Capote (horse)
Encyclopedia
Capote was an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. Bred by Franklin Groves' North Ridge Farm near Lexington, Kentucky
, Capote was out of the mare
Too Bald, a daughter of the 1960 American Champion Older Male Horse, Bald Eagle
. He was sired by the 1977 U.S. Triple Crown champion, Seattle Slew
. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas
acquired Capote for $800,000 at the 1985 Keeneland July yearling sale
for the partnership of Barry A. Beal, Lloyd R. French, Jr. and the prominent horseman, Eugene V. Klein
.
At age two in 1986, Capote made four starts, winning three times. He won the Grade I Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita Park
then on the same track, he went up against an exceptionally strong field in the most important race for his age group, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile
. Capote's opponents in the Juvenile included Gulch
, winner of that year's Grade I Belmont Futurity and Hopeful Stakes, and Polish Navy who had won the Grade I Champagne and Cowdin Stakes
. As well, the field included the future American Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer
, Alysheba
, plus the colt Bet Twice
who would go on to win the 1987 Belmont Stakes
. Ridden by Laffit Pincay, Jr.
, Capote took the lead early in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and held it throughout to score an impressive 1¼ length win.
Capote's performances in 1986 earned him U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt honors and he went into the 1987 racing season as the winterbook favorite for the 1987 Kentucky Derby
. However, the colt's three-year-old campaign was not a success. Out of six starts, Capote finished sixteenth in a seventeen horse field in the Kentucky Derby and for the entire year, his best finish was a third
duty, from 1989 through to the end of 1991, Capote stood at the famed Calumet Farm
who had purchased a fifty percent interest in the horse. The bankruptcy of Calumet would result in Morven Stud of Charlottesville, Virginia
eventually acquiring the fifty percent share as an equal partner with Capote's original owners. His owners then moved him to Three Chimneys Farm
in Midway, Kentucky
.
Before being pensioned in November 2003 as a result of neurological problems, Capote was the sire of 21 graded stakes winners among 62 stakes winners. His progeny included Grade I winners Capote Belle, Matty G., Agincourt, as well as:
Capote died at age twenty-three on August 24, 2007 and is buried at Three Chimneys Farm.
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...
. Bred by Franklin Groves' North Ridge Farm near 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...
, Capote 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...
Too Bald, a daughter of the 1960 American Champion Older Male Horse, Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle (horse)
Bald Eagle was an American-bred Thoroughbred Eclipse Award-winning racehorse who competed successfully in both the United Kingdom and the United States. He won the Washington, D.C. International Stakes twice, in 1959 and 1960.-Pedigree:...
. He was sired by the 1977 U.S. Triple Crown champion, Seattle Slew
Seattle Slew
Seattle Slew was an American Thoroughbred race horse who won the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1977, the tenth of eleven horses to accomplish the feat. He remains the only horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated. In the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S...
. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas
D. Wayne Lukas
Darrell Wayne Lukas is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S...
acquired Capote for $800,000 at the 1985 Keeneland July yearling sale
Keeneland Sales
The Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene...
for the partnership of Barry A. Beal, Lloyd R. French, Jr. and the prominent horseman, Eugene V. Klein
Eugene V. Klein
Eugene Victor Klein was an American businessman who was Chairman of the Board of Directors and chief stockholder of National General Corp., an insurance and entertainment company based in Los Angeles, California...
.
At age two in 1986, Capote made four starts, winning three times. He won the Grade I Norfolk Stakes 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...
then on the same track, he went up against an exceptionally strong field in the most important race for his age group, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile
Breeders' Cup Juvenile
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....
. Capote's opponents in the Juvenile included Gulch
Gulch (horse)
Gulch was an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. Owned and bred by Peter M. Brant, he was sired by the outstanding North American stud and graded stakes race winner Mr...
, winner of that year's Grade I Belmont Futurity and Hopeful Stakes, and Polish Navy who had won the Grade I Champagne and Cowdin Stakes
Cowdin Stakes
The Cowdin Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack and at Belmont Park. First run in 1923 as the Junior Champion Stakes, it was renamed the Cowdin Stakes in 1941 to honor to John Cheever Cowdin, former president of Aqueduct Racetrack.The race was for...
. As well, the field included the future American Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
, Alysheba
Alysheba
Alysheba was an American Thoroughbred race horse who won two legs of the Triple Crown in 1987. A successful sire, he produced 11 stakes winners....
, plus the colt Bet Twice
Bet Twice
Bet Twice was a multi-millionaire American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. Foaled in Kentucky, he was sired by Sportin' Life, who in turn was the son of the great stallion and British Triple Crown champion Nijinsky, out of the mare Golden Dust. He was bred by William S. Farish III and E. J...
who would go on to win the 1987 Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The 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...
. Ridden by Laffit Pincay, Jr.
Laffit Pincay, Jr.
Laffit Alejandro Pincay, Jr. is a flat racing's all-time winningest jockey. He competed primarily in the United States.-Career:...
, Capote took the lead early in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and held it throughout to score an impressive 1¼ length win.
Capote's performances in 1986 earned him U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt honors and he went into the 1987 racing season as the winterbook favorite for the 1987 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. However, the colt's three-year-old campaign was not a success. Out of six starts, Capote finished sixteenth in a seventeen horse field in the Kentucky Derby and for the entire year, his best finish was a third
As a sire
Retired to studHorse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
duty, from 1989 through to the end of 1991, Capote stood at the famed 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...
who had purchased a fifty percent interest in the horse. The bankruptcy of Calumet would result in Morven Stud of Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
eventually acquiring the fifty percent share as an equal partner with Capote's original owners. His owners then moved him to Three Chimneys Farm
Three Chimneys Farm
Three Chimneys Farm is an American thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Midway, Kentucky established in 1972 by Mr. & Mrs. Robert N. Clay. Widely known as one of the world's preeminent horse farms, Three Chimneys has been home to a number of famous horses including U.S. Triple Crown champion...
in Midway, Kentucky
Midway, Kentucky
Midway is a city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 1,620 at the 2000 census. It is located midway between Frankfort and Lexington along the single-track railroad between them. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is home to a...
.
Before being pensioned in November 2003 as a result of neurological problems, Capote was the sire of 21 graded stakes winners among 62 stakes winners. His progeny included Grade I winners Capote Belle, Matty G., Agincourt, as well as:
- Basim - won the 1992 Anglesey StakesAnglesey StakesThe Anglesey Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs and 63 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July....
and was voted Ireland'sIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
2-year-old Champion; - Boston HarborBoston Harbor (horse)Boston Harbor is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by William T. Young's Overbrook Farm near Lexington, Boston Harbor was a son of Capote who won the 1996 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was voted that year's U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt.Trained by D...
- in 1996 he duplicated Capote's success, winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and earning U.S. Champion 2-year-old honors; - Surfing Home - multiple Grade I winner, 1995 Horse of the Year in South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Capote died at age twenty-three on August 24, 2007 and is buried at Three Chimneys Farm.