Sun Briar
Encyclopedia
Sun Briar
Sun Briar (foaled 1915 in France
) 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 Briar, the daughter of St. Frusquin, a multiple top level race winner including the 1896 British Classic, the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, and who was also a Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1903 and the Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland
in 1924.
yearling auction by American
bloodstock agent Delbert Reiff where he was purchased for $6,000 by businessman Willis Sharpe Kilmer
. Trained by future Hall of Fame
inductee, Henry McDaniel, in his Champion two-year-old season the colt won five of his nine starts, including the 1917 Saratoga Special
and Hopeful Stakes.
but by mid summer was in peak form when, under regular rider Willie Knapp
, he set a North America
n record of 1:36 1/5 for one mile on dirt over an oval track while winning the Delaware Handicap
. Less than two weeks later, Knapp and Sun Briar followed up with a win in the prestigious Travers Stakes
in which he set a new stakes record for a mile and a quarter on dirt. In a September 1918 race against the clock at Saratoga, Sun Briar ran a mile in a then astonishing time of 1:34 flat.
and serviced eighteen mares before returning to race training. Remarkably, he won the 1919 Champlain Handicap, breaking a Saratoga Race Course
track record that had stood for fifteen years. His time of 1:50 flat for a mile and a furlong
stood for the next thirty-seven years until 1956 when Dedicate
beat it by just 1/5 of a second.
at Kilmer's Court Manor Stud in New Market, Virginia
. A successful sire, his best known progeny are U. S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee and three-time American Champion Older Male Horse, Sun Beau
, and the 1925 U. S. Champion 2-year-old colt, Pompey
. Among Sun Briar's other successful runners, his son Firethorn won the 1935 and 1937Jockey Club Gold Cup
and the 1936 Suburban Handicap
. Sun Egret was a winner of twenty-four races including the 1938 San Pasqual
and San Vicente Handicaps plus the 1939 and 1940 Harford Handicap.
On his death, Sun Briar was buried at Kilmer's Sun Briar Court in Binghamton, New York
.
Sun Briar (foaled 1915 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...
) was a 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...
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
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...
winner, Sunstar
Sunstar
Sunstar was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2,000 Guineas Stakes and followed with a win in the Epsom Derby and was a successful sire....
. Sun Briar was out of the mare
Mare
Female horses are called mares.Mare is the Latin word for "sea".The word may also refer to:-People:* Ahmed Marzooq, also known as Mare, a footballer and Secretary General of Maldives Olympic Committee* Mare Winningham, American actress and singer...
Sweet Briar, the daughter of St. Frusquin, a multiple top level race winner including the 1896 British Classic, the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, and who was also a Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1903 and the Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland
Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland
The list below shows the leading sire of broodmares in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1899. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won during the year by racehorses which were foaled by a daughter of the sire.-----References:*...
in 1924.
A Champion At Two
Sun Briar was sent from France to the 1916 SaratogaSaratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
yearling auction by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bloodstock agent Delbert Reiff where he was purchased for $6,000 by businessman Willis Sharpe Kilmer
Willis Sharpe Kilmer
Willis Sharpe Kilmer , son of Jonas M. Kilmer and Julia E. Sharpe, was a marketing pioneer, newspaperman, and horse breeder. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from Cornell University in 1890. Kilmer was perhaps best known for advertising and promoting his uncle's Swamp Root patent medicine...
. Trained by future 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, Henry McDaniel, in his Champion two-year-old season the colt won five of his nine starts, including the 1917 Saratoga Special
Saratoga Special Stakes
The Saratoga Special Stakes is an American grade II thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is for two-year-olds willing to race six and a half furlongs on the dirt....
and Hopeful Stakes.
North American Speed Record At Three
Not training well in the spring of 1918, Sun Briar did not run in the Kentucky DerbyKentucky 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 by mid summer was in peak form when, under regular rider Willie Knapp
Willie Knapp
William "Willie" Knapp was an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey.-References:*...
, he set a North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n record of 1:36 1/5 for one mile on dirt over an oval track while winning the Delaware Handicap
Delaware Handicap
The Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade II race is open to filles and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-quarter miles on the dirt....
. Less than two weeks later, Knapp and Sun Briar followed up with a win in the prestigious 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...
in which he set a new stakes record for a mile and a quarter on dirt. In a September 1918 race against the clock at Saratoga, Sun Briar ran a mile in a then astonishing time of 1:34 flat.
At Four: A Track Record That Would Stand For 37 Years
Sun Briar came back to race in 1919 after a layoff in the Spring during which time he stood at studHorse 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...
and serviced eighteen mares before returning to race training. Remarkably, he won the 1919 Champlain Handicap, breaking a Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
track record that had stood for fifteen years. His time of 1:50 flat for a mile and a furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
stood for the next thirty-seven years until 1956 when Dedicate
Dedicate (horse)
Dedicate was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by the renowned Claiborne Farm, he was raced by Mrs. Jan Burke. Hissire was the important Princequillo, a two-time Leading sire in North America and a seven-time Leading broodmare sire in North America.Trained by Mrs. Burke's father,...
beat it by just 1/5 of a second.
A Sire Of Champions
Retired after his 1919 racing campaign, Sun Briar served stud dutyHorse 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 Kilmer's Court Manor Stud in New Market, Virginia
New Market, Virginia
New Market is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It had a population of 2,146 at the 2010 census. New Market is home to the Rebels of the Valley Baseball League, and the New Market Shockers of the Rockingham County Baseball League.-History:...
. A successful sire, his best known progeny are U. S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee and three-time American Champion Older Male Horse, Sun Beau
Sun Beau
Sun Beau was an American Thoroughbred Champion Hall of Fame racehorse. Sired by Sun Briar, his damsire was Fair Play who sired Man o' War. Sun Beau accomplished a great deal in five years of racing despite having eight different trainers....
, and the 1925 U. S. Champion 2-year-old colt, Pompey
Pompey (horse)
Pompey was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by William Coe and raced under the colors of his Shoshone Stable. Pompey was a son of Sun Briar who also sired U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Sun Beau. His dam was Sweet Briar, a French daughter of Leopold de Rothschild's St...
. Among Sun Briar's other successful runners, his son Firethorn won the 1935 and 1937Jockey 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...
and the 1936 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....
. Sun Egret was a winner of twenty-four races including the 1938 San Pasqual
San Pasqual Handicap
The San Pasqual Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the first part of January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...
and San Vicente Handicaps plus the 1939 and 1940 Harford Handicap.
On his death, Sun Briar was buried at Kilmer's Sun Briar Court in Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
.