Irish Lad (1900–1925) 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 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 ...

and a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

holder.

Background

Irish Lad was bred by

H. Eugene Leigh Hiram Eugene Leigh (1860 – December 10, 1937) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer/owner and breeder who had a highly successful career in the United States as well as in Europe. Born in Taylorville, Illinois, he was known by his m ...

. In the fall of 1901 Leigh sold the yearling to

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pla ...

for $2,550. Madden conditioned him for racing and brought him to the track in the spring of 1902.

Racing career

Irish Lad showed enough potential that

Herman Duryea Herman Barkulo Duryea (1862-1916) was an American Thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder. Herman Duryea built an estate in Old Westbury on Long Island, New York known as "Knole". Completed in 1903, it was designed by Carrere and Hastings. In 19 ...

and

Harry Whitney Harry Whitney (December 1, 1873 – May 20, 1936) was an American sportsman, adventurer, and author. He traveled to northern Greenland with Robert Peary in 1908, staying over the winter with the Inughuit at Etah and Annoatok. In the spring ...

paid $17,500 for him. Racing under the partners ''

nom de course NOM may refer to: * National Organization for Marriage * Natural organic matter * New Order Mormons * Nickelodeon Original Movies * ''Nintendo Official Magazine'', official British Nintendo magazine; now discontinued, superseded by '' Official ...

'', Westbury Stable, and still trained by John Madden, Irish Lad won important races such as the

Great Trial Stakes The Great Trial Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York from 1891 through 1910 and for 1913 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt, it was run at a ...

Sheepshead Bay Race Track Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New Yo ...

and the Saratoga Special Stakes. His 1902 performances earned him retrospective American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors. As a three-year-old, Irish Lad's training was taken over by John W. Rogers. His biggest win of 1903 came on May 28 in the

Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Invitational Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year-ol ...

at Gravesend Race Track in which he set a new stakes record time. Irish Lad set a new track record at Saratoga Race Course in winning the Saratoga Champion Stakes in a time of 2:05 flat for a mile and one-quarter. In May 1904, four-year-old Irish Lad won the prestigious Metropolitan Handicap at Morris Park Racecourse then on June 26 at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track he set a world record of 2:17.60 for a mile and three eighths on dirt in winning the

Advance Stakes The Advance Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1899 through 1910 at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Brooklyn, New York. An important race open to horses age three and older, it was raced on dirt. The final running t ...

over what the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described as five of the best horses in the United States. Irish Lad came out of the July 9 Brighton Handicap badly lame and was retired but in May 1905 it was announced that he was back in training. In June 1905 Irish Lad finished ninth in an all-age handicap at Gravesend Race Track and shortly thereafter was retired to stud.

Stud record

Irish Lad had sired only a few horses while at stud in the United States when the

Legislature of New York The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official te ...

passed the Hart–Agnew anti-betting law that resulted in the complete shutdown of racing. As a consequence, Irish Lad, along with other horses owned by Duryea such as Frizette, were sent to his newly acquired

Haras du Gazon Haras may refer to: * Al-Haras or the Haras, a bodyguard unit in service of caliphs during the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates * Haras Fyre Haras Fyre (born January 5, 1953), also known professionally as Patrick Grant, is an American singer, ...

stud farm in

Neuvy-au-Houlme Neuvy-au-Houlme () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. Neuvy-au-Houlme is the site of the historic Thoroughbred horse breeding farm, Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard, and the standardbred farm, Haras du Ribardon. See also * ...

in Lower Normandy, France. There, he also met with limited success but did notably sire Banshee, winner of the 1913

Poule d'Essai des Pouliches The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at ...

(French 1000 Guineas) and Pellsie who won the 1919 Prix de Diane (French Oaks). Irish Lad died Haras du Gazon in 1925 of old age.''New York Times'' - June 7, 1925
/ref>

References

Irish Lad's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{reflist 1900 racehorse births 1925 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses Horse racing track record setters Thoroughbred family A22