{{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Beau Genius , image = , caption = , sire =

Bold Ruckus In typography, emphasis is the strengthening of words in a text with a font in a different style from the rest of the text, to highlight them. It is the equivalent of prosody stress in speech. Methods and use The most common methods in W ...

, grandsire =

Boldnesian Boldnesian (1963–1975) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Racing career In early 1966 Boldnesian won the Santa Anita Derby. He was scheduled to run in the Kentucky Derby, but his racing career was cut short by an operation aft ...

, dam = Royal Colleen , damsire =

Viceregal A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

, sex =

Stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

, foaled = 1985 , country =

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, colour =

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

, breeder = Sovereign Farm , owner = Joseph Shiewitz & Dr. Brian Davidson , trainer = Gerry Belanger
Gerald S. Bennett (1989) , record = 42: 19-7-4 , earnings = $1,055,600 , race =

Display Stakes The Display Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Contested on a synthetic "all weather" surface over a distance of miles (8.5 furlongs), it is open to two-year-old horses. Raced durin ...

(1987)
Autumn Stakes (1988)
Okeechobee Handicap (1989)
Thistledown Breeders' Cup Sprint Handicap (1989)
Hallandale Handicap (1990)
Deputy Minister Handicap (1990)

Churchill Downs Handicap The Churchill Downs Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for four-year-old and older sprinters run over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt annually in early May at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky as an unde ...

(1990)

Aristides Breeders' Cup Stakes The Aristides Stakes is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older over a distance of six furlongs on the dirt held annually in early June at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. . The race currently offers a purse ...

(1990)

Isaac Murphy Handicap The Isaac Murphy Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late June at Arlington Park racetrack in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The race is run on Polytrack synthetic dirt and is open to fillies and mares, age three and o ...

(1990)

Michigan Mile And One-Eighth Handicap The Michigan Mile And One-Eighth Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the now defunct Detroit Race Course in Livonia, Michigan. A one time Grade II event raced on dirt, it was open to horses age three and older. First r ...

(1990)
Philip H. Iselin Handicap (1990) , awards= , honours = , updated= Beau Genius (foaled May 20, 1985 – July 25, 2014)Prominent Sire Beau Genius Dies at 29
/ref> was a Canadian

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. Thoroughbreds are c ...

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

Bred at Sovereign Farm by owners Joseph Shiewitz and Dr. Brian Davidson, he was sired by

, one of the leading sires in Canada who was a grandson of the extremely important North American Champion sire,

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

. The dam of Beau Genius was Royal Colleen, a daughter of Northern Dancer's son, 1968

Canadian Horse of the Year The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Part of the Sovereign Awards program since 1975, ...

Racing career

Conditioned for racing by Gerry Belanger, at age two Beau Genius began his racing career from a base at

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He won the 1987

, notably defeating third-place finisher

Regal Intention Regal Intention (1985–2008) is a Canadian Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Background A grandson of Northern Dancer, he was out of the mare, Tiffany Tam and sired by the important Vice Regent who also sired his stablemate and arch rival, ...

and was second to Regal Intention in the

Kingarvie Stakes The Kingarvie Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race run annually in late November/early December at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. An Ontario Sire Stakes, it is a restricted race for two-year-old horses. Raced over a distance of mi ...

. As a three-year-old, Beau Genius had his best result with a win in the important

Autumn Handicap Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

then at four, racing for new trainer

Gerald Bennett Gerald 'Jerry' Bennett (born August 15, 1956) was an American politician and businessman who was a member of the Montana House of Representatives for the 1st district from 2009 to 2017. Early life Bennett was born in Fairbanks, Alaska. His g ...

, he won Florida's Okeechobee Handicap and later at

Thistledown Racecourse Jack Thistledown Racino is a thoroughbred race track and casino in North Randall, Ohio, at the outskirts of the city of Cleveland. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Jack Entertainment. History and Information The track came under the ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, the Thistledown Breeders' Cup Sprint Handicap. Competing at age five, Beau Genius had the best year of his racing career, winning on both fast and sloppy track surfaces. He won nine stakes races in 1990, beginning in January when

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. For 29 years he held the world record for total professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Sh ...

rode him to victory in the Hallandale Handicap at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

. The win was the last of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee's illustrious career as a jockey. Among his other 1990 wins, Beau Genius handily defeated

Black Tie Affair Black Tie Affair (April 1, 1986 – July 1, 2010) was a thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by American businessman Stephen D. Peskoff, he was out of the mare Hat Tab Girl and sired by Miswaki, who also sired Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Urban Sea ...

to capture the

Arlington Park Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago regi ...

and beat

Opening Verse Opening Verse (1986–2002) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in England and the United States. Background Bred in Kentucky, his sire was the 1977 Epsom and Irish Derby winner, The Minstrel. Out of the mare Shy Dawn, his damsire was ...

in winning the

and won the Grade I Philip H. Iselin Handicap at

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

for his 6th straight win! Beau Genius made two more starts at age five, 3rd in the

Meadowlands Cup The Monmouth Cup Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old and older run over a distance of miles annually in early July at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event currently offers a purse of $400,000 ...

then 10th in the

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 on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...

then was retired to

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...

having won more than $1 million.

Stud career

Beau Genius was sent to stand at stud at Vinery, Inc. farm in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. There, he notably sired Belle Genius who won the

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

Moyglare Stud Stakes The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled ...

at the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He sired thirty-two stakes race winners and from 1999 he stood at Donald and Karen Cohn's Ballena Vista Farm in

Ramona, California Ramona is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 20,292 at the 2010 census. The name ''Ramona'' also refers to an unincorporated community (with some plans to incorporate) that includes both the ...

. Beau Genius was euthanized on July 25, 2014.

References

Beau Genius' pedigree and partial racing stats

November 2004 California Thoroughbred article on Beau Genius
(

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

)
Beau Genius details at Ballena Vista Farm

Video at YouTube of Beau Genius winning the 1990 Michigan Mile

Video at YouTube of Beau Genius winning the 1990 Churchill Downs Handicap
1985 racehorse births 2014 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ontario Racehorses trained in Canada Thoroughbred family 9-d