Berlo (foaled April 10, 1957 in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

) was an American

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 ...

Champion racehorse.

Background

Berlo was a brown mare bred by William duPont, Jr. at his Walnut Hall Farm near

Boyce, Virginia Boyce is a town in Clarke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 749 at the 2020 census, up from 589 at the 2010 census. Geography Boyce is located in western Clarke County at (39.093118, −78.059190), along U.S. Route 340. ...

. She was out of the mare Faberose, a daughter of duPont's

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for o ...

winner, Rosemont. Her sire was the good British runner Heliopolis, a son of the six-time

Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who r ...

, Hyperion. Berlo was trained by Richard Handlen,

Racing career

In 1960 Berlo won five major races including the

Coaching Club American Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...

, the Beldame Handicap, and on October 12, the grueling mile and a half

Ladies Handicap The Ladies Stakes is a historic American Thoroughbred horse race for Fillies and Mares four years of age and older held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Inaugurated at the Jerome Park Racetrack in 1868, it is the oldest stakes ...

. at New York's

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

. However, the next day her handlers announced she would not race again that year. Berlo's dominating performances earned her 1960

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

honors. Berlo did not return to racing for nearly nine months.New York Times - August 30, 1961
/ref> Unable to be competitive, she did not win a major race in 1961.

Breeding record

As a

broodmare 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 three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

, Berlo met with little success, only Odd Dancer, a son by Native Dancer, was a minor race winner.

References

Berlo's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{reflist 1957 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 5-j Racehorses bred in Virginia Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses Du Pont racehorses