Equipoise (1928–1938) was an American
Thoroughbred racehorse and
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 ...
. In a career which lasted from 1930 until 1935, he ran fifty-one times and won twenty-nine races. A leading two-year-old in 1930, he missed most of the next season, including two of the three
American Triple Crown races through injury and illness. "Ekky"
returned to the track in 1934 and proved to be a dominant champion, winning numerous important stakes races in the next three years. Equipoise died in 1938 after a short but promising stud career.
Background
Equipoise was a
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 ...
bred in the
United States by
Harry Payne Whitney and owned by his son,
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney. He was called the "Chocolate Soldier" by his fans, due to his elegance and symmetry.
His sire, Pennant, won the
Belmont Futurity Stakes for
Harry Payne Whitney in 1913. Equipoise's dam, Swinging, was a descendant of
The Oaks winner Miami, placing him in the same
Thoroughbred family as the 1897
English Triple Crown
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...
winner
Galtee More and the 1902
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...
winner
Ard Patrick
Ard Patrick (1899–1923) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. One of the leading two-year-olds of 1901, he improved in 1902 to win The Derby, defeating the filly Sceptre. He returned from Injury problems to ...
as well as some well-known American runners, such as
Intentionally and
Seabiscuit.
As a
yearling, Equipoise was an unimpressive individual. C. V. Whitney thought so little of the ugly duckling that he sent him to his second-string trainer,
Fred Hopkins.
Racing career
1930–1931: early career
As a two-year-old, Equipoise ran sixteen times, claiming his first stakes victory when he won the Keene Memorial Stakes at
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 ...
. In September, he ran in the
Belmont Futurity the most valuable two-year-old race of the season in which he was beaten a nose by Jamestown. Although Jamestown's victory was regarded by some as having decided the identity of the best two-year-old, he did not race again in 1930, while Equipoise went on to further success. On November 5, he beat
Twenty Grand
Twenty Grand (1928–1948) was an American thoroughbred race horse. Owned and bred by Helen Hay Whitney's Greentree Stable, Twenty Grand was a bay colt by St. Germans out of Bonus.
Racing career
Trained at age three by James G. Rowe, Jr. ...
by half a length with
Mate
Mate may refer to:
Science
* Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in:
** Mate choice, intersexual selection
** Mating
* Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins
Person or title
* Friendship ...
a neck away in third in the
Pimlico Futurity. After starting slowly, he settled the race in the straight with what the ''New York Times'' described as "a brilliant burst of speed" to reverse two earlier defeats by Twenty Grand. When his jockey,
Sonny Workman, was asked if this was his greatest race, Workman replied: "My greatest race? Hell, it may have been the greatest race anybody ever saw."
Although there were no formal awards for Thoroughbred racing in 1930, press opinion was that Equipoise's win at Pimlico entitled him to "a share of the 2 year old championship honors"
Equipoise started 1931 as the favorite for the
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
and won on his reappearance at
Havre de Grace, Maryland
Havre de Grace (), abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which ...
. At the same track on April 26, he finished last of the six runners in the Chesapeake Stakes, after which he was reported to be suffering from a kidney ailment described as "
azoturia
Equine exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER) is a syndrome that affects the skeletal muscles within a horse. This syndrome causes the muscle to break down which is generally associated with exercise and diet regime. Depending on the severity, there are va ...
" or "blackwater". Later reports ascribed his defeat to problems with his "shelly" feet.
In the
Preakness Stakes, which was the first of the Triple Crown races in 1931, he finished fourth behind Mate. A week later, he was withdrawn from the Derby on the day of the race and did not race again that year.
1932–1935: later career
As a four-year-old in 1932, Equipoise won ten of his fourteen starts. On May 21, he won the
Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park from Sun Meadow, with Mate third. Equipoise, who started 3/5 favorite, won by two and a half lengths despite being eased down by Workman near the finish and was received with "thunderous applause". On May 31 at
Arlington Park, Chicago, Equipoise set a world record of 1:34.4 for a mile when winning the Delavan Purse. In the
Stars and Stripes Handicap
The Stars and Stripes Stakes was a Grade III horse race in the United States for Thoroughbreds aged three years and up. It was last raced over a distance of 12 furlongs (1½ miles) on the turf at Arlington Park near Chicago as a lead up race to th ...
at the same course four days later, he "outclassed" his opponents. On August 13, Equipoise led all the way to win the
Whitney Stakes by three lengths from the three-year-old Gusto. According to the New York Times report, the win confirmed his status as the best horse in the handicap division.
