Cudgel was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 two-time Champion 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...

.

Owned by J. K. L. Ross

J. K. L. Ross

John Kenneth Leveson Ross CBE was a Canadian businessman, sportsman, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, and philanthropist. He is best remembered for winning the first United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1919 with his Hall of Fame colt, Sir Barton.- Early life :J.K.L...

 and trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

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...

 inductee H. Guy Bedwell

H. Guy Bedwell

Harvey Guy Bedwell was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and owner who was the first trainer to win the U.S. Triple Crown.Born in Roseburg, Oregon he was known by his middle name...

, Cudgel is probably best remembered for his win in the 1919 Havre de Grace Handicap

Havre de Grace Handicap

The Havre de Grace Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. The inaugural race was run in the first year the track opened in 1912. It was open to horses three years old and upward and raced at a distance of 1 1/8...

 in which he defeated two future Hall of Fame inductees, Exterminator

Exterminator (horse)

Exterminator was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby, and in 1922 won Horse of the Year honors....

 and Sir Barton

Sir Barton

Sir Barton, , was a chestnut thoroughbred colt who in 1919 became the first winner of the American Triple Crown.He was sired by leading stud Star Shoot out of the Hanover mare Lady Sterling. His grandsire was the 1893 English Triple Crown champion, Isinglass.Sir Barton was bred in Kentucky by...

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Cudgel raced at age three in 1917. He finished eleventh in the 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...

 but showed some of his developing abilities when he finished second in the Latonia Derby

Latonia Derby

The Latonia Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1883 through 1937 at Latonia Race Track in Latonia, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, for its first 52 years the Latonia Derby was contested at a mile and a half; in 1935, the race was shortened to a mile and a...

. Frequently ridden by Earl Sande

Earl Sande

Earl H. Sande was an American Hall of Fame jockey and thoroughbred horse trainer.Born in Groton, South Dakota, Earl Sande started out as a bronco buster in the early 1900s but then became a successful American quarter horse rider before switching to thoroughbred horse racing in 1918...

 as well as Johnny Loftus

Johnny Loftus

John P. Loftus was an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Johnny Loftus was the first jockey to win the United States United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. During his career, between 1909 and 1919, he won 580 races out of the 2,449 he...

, at age four Cudgel was the dominant older horse of 1918. The next year, despite a long layoff between May and August as a result of an injury, he came back to share Champion Older Horse honors with Sun Briar

Sun Briar

Sun Briar was a Thoroughbred racehorse voted the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1917 and the American Champion Older Male Horse of 1919. He was a son of Sundridge, the 1911 Champion sire in Great Britain who also sired Epsom Derby winner, Sunstar. Sun Briar was out of the mare Sweet...

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After retiring from racing, Cudgel stood at stud

Stud (animal)

A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...

 Ross's Yarrow Brae Stud near Laurel, Maryland

Laurel, Maryland

Laurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County, Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Incorporated in 1870, the city maintains a historic district including its Main Street...

. A successful sire, among his best, daughter Fluvanna

Fluvanna (horse)

Fluvanna was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Bred by Samuel Ross, she was purchased at the Saratoga yearling sales in the summer of 1922 by Admiral Cary Grayson who raced her under his Salubria Stable colors. Out of the mare High Pass, her sire was the two-time American Champion Older...

 was the 1923 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and his son, Froth Blower, won the 1931 King'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...

, Canada's most prestigious race.

Cudgel died in October 1941 at age twenty-seven.http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30714FD385F1A7A93C6AB178BD95F458485F9