Flares (foaled 1933 in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
) was an American-bred, British-trained
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 ...
owned, bred, and raced by the preeminent horseman in the United States,
William Woodward, Sr.
William Woodward Sr. (April 7, 1876 – September 25, 1953) was an American banker and major owner and breeder in thoroughbred horse racing.
__TOC__
Early life
Woodward was born in New York City on April 7, 1876. He was a son of Sarah Abagail ( ...
Flares was out of the
racemare
Glossary of North American horse racing:
Additional glossaries at:
*Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting
*Glossary of equestrian terms
This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon ...
Flambino, winner of the 1927
Gazelle Stakes
The Gazelle Stakes (formerly Gazelle Handicap until 2004) is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, New York. It is a Grade III event run over a distance of miles on dirt that is open to three-year- ...
. His sire was the great
Gallant Fox
Gallant Fox (March 23, 1927 – November 13, 1954) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the second winner of the American Triple Crown.
In a racing career which lasted from 1929 to 1930, Gallant Fox won 11 of his 17 races includ ...
, the 1930
U.S. Triple Crown winner and a
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee.
Flares was a full brother to Woodward's 1935 U.S. Triple Crown champion,
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
. Determined to win England's most prestigious
weight-for-age
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022
Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race.
History
The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rous ...
race, the
Ascot Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...
, in 1936 Woodward sent the then four-year-old Omaha to compete in England, where he ran second in the Ascot Gold Cup.
When Flares was a yearling in 1934, Woodward shipped him to trainer
Cecil Boyd-Rochfort
Sir Cecil Charles Boyd-Rochfort KCVO (188718 March 1983) was an Irish thoroughbred racehorse trainer who was British flat racing Champion Trainer five times.
Background
Cecil was the son of Rochfort Hamilton Boyd-Rochfort and the grandson of ...
at his base in
Newmarket, England. Racing at age three, in mid-May 1936 Flares won the
Newmarket Stakes
The Newmarket Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) on t ...
. In 1937, he had an outstanding year as a four-year-old. At
Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...
, he won the mile and a half
Princess of Wales's Stakes
The Princess of Wales's Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlo ...
, the
Champion Stakes
The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...
at a mile and a quarter, and the
Lowther Stakes
The Lowther Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at York over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ...
at a mile and three quarters.
In 1938, Flares was entered in the Ascot Gold Cup and was sent off by bettors as a 100 to 7 longshot. However, he became the first American horse since
Foxhall in 1882 to win the prestigious two and a half mile race and gave William Woodward his first-ever victory in the event.
Stud record
Immediately after his Gold Cup win, Flares was brought back to stand at
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 ...
in the United States. The October 14, 1938, issue of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' reported he would stand for a fee of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1,000
Flares sired a number of race winners, including:
*
Chop Chop (horse), Chop Chop (b. 1940) - won
Empire City Handicap
The Empire City Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race inaugurated on October 22, 1900, as part of the opening day racecard at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. Sometimes referred in newspaper reports as the Empire City Stakes ...
. Leading sire in Canada five times.
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.
The H ...
inductee.
*
Skytracer (b. 1941) - winner of the 1944
Blue Grass Stakes
The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run ...
,
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 ...
runner
*
Epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...
(b. 1949) - in 1952, he won Canada's most prestigious race, the
Queen's Plate
The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...
Pedigree
References
{{reflist
Flares' pedigree and partial racing stats
1933 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in Maryland
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 17-b