Man O' War (horse) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Man o' War, is considered one of the greatest Thoroughbred racehorses of all time. During his career just after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses.

By the prominent sire Fair Play

Fair Play (horse)

Fair Play was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was successful on the track, but even more so as a sire.His grandsire was Spendthrift, whose grandsire was the English Triple Crown champion West Australian....

, his dam Mahubah

Mahubah

Mahubah was an American bred Thoroughbred racemare that was noted for producing the outstanding racehorse, Man o' War.-Pedigree:She was a bay mare that was foaled in Kentucky and was owned and bred by August Belmont, Jr...

was by the U.K. Triple Crown Champion, Rock Sand. Man o' War was owned and bred by August Belmont, Jr.

August Belmont, Jr.

August Belmont, Jr. was an American financier, the builder of New York's Belmont Park racetrack, and a major owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses.-Early life:...

(1851–1924), whose father's accomplishments were recognized through the naming of the 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...

. Belmont Jr. joined the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

at age 65 to serve in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

during World War I. While he was overseas, his wife named a new foal "Man o' War" in honor of her husband. However, the Belmonts decided to liquidate their racing stable. At the Saratoga

Saratoga, New York

Saratoga is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,141 at the 2000 census. It is also the commonly used, but not official, name for the neighboring and much more populous city, Saratoga Springs. The major village in the town of Saratoga is Schuylerville which is...

yearling sale in 1918, Man o' War was sold at a final bid of $5,000 to Samuel D. Riddle

Samuel D. Riddle

Samuel Doyle Riddle . He was born in Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, a small town southwest of Philadelphia given the family name in honor of his grandfather....

who brought him to his Glen Riddle Farm

Glen Riddle Farm

Glen Riddle Farm was a large horse farm in Berlin, Maryland in the United States. Located on what today is Route 50 between Ocean City and Berlin, it was owned by a wealthy textile businessman Samuel D...

near Berlin, Maryland

Berlin, Maryland

Berlin is a town in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,491 at the 2000 census.-History:The town of Berlin had its start around the 1790s, part of the Burley Plantation, a land grant dating back to 1677...

. The underbidder at the auction was believed to be Robert L Gerry, Sr.

As a two-year old

Trained by Louis Feustel

Louis Feustel

Louis C. Feustel was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer best known as the trainer of the legendary Man o' War.-The August Belmont Years:...

and ridden by 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...

, Man o' War made an impressive racing debut at Belmont Park

Belmont Park

Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...

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. In Man o' War's only loss, the Sanford Memorial Stakes

Sanford Stakes

The Sanford Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the third week of July at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. A six furlong sprint race, the Grade II event is open to two-year-old horses....

, he still was circling with his back to the starting line when the barrier was raised (though some accounts give other reasons). 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) 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 a three-year-old, he carried as much as 138 pounds (62.6 kg) in races, conceding as much as 32 pounds (14.5 kg) to other horses.

As a three-year old

In 1920, Johnny Loftus

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

Clarence Kummer

Clarence Kummer was a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey who won four American Classic Races.In early 1920, Kummer rode the 1919 Triple Crown Champion Sir Barton to a new Saratoga track record in winning the Saratoga Handicap. In May 1920 he was given the opportunity to ride Man o' War after Johnny...

. Loftus retired and became a trainer.

At three, Man o' War was 16 hands 2 inches (167.6 centimeters) high and weighed about 1150 pounds (521.6 kg) with a 72-inch girth.
That May, Man o' War was not entered 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...

because his owner did not like racing in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

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

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...

had won the first-ever U.S. Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...

, though it was not called that at the time. It gained that prestige and importance 10 years later, when Gallant Fox

Gallant Fox

Gallant Fox was a United States Thoroughbred horseracing champion.Foaled at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky by Sir Gallahad III out of the mare Marguerite, Gallant Fox was a bay colt who became the second horse to win the U.S...

accomplished the feat under a great deal of media attention.

In easily winning the 1⅛-mile Preakness Stakes, Man o' War set a new Pimlico

Pimlico Race Course

Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...

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. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E05E6D8173AEE32A2575AC1A9639C946195D6CF The horse was next sent to Elmont, New York

Elmont, New York

Elmont is an unincorporated census-designated place located in the northwest corner of the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City...

for the Belmont Stakes

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

Sir Barton

's record set the previous year by over three seconds. That year he also won the Dwyer Stakes

Dwyer Stakes

The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade II stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over a distance of 1 1/16-miles on dirt...

, the 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...

