Star Pilot (horse)
Encyclopedia
Star Pilot was an American
thoroughbred
stallion
race horse. Sired by Joseph Widener's
English
stakes
winner Sickle
, he was out of the mare Floradora, whose French sire, Bull Dog
, was one of the leading sires of stakes winners in the 1950s.
He was sold as a yearling to Elizabeth Arden
of Maine Chance Farm
for $26,000 and became the favorite, along with the filly Beaugay, of the two-year-olds in the stable.
Second in the Champagne Stakes and Grand Union Hotel Stakes
, Star Pilot won the Pimlico Futurity, Hopeful Stakes, Belmont Futurity, and Ardsley Handicap, rounding out the year as the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt.
The following year, however, Star Pilot lost to stablemate, Knockdown, in his first race of the season and then placed an unfortunate second again to Knockdown in the Santa Anita Derby
due to his rider having no whip. He didn't race again until he was five, when he ran unsuccessfully in three starts and was retired.
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...
stallion
Stallion
A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...
race horse. Sired by Joseph Widener's
Joseph E. Widener
Joseph Early Widener was a wealthy American art collector who was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C...
English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
stakes
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
winner Sickle
Sickle (horse)
Sickle was an English Thoroughbred racehorse who was later exported to the US where he was twice the Leading sire in North America...
, he was out of the mare Floradora, whose French sire, Bull Dog
Bull Dog (horse)
Bull Dog was an French Thoroughbred racehorse who became a North American Champion sire and Champion broodmare sire.Owned and bred by American Jefferson Davis Cohn at his Haras du Bois-Roussel in Alençon in France's Lower Normandy region, Bull Dog was sired by Teddy who had been the Leading sire...
, was one of the leading sires of stakes winners in the 1950s.
He was sold as a yearling to Elizabeth Arden
Elizabeth Arden
Florence Nightingale Graham , who went by the business name Elizabeth Arden, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who built a cosmetics empire in the United States. At the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.-Biography:Arden was born in 1884 at Woodbridge, Ontario,...
of Maine Chance Farm
Maine Chance Farm
Maine Chance Farm was an American Thoroughbred horse racing stable in Lexington, Kentucky owned by cosmetics tycoon, Elizabeth Arden.Elizabeth Arden raced under the nom de course "Mr. Nightingale" until 1943 when she adopted the name Maine Chance Farm from her health spa in Mount Vernon, Maine...
for $26,000 and became the favorite, along with the filly Beaugay, of the two-year-olds in the stable.
Second in the Champagne Stakes and Grand Union Hotel Stakes
Grand Union Hotel Stakes
The Grand Union Hotel Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. A sprint race, it was open to two-year-old horses and run on dirt over a distance of six furlongs....
, Star Pilot won the Pimlico Futurity, Hopeful Stakes, Belmont Futurity, and Ardsley Handicap, rounding out the year as the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt.
The following year, however, Star Pilot lost to stablemate, Knockdown, in his first race of the season and then placed an unfortunate second again to Knockdown in the Santa Anita Derby
Santa Anita Derby
The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...
due to his rider having no whip. He didn't race again until he was five, when he ran unsuccessfully in three starts and was retired.