Sir Walter
Encyclopedia
Sir Walter was an outstanding American Thoroughbred
racehorse
known for his gritty determination which saw him win a number of races by a matter of inches. He was bred by James Ben Ali Haggin
at his Rancho Del Paso
near Sacramento, California
who had imported his sire, Midlothian, from Great Britain
. His dam was La Scala, a daughter of the important Nevada
/California sire, Joe Hooker.http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/JoeHooker.html
Sir Walter was purchased as a yearling by the Oneck Stable of Harry K. Knapp
and his brother, Dr. Gideon Lee Knapp, who raced him throughout his career. He was trained by Walter Rollins
, about whom the New York Times would write that he "was for thirty years one of the most successful trainers of thoroughbred racers in America." http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0CE5DC1F3EE233A2575AC1A9679C946997D6CF
The decade of the 1890s was a time in American Thoroughbred racing when the Kentucky Derby
had lost much of its earlier importance and was often drawing a field of just three or four horses. Although there were important races in the state of New Maryland
, it was the New York
/New Jersey
circuit which attracted the best horses from across the United States and the Metropolitan
, Brooklyn
and Suburban Handicap
s were among the top events of the racing season. There were also a number of significant stakes and handicaps on the New York racing calendar at what are today long defunct racing venues such as Morris Park Racecourse
, Sheepshead Bay Race Track
and Gravesend Race Track
. In addition to his Brooklyn Handicap
victory, Sir Walter won numerous important races which are now all but forgotten as a result of those track's closure in the early 1900s. His racing career was such that on his retirement in 1898, the New York Times called Sir Walter a "great race horse."
In his first few years of racing, Sir Walter was most often ridden by jockey Samuel Doggett. As a two-year-old, the colt
won five of his eight starts and at age three won nine of twenty outings and notably running third in the 1893 Withers Stakes
and fourth in the 1893 Realization Stakes
. At four, he won thirteen of twenty-two starts and was second in the Manhattan Handicap
. At ages five and six he won just three times but most significantly was ridden to victory by Fred Taral
in the 1896 Brooklyn Handicap
.
Already having beaten Keene Stables'
great Champion, Domino
, on October 29, 1897, a seven-year-old Sir Walter beat the four-year-old Hastings
in a handicap race at Morris Park Racetrack.
At age eight, Sir Walter returned to racing but was retired in early July of 1898. However, before long he returned to the track and won three more races in September and October.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9904E6D7143CE433A25751C1A9669D94699ED7CF His career record stood as follows:
at Hal Price Headley's Beaumont Farm in Lexington, Kentucky
. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F00E3DD1130E333A2575AC2A96F9C94689ED7CF According to Thoroughbred Heritage, he was moderately successful as a stallion. http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/JoeHooker.html
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...
known for his gritty determination which saw him win a number of races by a matter of inches. He was bred by James Ben Ali Haggin
James Ben Ali Haggin
James Ben Ali Haggin was an Turkish Americanattorney, rancher, investor and a major owner/breeder in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing...
at his Rancho Del Paso
Rancho Del Paso
Rancho Del Paso was a Mexican land grant in present day Sacramento County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Eliab Grimes. The grant extended along the north bank of the American River and was bounded roughly by today’s Northgate Boulevard, Manzanita Avenue, and Elkhorn...
near Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
who had imported his sire, Midlothian, from Great Britain
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...
. His dam was La Scala, a daughter of the important Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
/California sire, Joe Hooker.http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/JoeHooker.html
Sir Walter was purchased as a yearling by the Oneck Stable of Harry K. Knapp
Harry K. Knapp
Harry Kearsarge Knapp was a United States financier and a prominent executive in the Thoroughbred horse racing industry....
and his brother, Dr. Gideon Lee Knapp, who raced him throughout his career. He was trained by Walter Rollins
Walter C. Rollins
Walter Childs Rollins was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer about whom the New York Times said "was for thirty years one of the most successful trainers of thoroughbred racers in America."...
, about whom the New York Times would write that he "was for thirty years one of the most successful trainers of thoroughbred racers in America." http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0CE5DC1F3EE233A2575AC1A9679C946997D6CF
The decade of the 1890s was a time in American Thoroughbred racing when 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...
had lost much of its earlier importance and was often drawing a field of just three or four horses. Although there were important races in the state of New Maryland
New Maryland
New Maryland may refer to:* New Maryland, New Brunswick* New Maryland , a riding which elects members to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick...
