John F Kennedy (7 February 2012 - 27 January 2022) was an Irish-bred

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 and a

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 ...

stood in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. He was beaten as an odds on favourite on his debut but won his next two races, the latter being the Juvenile Turf Stakes that turned out to be the last win in his racing career. At the end of 2014 he had been one of the antepost favourites for the

2015 Epsom Derby {, class="collapsible collapsed" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="clear:right; float:right; text-align:center; font-weight:bold;" width="280px" ! colspan="3" style="border:1px solid black; background-color: #77DD77;" , Also Ran The ...

, though he did not run in it after all.

Background

John F Kennedy's sire was leading sire

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

and his dam was a dual group 1 winning filly

Rumplestiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a ...

. He was a full brother of

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

, the winner of the 2014

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 fu ...

. He was bred from the highly successful Galileo Danehill cross which has produced horses including Frankel, Roderic O'Connor and Teofilo. He was named after the

35th Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

John F Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

Racing career

2014: two-year-old season

John F Kennedy's career began in a

Maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

over a Mile at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

. He began odds on favourite but was beaten 2 and a half lengths by the Jim Bolger trained Hall of Fame under a ride by Joseph O'Brien. He won his next start at The Curragh by 4 and a half lengths. Despite an entry in the Racing Post Trophy his final start of 2014 came back at Leopardstown in the Juvenile Turf Stakes which he won beating stablemate East India.

2015: three-year-old season

In the early part of 2015, John F Kennedy maintained his position as antepost favourite for the Derby before making his seasonal debut in the Group 3

Ballysax Stakes The Ballysax Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) at Leopardstow ...

Leopardstown Leopardstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is di ...

on 12 April. He started the 1/4 favourite but finished last of the three runners behind Success Days and Zafilani, beaten ten and a half lengths by the winner. On 14 May, he ran in the

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in a ...

Dante Stakes at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and finished last of the seven runners, beaten by Golden Horn. After the race, trainer Aidan O'Brien said that he would not field John F Kennedy in the Derby. John F Kennedy's next start was Group 3 KPMG Enterprise Stakes at

on 12 September, where he was beaten by

Fascinating Rock Fascinating Rock (foaled 28 March 2011) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. After finishing unplaced on his only appearance as a juvenile he emerged as a high-class middle distance colt in the spring of 2014 with wins in the Ballysax Stakes and ...

and finished third out of five runners.

2016: four-year-old season

Before the 2016 season, John F Kennedy was purchased by an Argentinian group of breeders and moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

U.S The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. He finished seventh out of eight runners in an allowance optional claiming race on 15 May at Santa Anita Park and retired to become a stallion in

Stud career

As of 2021, he was standing at Haras Abolengo in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina. His progeny includes Cool Day, who won the 2020

Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini The Gran Premio Internacional Carlos Pellegrini is the most prestigious horse race in Argentina. It is run in December at the Hipódromo de San Isidro, near Buenos Aires. The race was tied for the 93rd highest rated Group/Grade 1 Race for three-ye ...

and the 2021 Gran Premio Copa de Oro. John F Kennedy died on January 27, 2022 at Haras Abolengo due to an acute

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''John F Kennedy'' 2012 racehorse births 2022 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 20