Tabasco Cat
Encyclopedia
Tabasco Cat was an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. He was best known for his performances in 1994 when he won the Preakness Stakes
and the Belmont Stakes
, the second and third legs of the Triple Crown Series.
, who in 2006 became the world's most expensive stallion, Tabasco Cat was out of the mare
Barbicue Sauce. Tabasco Cat's pedigree and racing stats He was bred on a foal share partnership between Overbrook Farm owner William T. Young
and Reynolds Metals
Chairman, David P. Reynolds
. He was trained by D. Wayne Lukas
and ridden by jockey Pat Day
,
in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile
.
In December 1993, Tabasco Cat seriously injured Jeff Lukas who worked for his father as an assistant trainer. In a shedrow accident at Santa Anita Park
, the colt broke loose and when Jeff Lukas tried to stop him, the excited horse slammed into him with such force that it fractured his skull
and left him in a coma
for several weeks. Although he recovered well enough to eventually return to work for a time, he suffered permanent brain damage
.
and the El Camino Real Derby
in March then was beaten by Brocco again when he finished second to the Albert R. Broccoli
colt in the Grade I
Santa Anita Derby
.
Sent to Churchill Downs
for the Kentucky Derby
, Tabasco Cat was sent off at more than 9:1 odds as the bettors
third choice. Owner/trainer Warren A. Croll, Jr.
had the heavy favorite in Holy Bull
, with second choice going to Tabasco Cat's California nemesis, Brocco. At the start of the Kentucky Derby, eventual longshot winner Go for Gin
ducked out, forcing Tabasco Cat into another horse. Although the colt recovered and rider Pat Day
got him to within striking distance of the frontrunners, the incident took too much out of him. He tired in the stretch run and wound up finishing in sixth place. Rival Brocco finished fourth and Holy Bull finished a shocking twelfth.
Tabasco Cat went on to win the next two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series, capturing both the Preakness Stakes
at Pimlico Race Course
and the Belmont Stakes
at Belmont Park
. Go for Gin proved his Derby win was no fluke, finishing second in both races. In the fall of 1994, Tabasco Cat defeated Best Pal
in winning the 1994 Kentucky Cup Classic Handicap
. He finished third behind Holy Bull
and Concern
in the Travers Stakes
and was second to the latter in the Breeders' Cup Classic
.
duty after his 3-year-old season, Tabasco Cat sired several stakes winners at Overbrook Farm. Among his notable offspring was the colt, Snow Ridge, the multiple stakes winning filly
, Habibti, and another filly, Island Sand who earned more than $1.1 million and won several stakes races including the Grade I
Acorn Stakes
.
In the fall of 2000, Tabasco Cat was sold to the Japan Bloodstock Breeders' Association and stood at their Shizunai Stallion Station
until 2004 when he died at age thirteen from a heart attack while in the breeding shed. In all, Tabasco Cat sired twenty-one stakes race winners.
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...
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...
. He was best known for his performances in 1994 when he won the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
and 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...
, the second and third legs of the Triple Crown Series.
Background
A son of Storm CatStorm Cat
Storm Cat was an American Thoroughbred stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in the world. As such, he was one of the few horses with a 24-hour armed guard....
, who in 2006 became the world's most expensive stallion, Tabasco Cat was out of the mare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
Barbicue Sauce. Tabasco Cat's pedigree and racing stats He was bred on a foal share partnership between Overbrook Farm owner William T. Young
William T. Young
William T. Young was an American businessman and major owner of thoroughbred racehorses.William T. Young attended the University of Kentucky where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Young graduated with high distinction in 1939 with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical...
and Reynolds Metals
Reynolds Metals
Reynolds Group Holdings is an American packaging company with its roots in the Reynolds Metals Company, was the second largest aluminum company in the United States, and the third largest in the world...
Chairman, David P. Reynolds
David P. Reynolds
David P. Reynolds was Chairman emeritus of Reynolds Metals Co. and an owner/breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses. He is the son of Richard S. Reynolds, Sr...
. He was trained by D. Wayne Lukas
D. Wayne Lukas
Darrell Wayne Lukas is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S...
and ridden by jockey Pat Day
Pat Day
Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...
,
1993:two-year-old season
Tabasco Cat's most important win as a 2-year-old came in the Fort Springs Stakes at Keeneland Race Course. In his last race of 1993, the colt finished third to winner BroccoBrocco
Brocco is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred at the LaCroix family's Meadowbrook Farms near Ocala, he was purchased and raced by Albert R. Broccoli, the producer of the iconic James Bond films....
in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile
Breeders' Cup Juvenile
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....
.