, it was the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
/New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
circuit which attracted the best horses from across the United States and the Metropolitan
Metropolitan Handicap
The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile," is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the last week of May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile .The Met Mile was first...
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Handicap
The Brooklyn Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to three-year-olds and up willing to race one and one-half miles on dirt....
and Suburban Handicap
Suburban Handicap
The Suburban Handicap is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is run at the classic one-and-one-quarter mile distance on dirt for a $400,000 purse....
s were among the top events of the racing season. There were also a number of significant stakes and handicaps on the New York racing calendar at what are today long defunct racing venues such as Morris Park Racecourse
Morris Park Racecourse
Morris Park Racecourse was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility from 1889 until 1904. It was located in a part of Westchester County, New York that was annexed into the Bronx in 1895 and later became known as Morris Park...
, Sheepshead Bay Race Track
Sheepshead Bay Race Track
Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay, New York...
and Gravesend Race Track
Gravesend Race Track
Gravesend Race Track at Gravesend on Coney Island, New York was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club as a result of the backing of the wealthy racing stable owners, the Dwyer Brothers. Philip J...
. In addition to his Brooklyn Handicap
Brooklyn Handicap
The Brooklyn Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to three-year-olds and up willing to race one and one-half miles on dirt....
victory, Sir Walter won numerous important races which are now all but forgotten as a result of those track's closure in the early 1900s. His racing career was such that on his retirement in 1898, the New York Times called Sir Walter a "great race horse."
In his first few years of racing, Sir Walter was most often ridden by jockey Samuel Doggett. As a two-year-old, the colt
Colt (horse)
A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age....
won five of his eight starts and at age three won nine of twenty outings and notably running third in the 1893 Withers Stakes
Withers Stakes
The Withers Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds willing to compete one mile on the dirt. Held at Aqueduct Racetrack every year at the end of April , it is a Grade III event, and offers a purse of $150,000...
and fourth in the 1893 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:...
. At four, he won thirteen of twenty-two starts and was second in the Manhattan Handicap
Manhattan Handicap
The Manhattan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York...
. At ages five and six he won just three times but most significantly was ridden to victory by Fred Taral
Fred Taral
Fred Taral was an American Hall of Fame jockey.Taral began his career in racing in the 1880s at small racetracks in Oklahoma. By 1889 he was among the 24-member jockey colony at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans and competed in his first Kentucky Derby...
in the 1896 Brooklyn Handicap
Brooklyn Handicap
The Brooklyn Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to three-year-olds and up willing to race one and one-half miles on dirt....
.
Already having beaten Keene Stables'
James R. Keene
James Robert Keene was a Wall Street stock broker and a major thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder.-Biography:He was born in London, England in 1838. He was fourteen years of age when his family emigrated to the United States in 1852...
great Champion, Domino
Domino (horse)
Domino was a 19th-century American thoroughbred race horse.-Background:A dark brown, almost black*, colt, Domino was sired by Himyar out of the mare Mannie Gray.Sam Hildreth writes in his book, "The Spell of the Turf" that he looked black was actually a deep chestnut. Himyar was out of speed...
, on October 29, 1897, a seven-year-old Sir Walter beat the four-year-old Hastings
Hastings (horse)
Hastings was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion. Foaled in Versailles, Kentucky, and bred by Dr. J. D. Nest, he was sired by Spendthrift out of the imported Cinderella by Blue Ruin.Originally, Hastings was bought by David Gideon and John Daly at auction as a yearling for $2,800...
in a handicap race at Morris Park Racetrack.
At age eight, Sir Walter returned to racing but was retired in early July of 1898. However, before long he returned to the track and won three more races in September and October.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9904E6D7143CE433A25751C1A9669D94699ED7CF His career record stood as follows:
| Year | Age | Starts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 1893 | 3 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| 1894 | 4 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 2 |
| 1895 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| 1896 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 1897 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| 1898 | 8 | not found | 3 | nf | nf |
At stud
In 1899, Sir Walter's owner planned to race him again but he fell ill and in September the decision was made to retire him. He was sent to stand at studStud (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...
at Hal Price Headley's Beaumont Farm in 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...
. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F00E3DD1130E333A2575AC2A96F9C94689ED7CF According to Thoroughbred Heritage, he was moderately successful as a stallion. http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/JoeHooker.html