At five, Equipoise won seven more races. On June 3, he gave 26 pounds to the runner-up, Okapi, in again winning the Metropolitan, living up to his reputation as the "king of the handicap horses". Four days later, he ran in the
Suburban Handicap
The Suburban Stakes 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 now run at the mile distance on dirt for a $700,000 purse.
Named after the City and Su ...
carrying 132 pounds over a mile and a quarter. He won by two lengths from Osculator, with Apprentice five lengths back in third. In August, he faced the highly regarded
Gallant Sir
Gallant Sir (foaled 1929) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred by renowned horseman Arthur B. Hancock at his Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. He was sired by the outstanding American Champion sire, Sir Gallahad III. His dam, Sun Spot, ...
in the
Hawthorne Gold Cup and won a "thrilling" race by two lengths to record his sixth successive win. His other wins included April's
Philadelphia Handicap at
Havre de Grace Racetrack
The Havre de Grace Racetrack was an American horse racing track on Post Road in Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland. Nicknamed "The Graw," it operated from August 24, 1912, to 1950. For a time, it was owned by the Harford Agricultural and B ...
which he won again in 1934. In September he won the
Saratoga Cup in which he raced beyond a mile and a quarter for the first time and won from Gusto and Keep Out.
As a six-year-old, Equipoise was kept in training with the aim of beating
Sun Beau's earnings record. In the spring, he won the Philadelphia Handicap at Havre de Grace and the Dixie Handicap at Pimlico before being rested till autumn. On November 6, he overcame a wet and muddy Belmont track (described as a "sea of slop") to beat
Faireno in the Whitney Gold Trophy. At the start of 1935, the seven-year-old Equipoise was sent to
California for the inaugural running of the world's richest race, the
Santa Anita Handicap, which was to be his final race. He showed some promise in defeat in two prep races and started favorite despite top weight of 130 pounds against what was described as "the greatest field of horses ever assembled".
Equipoise's challenge ended in disappointment: according to Sonny Workman, he "simply wouldn't run" as he finished seventh to the Irish-bred
Steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:
* Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles
* Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...
specialist Azucar. Whitney later revealed that Equipoise had suffered a recurrence of the tendon injury which had kept him off the track in the previous summer. He was retired to stud with earnings of $338,610, the second highest in racing history up to that time.
Assessment
His career was greatly restricted by hoof problems, but he was still regarded by contemporary observers as the outstanding American horse of his era. Although there were no formal awards at this time, he was regarded as
United States Horse of the Year in both 1932 and 1933 and as
the best older horse in 1932, 1933, and 1934.
In the
Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the
top 100 thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, which ranked only horses that ran in North America, Equipoise was ranked #21. In their book ''A Century of Champions'', the British writers Tony Morris and John Randall placed Equipoise at #163 in their global ranking of 20th Century Thoroughbreds.
Equipoise was also inducted into the
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. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...
in
Saratoga Springs,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, in 1957.
Stud record
Equipoise stood as a stallion for only four seasons before his death on August 4, 1938, at the age of ten.
Four years later, the success of his progeny, notably the
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
and
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...
winner
Shut Out, saw him become America's
Champion sire.
References in popular culture
In "
Fugue for Tinhorns
"Fugue for Tinhorns" is a song written and composed by Frank Loesser and first performed by Stubby Kaye, Johnny Silver, and Douglas Deane in 1950. The song was featured in the Broadway musical ''Guys and Dolls''.
Development
Twelve years before ...
," the opening number of the musical ''
Guys and Dolls'', Equipoise is referred to as the great-grandfather of one of the song's fictional racehorses.
Equipoise is also one of the racing mice in the movie ''
Stalag 17''.
Pedigree
References
{{reflist, 2
1928 racehorse births
1938 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in Kentucky
Racehorses trained in the United States
American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year
United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees
United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires
Whitney racehorses
Thoroughbred family 5-j
Chefs-de-Race