, the Stuyvesant Handicap

Stuyvesant Handicap

The Stuyvesant Handicap is an American thoroughbred horse race held in the fall of the year at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York. A Grade III event, it is set over nine furlongs on the dirt for three-year-olds and up...

, and the Jockey Club Gold Cup

Jockey Club Gold Cup

The 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...

. 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

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:...

, 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

Windsor, Ontario

Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

, Canada

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...

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

American Flag (horse)

American Flag was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by Samuel D. Riddle, who owned his sire, Man o' War, he was out of the dam Lady Comfey....

and Crusader

Crusader (horse)

Crusader was a chestnut Thoroughbred colt sired by Man o' War from the mare Star Fancy. Bred by Samuel D. Riddle, he was raced by his Glen Riddle Farm and was ridden by Earl Sande and Albert Johnson....

, 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

Kentucky Derby

winner, Clyde Van Dusen

Clyde Van Dusen (horse)

Clyde Van Dusen was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 1929 Kentucky Derby.Although he was a son of the noted Man o' War, Clyde Van Dusen had an unimpressive appearance, being described as "a mere pony of a horse with a weedy frame." Owner/breeder Herbert Gardner, an...

, Battleship

Battleship (horse)

Battleship was an American Thoroughbred Racehorse who was the only horse in history to win both the American Grand National and the English Grand National steeplechase races.-Breeding:...

, who won the 1938 English Grand National

Grand National

The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...

steeplechase, and War Admiral

War Admiral

War Admiral was an American thoroughbred racehorse, the offspring of the great thoroughbred Man o' War and the mare Brushup. He inherited his father's fiery temperament and talent, but did not resemble him physically...

, the 1937 Triple Crown winner and the second official Horse of the Year. Another of his offspring, Hard Tack

Hard Tack (horse)

Hard Tack was an American Thoroughbred racehorse owned and bred by the Wheatley Stable of Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother Ogden L. Mills. Son of the great Man o' War, he showed considerable promise as a racer, but his temper prevented him from achieving success on the track...

, sired Seabiscuit

Seabiscuit

Seabiscuit was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United States. From an inauspicious start, Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression...

, who was Horse of the Year in 1938. Man o' War's most successful sons at stud were War Admiral and War Relic

War Relic

War Relic was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.A homebred of Samuel D. Riddle, his sire was the great Man o' War who was ranked #1 in the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century...

, and War Relic's branch of the male line survives today. Tiznow

Tiznow

Tiznow is an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse owned by Michael L. Cooper and Cee's Stable.-Pedigree:...

, Honour and Glory, and Bertrando

Bertrando

Bertrando is an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. A tall colt, who would grow to 16 hands 2 inches, Bertrando was bred by Ed Nahem, at River Edge Farm in Buellton, California...

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.

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

Kentucky Horse Park

Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 and Interstate 75 in northern Fayette County in the United States...

, where his grave is marked with a statue by American sculptor, Herbert Haseltine

Herbert Haseltine

Herbert Chevalier Haseltine was an Italian-born French/American animalier sculptor, most known as an Equestrian sculptor.-Early life and education:...

Honors

He has been the subject of four notable biographies: the first, Man o' War, by Page Cooper and Roger Treat

Roger Treat

Roger Treat was an American sportswriter and author. He was a vocal critic of segregation policies in both baseball and football, and was cited by his contemporaries as a key figure in the effort to integrate both sports...

, was published in 1950, and is a classic of its kind; Walter Farley

Walter Farley

Walter Farley was an American author, primarily of horse stories for children. Educated at Columbia, where he received a B.A. in 1941, his first and most famous work was The Black Stallion...

, author of The Black Stallion
The Black Stallion
The Black Stallion, known as "the Black" or "Shêtân", is the title character from author Walter Farley's bestselling series about the stallion and his young owner, Alec Ramsay...

series, also wrote a slightly fictional biography of Man o' War; in 2000, Bowen, Edward L.

Edward L. Bowen

Edward L. Bowen is an American Thoroughbred horse racing historian and author and the president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, an institution involved in funding equine research....

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

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...

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.
Through his sire, Man o' War is a descendant of the first English Triple Crown champion, West Australian

West Australian (horse)

West Australian was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing and the Ascot Gold Cup....

, 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

Godolphin Arabian

The Godolphin Arabian , also known as the Godolphin Barb, was an Arabian horse who was one of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock...

Cultural references

In Sterling A. Brown’s poem about Kentucky

Kentucky

and an African American in pre-Civil Rights

Civil rights

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...

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.

External links

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