fisher and won the 1940 Arlington Classic with Fisher's colt, Sirocco. A few years later he trained for the renowned...
and jockey Ted Atkinson
Ted Atkinson
Theodore Francis Atkinson was a Canadian-born American thoroughbred horse racing jockey, inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957....
, Ace Admiral won a number of important races that year in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, including the Lawrence Realization Stakes
Lawrence Realization Stakes
The Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005.-History:...
at Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
and the prestigious Travers Stakes
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...
at Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
.
Sent to compete in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1949, Ace Admiral's training was handled by William Molter
William Molter
William "Willie" Molter was an American Hall of Fame horse trainer in the sport of Thoroughbred racing.A native of Fredericksburg, Texas, Willie Molter began his career in horse racing as a jockey at racetracks across the Texas border in Mexico...
. At Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
the four-year-old horse won the Santa Anita Maturity
Strub Stakes
The Strub Stakes is an American race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California each year.Currently a Grade II stakes race with a purse of $300,000, it is open to horses, age four, willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the synthetic surface of Santa Anita and offers...
and at Hollywood Park Racetrack won the Sunset Handicap
Sunset Handicap
The Sunset Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the third week of July at Hollywood Park Racetrack in inglewood, California. The Grade III event is open to horses, age three and up, willing to race one and one-half miles on turf....
, Argonaut Handicap
Argonaut Handicap
The Argonaut Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run in 1940 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. A one mile race on dirt, it was open to horses age three and older....
, and the Inglewood Handicap
Inglewood Handicap
The Inglewood Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late April at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. First run in 1938, the race is open to horses three years old and up. A Grade III stakes, it is raced on turf at a distance of 11/16 miles...
.
Ace Admiral was retired to stud at Spendthrift Farm
Spendthrift Farm
Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion, Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' ancestor, Daniel Swigert of Elmendorf Farm. Spendthrift was the great-grandfather of Man o' War.- Famous...
in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
where he sired:
- Ace MarineAce MarineAce Marine was a Canadian Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who in 1955 won the three races that four years later were officially designated the Canadian Triple Crown...
(1952 - Mazarine), Canadian Horse Racing Hall of FameCanadian Horse Racing Hall of FameThe Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
, Canadian Horse of the Year (1955), won the three races that four years later, in 1959, formally became the Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred RacingCanadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred RacingThe Canadian Triple Crown is a series of three Thoroughbred horse races run annually in Canada which is open to three-year-old horses foaled in Canada... - Inside Tract (1954 - Mary Terry), won Jockey Club Gold CupJockey Club Gold CupThe Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the...
, 3rd Preakness StakesPreakness StakesThe Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
, 2nd Belmont StakesBelmont StakesThe Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds... - Frosty Admiral (1961 - Tickly Bender), Puerto Rico Horse of the Year and Puerto Rico Horse Racing Hall of Fame