Assagai (1963–1986) was an American Thoroughbred

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

Background

Assagai was a bay horse bred in Kentucky, he was

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

d by Warfare and out of the mare, Primary. Purchased by the international business tycoon Charles W. Engelhard, Jr., he was trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, MacKenzie Miller.

Racing career

At age three, Assagai was the top turf horse in the U.S. whose wins in 1966 in the

United Nations Handicap The United Nations Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older run over a distance of one and three-eighth miles on the turf held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event ...

at Atlantic City Race Course and Man o' War Stakes at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack locate ...

resulted in him being voted the

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse The American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. The award originated in 1953 when the ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) named Iceberg II their champion. The Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA) added the ca ...

. Sent back to the track at age four, Assagai's most important win of 1967 came in the Long Island Handicap. He also finished second to Poker in the 1967 Bowling Green Handicap but ahead of the future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame Champion,

Buckpasser Buckpasser (1963–1978) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1966 Horse of the Year. His other achievements include 1965 Champion Two-Year-Old, 1966 Champion Three-Year-Old, 1966 Champion Handicap Horse, and 1967 Champi ...

Stud record

Retired to stud duty, Assagai met with some success. His son Big Whippendeal won the G1

Century Handicap The Century Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1901 through 1909 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Brooklyn, New York. A Weight for Age race open to horses age three and older, it was contested on dirt over a dista ...

at Hollywood Park and another of his colts, Almost Grown, won the Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap at Hawthorne Race Course near Chicago. In 1986, at Clear Creek Stud in Folsom, Louisiana, the twenty-three-year-old Assagai was humanely

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditio ...

due to laminitis.

References

{{reflist
Assagai's pedigree and partial racing stats
1963 racehorse births 1986 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 3-n