Canadian Champ
Encyclopedia
Canadian Champ was a Canadian
Thoroughbred
Hall of Fame
racehorse
who in 1956 won the three races that would become the Canadian Triple Crown Championship
in 1959. Sired by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Windfields
, he was out of the mare
Bolesteo.
Trained by John Passero, during his racing career Canadian Champ set three track records at Woodbine Racetrack
, and equalled another there as well as at Gulfstream Park
in Florida
. In his two-year-old season, Canadian Champ won 1955's Coronation Futurity Stakes
and the Cup and Saucer Stakes
, the two most important races for his age group in Canada. Sent south to Saratoga Race Course
, he ran second in the United States Hotel Stakes
to Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney's
colt Career Boy
. The following year he won Canada's most prestigious race, the Queen's Plate
, as well as the Prince of Wales Stakes
and the Breeders' Stakes
, which constituted the Triple Crown series created three years later. His 1956 performances earned Canadian Champ Canadian Horse of the Year honors, and he retired as the richest Thoroughbred in Canadian racing history.
Racing in 1957 at age four, Canadian Champ's best results were a win in the Swynford Stakes
at Woodbine Racetrack and three stakes race seconds.
Windfields Farm
in Oshawa, Ontario
between 1959 and 1968, Canadian Champ notably sired the 1963 Canadian Triple Crown winner Canebora
and the 1966 Queen's Plate winner Titled Hero
Canadian Champ was ridden by jockey Eugene Rodriguez.
In 1969 Canadian Champ was sent to a breeding operation in Japan
, where he died in 1978 at the age of twenty-five.
In 2007, Canadian Champ was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
. Canadian Champ was ridden by jockey Eugene Rodriguez
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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...
Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The 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....
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...
who in 1956 won the three races that would become the Canadian Triple Crown Championship
Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The 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...
in 1959. Sired by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Windfields
Windfields
Windfields was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first stakes race winner bred by E. P. Taylor and for whom he would name his world famous Windfields Farm....
, he was out of the mare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
Bolesteo.
Trained by John Passero, during his racing career Canadian Champ set three track records at Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...
, and equalled another there as well as at Gulfstream Park
Gulfstream Park
Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans December through April, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America....
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. In his two-year-old season, Canadian Champ won 1955's Coronation Futurity Stakes
Coronation Futurity Stakes
The Coronation Futurity Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old horses foaled in Canada. It is run annually in early November at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario at a distance of 1 1/8 miles on dirt...
and the Cup and Saucer Stakes
Cup and Saucer Stakes
The Cup and Saucer Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Open to two-year-old horses foaled in Canada, it is currently run at a distance of 11/16 miles on turf. The race was known as Mrs...
, the two most important races for his age group in Canada. Sent south to 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...
, he ran second in the United States Hotel Stakes
United States Hotel Stakes
The United States Hotel Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in the late summer or early autumn until 1955 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It was run on dirt over a distance of six furlongs...
to Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney's
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney was an American businessman, film producer, writer, and government official, as well as the owner of a leading stable of thoroughbred racehorses....
colt Career Boy
Career Boy
Career Boy was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred and raced by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, a member of the prominent horse-racing Whitney family...
. The following year he won Canada's most prestigious race, the Queen's Plate
Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
, as well as the Prince of Wales Stakes
Prince of Wales Stakes
The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, Ontario. Restricted to three-year-old horses bred in Canada, it is contested on dirt over a distance of a mile and three sixteenths . In 1959, the Prince of Wales Stakes became the...
and the Breeders' Stakes
Breeders' Stakes
The Breeders' Stakes is a Canadian stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses first run in 1889. Since 1959 it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds...
, which constituted the Triple Crown series created three years later. His 1956 performances earned Canadian Champ Canadian Horse of the Year honors, and he retired as the richest Thoroughbred in Canadian racing history.
Racing in 1957 at age four, Canadian Champ's best results were a win in the Swynford Stakes
Swynford Stakes
Swynford Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late September at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. One of the track's top races for North American two-year-olds, it is raced on dirt over a distance of seven furlongs....
at Woodbine Racetrack and three stakes race seconds.
As a sire
Standing at E. P. Taylor'sE. P. Taylor
Edward Plunket Taylor was a Canadian business tycoon and famous breeder of thoroughbred race horses. Known to his friends as "Eddie", he is universally recorded as "E. P...
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm is a six square kilometre thoroughbred horse breeding farm founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated with a property near the city of Toronto known as Parkwood Stable when it was owned by...
in Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
between 1959 and 1968, Canadian Champ notably sired the 1963 Canadian Triple Crown winner Canebora
Canebora
Canebora is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Canadian Triple Crown in 1963 and was voted the Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year....
and the 1966 Queen's Plate winner Titled Hero
Titled Hero
Titled Hero was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by renowned Canadian horseman, E. P. Taylor, his sire Canadian Champ and his grandsire Windfields were both Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees. Out of the mare Countess Angela, his damsire was Bull Page, the 1951 Canadian Horse of...
Canadian Champ was ridden by jockey Eugene Rodriguez.
In 1969 Canadian Champ was sent to a breeding operation in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where he died in 1978 at the age of twenty-five.
In 2007, Canadian Champ was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The 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 Champ was ridden by jockey Eugene Rodriguez