In December 1993, Tabasco Cat seriously injured Jeff Lukas who worked for his father as an assistant trainer. In a shedrow accident at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
, the colt broke loose and when Jeff Lukas tried to stop him, the excited horse slammed into him with such force that it fractured his skull
Skull fracture
A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the bones in the skull usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive the bone may fracture at or near the site of the impact...
and left him in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
for several weeks. Although he recovered well enough to eventually return to work for a time, he suffered permanent brain damage
Brain damage
"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...
.
1994:three-year-old season
In the spring of 1994, in the run-up to the U.S. Triple Crown series, Tabasco Cat won January's San Rafael StakesSan Rafael Stakes
The San Rafael Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race is a Grade III event with a purse of $150,000 and is open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile on the facility's Cushion Track synthetic dirt race track.Prior to...
and the El Camino Real Derby
El Camino Real Derby
The El Camino Real Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held in February at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California. The race is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eight miles on Tapeta. A Grade III event, it offers a purse of $150,000.Northern California's premier...
in March then was beaten by Brocco again when he finished second to the Albert R. Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
colt in the Grade I
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...
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...
.
Sent to Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
for 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...
, Tabasco Cat was sent off at more than 9:1 odds as the bettors
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
third choice. Owner/trainer Warren A. Croll, Jr.
Warren A. Croll, Jr.
Warren A. "Jimmy" Croll, Jr. was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred race horse trainer.Croll was born in 1920 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. After finishing high school, he attended the University of Pennsylvania with the intention of becoming a veterinarian but left to pursue his passion for...
had the heavy favorite in Holy Bull
Holy Bull
Holy Bull is an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by Great Above, whose dam was the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame filly Ta Wee.-Race History:...
, with second choice going to Tabasco Cat's California nemesis, Brocco. At the start of the Kentucky Derby, eventual longshot winner Go for Gin
Go for Gin
Go for Gin is an American thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the 1994 Kentucky Derby. He was sired by Cormorant out of the dam Never Knock...
ducked out, forcing Tabasco Cat into another horse. Although the colt recovered and rider Pat Day
Pat Day
Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...
got him to within striking distance of the frontrunners, the incident took too much out of him. He tired in the stretch run and wound up finishing in sixth place. Rival Brocco finished fourth and Holy Bull finished a shocking twelfth.
Tabasco Cat went on to win the next two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series, capturing both the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
at Pimlico Race Course
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...
and 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...
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...
. Go for Gin proved his Derby win was no fluke, finishing second in both races. In the fall of 1994, Tabasco Cat defeated Best Pal
Best Pal
Best Pal was an American Hall of Fame champion racehorse, who to this day holds the record for purses of any California-bred racehorse, earning his owners, the Golden Eagle Farm, US$5.6 million over his lifetime.A descendant of Princequillo on both his sire's and dam's line, Best Pal won the first...
in winning the 1994 Kentucky Cup Classic Handicap
Kentucky Cup Classic Handicap
The Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late September as part of Kentucky Cup Day at Turfway Park in the Cincinnati, Ohio suburb of Florence, Kentucky...
. He finished third behind Holy Bull
Holy Bull
Holy Bull is an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by Great Above, whose dam was the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame filly Ta Wee.-Race History:...
and Concern
Concern (horse)
Concern is a multi-millionaire American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by top stallion Broad Brush, who in turn was a son of Ack Ack. His dam was Fara's Team. Concern was best known for his wins in the 1994 Breeders' Cup Classic and the grade two Arkansas Derby. Born at owner Robert...
in 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...
and was second to the latter in the Breeders' Cup Classic
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 year olds and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...
.
Stud career
Retired to 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...
duty after his 3-year-old season, Tabasco Cat sired several stakes winners at Overbrook Farm. Among his notable offspring was the colt, Snow Ridge, the multiple stakes winning filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
, Habibti, and another filly, Island Sand who earned more than $1.1 million and won several stakes races including the Grade I
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...
Acorn Stakes
Acorn Stakes
The Acorn Stakes is an American Grade I race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile with a current purse of $250,000. It is the first leg of the US Triple Tiara and is followed by the Coaching Club American Oaks...
.
In the fall of 2000, Tabasco Cat was sold to the Japan Bloodstock Breeders' Association and stood at their Shizunai Stallion Station
Shizunai Stallion Station
Shizunai Stallion Station is a Japanese Thoroughbred horse farm was opened in 1963 and is located on the island of Hokkaidō. Operated by the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association , it is located in Shizunai whose sister city is Lexington, Kentucky...
until 2004 when he died at age thirteen from a heart attack while in the breeding shed. In all, Tabasco Cat sired twenty-one stakes race winners.