Troubadour was an American 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...

 Champion 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...

. Bred in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 by A. J. Alexander's Woodburn Stud

Woodburn Stud

Woodburn Stud was an American horse breeding farm located in Woodford County, Kentucky about ten miles from the city of Lexington. It was established in the 18th century as an original land grant property of General Hugh Mercer to whom it had been granted for his military services during the...

, he was sired by Lisbon, a son of the imported British stallion Phaeton who in turn was a son of two-time Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland, King Tom

King Tom

King Tom was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and a Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland.-Pedigree:He was a bay horse foaled in 1851, sired by Harkaway and out of the exceptional mare Pocahontas by Glencoe...

. His dam was Glenluine, a daughter of U.S. Racing 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...

 iductee Lexington

Lexington (horse)

Lexington was a United States Thoroughbred race horse who won six of his seven race starts. Perhaps his greatest fame came however as the most successful sire of the second half of the nineteenth century; he was the Leading sire in North America 16 times, and of his many brood mare and racer...

 who was the Leading sire in North America

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...

 sixteen times and prepotent sire of the second half of the 19th Century.

At two years

Troubadour was sold as a yearling to Daniel Swigert for $400 who raced him at age two but after winning once, Swigert sold him to Col. Milton Young of McGrathiana Stud for $7,500.

On May 17, 1884 Troubadour ran second in the Alexander Stakes at the Louisville Jockey Club

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...

 track http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9803E5D9173FE533A2575BC1A9639C94659FD7CF and a week later finished out of the money in the track's Tennessee Stakes. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B02E3D8173FE533A25757C2A9639C94659FD7CF He won the June 6 Sensation Stakes at Latonia Race Track

Latonia Race Track

Latonia Race Track on Winston Avenue in Latonia Kentucky, six miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio, was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility opened in 1883. The track hosted a spring-summer racing series and a second in late fall. It was once regarded as among the United States' top sites for racing,...

 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00E6DD123DE533A25754C0A9609C94659FD7CF and the Criterion Stakes at the Chicago Driving Park on June 26. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9500E4DB123DE533A25754C2A9609C94659FD7CF On July 1, Troubadour ran third in the Kenwood Stakes at Washington Park Race Track

Washington Park Race Track

Washington Park Race Track was a popular horse racing venue in the Chicago metropolitan area from 1884 until 1977. It had two locations during its existence. It was first situated in what is the current location of the Washington Park Subdivision of the Woodlawn community area of Chicago in Cook...

 in Chicago http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9406E5DE143FE533A25751C0A9619C94659FD7CF and ran second in a race for two-year-olds at the 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...

 on August 22 http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9803E2D71E3BE033A25750C2A96E9C94659FD7CF then won there again five days later. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9802E7DC1338E033A2575BC2A96E9C94659FD7CF Troubadour returned to Kentucky to compete at the Louisville Jockey Club track where he won on September 25 and scored two more wins in October at Latonia Race Track, taking the Kimball Stakes and the Barrett Stakes. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D07EFDE1038E033A25752C1A9669D94659FD7CF

Although inconsistent throughout most of 1884, Troubadour ended the year having won seven of his fourteen starts.

At three years

Troubadour made twenty-one starts at age three. He won five times, including the St. Leger Stakes at St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 by twenty lengths, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F04E1D91739E533A25752C2A9639C94649FD7CF On December 19, 1885, owner Milton Young sold off his entire racing stable at an auction in Lexington, Kentucky and Troubadour was sold to W. L. Cassidy of St. Louis. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F07E4D9123FE533A25753C2A9649D94649FD7CF. He was then soon sold to Samuel S. Brown

Samuel S. Brown

Captain Samuel Smith Brown was an American businessman and a prominent Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder and racetrack owner....

, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 coal mining

Coal mining

The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...

 magnate and the prominent owner/breeder of Senorita Stud Farm near 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...

.

1886

Under his new owner, Troubadour's race conditioning was taken over by future Hall of Fame trainer, John W. Rogers. On June 1, 1886 Troubadour won a race at Latonia then was sent to Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, 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...

 where on June 10 he won the most important race of his career at 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...

, easily defeating a large and strong field in the 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....

. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D07E7DF1438E533A25752C1A9609C94679FD7CF On June 29, in a special mile and a quarter race at Sheepshead Bay, he beat the great Miss Woodford by half a length. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9507E7DB1E38E033A25753C3A9609C94679FD7CF After injuring a leg, Troubadour did not race again that year. In spite of his limited number of races, his dominating performances earned Troubadour retrospective American Champion Older Male Horse honors for 1886. http://www.tbheritage.com/TurfHallmarks/Champs/AmChampOlderMale.html

1887

Racing at age five in 1887, in the June 21 Coney Island Stakes at Sheepshead Bay Race Track, Troubadour finished second to A. J. Cassatt's

Alexander Cassatt

Alexander Johnston Cassatt was the 7th president of the Pennsylvania Railroad , serving from June 9, 1899 to December 28, 1906. Frequently referred to as A. J. Cassatt, the great accomplishment under his stewardship was the planning and construction of tunnels under the Hudson River to finally...

 outstanding runner, The Bard

The Bard (horse)

The Bard was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was the most popular horse of his day and one who raced and beat all the top horses. Bred by Charles Reed, owner of the Fairview Stud Farm in Gallatin, Tennessee, his dam was Bradamante and his sire was the U.S...

. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A0CE3DD1739E233A25751C2A9609C94669FD7CF In their ensuing two meetings at Monmouth Park Racetrack

Monmouth Park Racetrack

Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.Monmouth Park's marquee event...

 in Long Branch, New Jersey

Long Branch, New Jersey

Long Branch is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 30,719.Long Branch was formed on April 11, 1867, as the Long Branch Commission, from portions of Ocean Township...

, Troubadour defeated The Bard in the 1⅛ miles Ocean Stakes on July 4 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D07E2DF1430E633A25756C0A9619C94669FD7CF and then again on July 14 in the 1¾ miles Monmouth Cup. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9407E4DD1430E633A25756C1A9619C94669FD7CF In the Freehold Stakes on August 4, Troubadour suffered a career-ending injury while finishing third to The Bard and runner-up, Barnum.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B05E0D91430E633A25756C0A96E9C94669FD7CF On August 13, Capt. Brown announced the horse was being retired to stud

Stud (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 his Lexington, Kentucky farm. For 1887 Troubador repeated as the retrospective American Champion Older Male Horse.

Stud record

As a stallion, Troubadour notably sired Lookout

Lookout (horse)

Lookout was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that is best known for winning the 1893 Kentucky Derby, with runners up Plutus and Lookout's ill-tempered stablemate, Boundless, struggling for second place....

 (b. 1890), winner of the 1893 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...

. In addition, in 1890 he sired a hombred for Samuel Brown named Daily America who won the 1893 Lawrence 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:...

. Through his daughter, Ethel Pace, Troubadour was the damsire of Leonardo II, winner of the 1921 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...

. http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Glenelg.html

Troubadour died at Senorita Stud Farm at age twenty-four on January 16, 1906.