Noor (horse)
Encyclopedia
Noor was an Irish-bred
Thoroughbred
racehorse
Champion
who competed successfully in the United Kingdom
and the United States
. Given the Arabic
name meaning "Light", Noor was sired
by five-time U.S. leading sire
Nasrullah. His damsire, Bahram
, won the English Triple Crown
in 1935
.
Noor raced at ages two to four in England, meeting with modest success, including a third place finish in Britain's
most prestigious race, the Epsom Derby
. During the 1949 racing season, he won only one minor race, and his owner sold him to the American Charles S. Howard, famous as the owner of 1938 U.S. Horse of the Year
, Seabiscuit
. Howards' trainer, Burley Parke, brought Noor to Howard's Ridgewood Ranch
in Willits, California
, where patience and training transformed the temperamental thoroughbreds' style of racing to American standards. Noor made the transition from running on resilient English turf
courses to the hard dirt surfaces in the U.S and by 1950
, he was the dominant older horse in America, setting three world records and three track records while scoring victories over U.S. Triple Crown
champion Citation
in four out of their five encounters.
Famous for his come-from-behind stretch drives, in 1950 Noor finished the season with a record of 7-4-1 from his 12 starts. In his three years racing in England, he had earned less than $40,000 in total but in the U.S. in 1950 alone he earned $346,940. Noor twice defeated Assault
, making him the first horse to ever defeat two U.S. Triple Crown champions. In capturing the Hollywood Gold Cup
, he also beat 1950 U.S. Horse of the Year Hill Prince
as well as 1949 Kentucky Derby
winner Ponder. Noor's performance in 1950 earned him U.S. Champion Handicap Male Horse
honors.
At the end of the 1950 racing season, the five-year-old horse was retired to stand at stud
at Ridgewood Ranch but after the property was sold by the estate of Charles Howard, Noor was moved to son Lindsay Howard's Binglin Stable
in Moorpark, California
.
Noor was moved again at the age of 19 to Frank Knoop's Loma Rica Ranch in Grass Valley, California
. Noor died on November 16, 1974 at the age of 29.
In 2002, Noor was inducted into the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
.
A mixed-use business park and residential development is planned for the former Loma Rica Ranch. In March 2010, Noor's grave was located and an effort was mounted to ensure that his remains were not disturbed. In August 2011, Noor's remains were exhumed for reburial in Kentucky.
Noor's remains were reinterred Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at Old Friends Equine in Georgetown, KY. Charlotte Farmer, the woman who led the effort to bring Noor's remains from California to Kentucky, attended.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
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...
Champion
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
who competed successfully in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Given the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
name meaning "Light", Noor was sired
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
by five-time U.S. leading sire
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...
Nasrullah. His damsire, Bahram
Bahram (horse)
Bahram was an Irish-bred English-trained racehorse who was undefeated in his racing career winning the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, St. Leger Stakes and Epsom Derby which earned him the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.-Breeding:...
, won the English Triple Crown
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...
in 1935
1935 in sports
-American football:* Detroit Lions defeat 26–7 New York Giants for the NFL championship* SMU Mustangs national college football champions* First Heisman Trophy presented to Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago...
.
Noor raced at ages two to four in England, meeting with modest success, including a third place finish in Britain's
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
most prestigious race, the Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
. During the 1949 racing season, he won only one minor race, and his owner sold him to the American Charles S. Howard, famous as the owner of 1938 U.S. Horse of the Year
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....
, 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...
. Howards' trainer, Burley Parke, brought Noor to Howard's Ridgewood Ranch
Ridgewood Ranch
Ridgewood Ranch is a large ranch situated south of Willits, California in rural Mendocino County. It is probably best known for being the final resting place of legendary racehorse Seabiscuit.-History:...
in Willits, California
Willits, California
Willits is a city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Willits is located north-northwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of 1391 feet . The population was 4,888 at the 2010 census, down from 5,073 at the 2000 census. Willits is at the center of Mendocino County and its redwood forests...
, where patience and training transformed the temperamental thoroughbreds' style of racing to American standards. Noor made the transition from running on resilient English turf
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
courses to the hard dirt surfaces in the U.S and by 1950
1950 in sports
-American football:* NFL Championship – Cleveland Browns win 30–28 over the Los Angeles Rams* Oklahoma Sooners – college football champions.* Coaches Poll established to rank top 20 American college football teams-Association football:...
, he was the dominant older horse in America, setting three world records and three track records while scoring victories over U.S. Triple Crown
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...
champion 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...
in four out of their five encounters.
Famous for his come-from-behind stretch drives, in 1950 Noor finished the season with a record of 7-4-1 from his 12 starts. In his three years racing in England, he had earned less than $40,000 in total but in the U.S. in 1950 alone he earned $346,940. Noor twice defeated Assault
Assault (horse)
Assault was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won the U.S. Triple Crown in 1946.-Early life:...
, making him the first horse to ever defeat two U.S. Triple Crown champions. In capturing the Hollywood Gold Cup
Hollywood Gold Cup
The Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...
, he also beat 1950 U.S. Horse of the Year Hill Prince
Hill Prince
Hill Prince was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who earned Champion honors in his first three years of racing. Trained by Casey Hayes for owner Christopher Chenery, at age two Hill Prince won six of the first seven races he entered and was the American Co-Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, sharing the...
as well as 1949 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...
winner Ponder. Noor's performance in 1950 earned him U.S. Champion Handicap Male Horse
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse
The title of American Champion Older Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up. Prior to 1971, this award was referred to as "Champion Handicap Male Horse", and was open to any horse, three years old and up...
honors.
At the end of the 1950 racing season, the five-year-old horse was retired to stand at stud
Horse 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...
at Ridgewood Ranch but after the property was sold by the estate of Charles Howard, Noor was moved to son Lindsay Howard's Binglin Stable
Binglin Stable
Binglin Stable in Moorpark, Ventura County, California was a stock farm established during the latter part of the 1930s to race and breed Thoroughbred horses. The stable was owned by entertainer Bing Crosby and close friend, Lindsay Howard...
in Moorpark, California
Moorpark, California
Moorpark is a city in Southern California. It was founded in 1900 by Robert Poindexter, presumably named after the moorpark apricots that grew in the area. The city has experienced a great amount of growth since the late 1970s...
.
Noor was moved again at the age of 19 to Frank Knoop's Loma Rica Ranch in Grass Valley, California
Grass Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Grass Valley had a population of 12,860. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Grass Valley was 11,493 White, 46 African American, 208 Native American, 188 Asian, 9 Pacific Islander, 419 from other...
. Noor died on November 16, 1974 at the age of 29.
In 2002, Noor was inducted into the United States' 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...
.
A mixed-use business park and residential development is planned for the former Loma Rica Ranch. In March 2010, Noor's grave was located and an effort was mounted to ensure that his remains were not disturbed. In August 2011, Noor's remains were exhumed for reburial in Kentucky.
Noor's remains were reinterred Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at Old Friends Equine in Georgetown, KY. Charlotte Farmer, the woman who led the effort to bring Noor's remains from California to Kentucky, attended.