Lemhi Gold (foaled 1978 in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

) 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 ...

. In 1982, he was voted

American Champion Older Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of ...

at the Eclipse Awards after a season in which he won the

Marlboro Cup The Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap was a Thoroughbred horse racing, horse race first run in September 1973 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Graded stakes race, Grade 1 race for horses 3 years old and up, it was raced over a distance of ...

and the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Background

Bred and raced by

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, lumberman

Aaron U. Jones According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

and his wife, Marie, Lemhi Gold was sired by Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Vaguely Noble, who also sired the superstar

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

Dahlia. His dam, Belle Marie, was a daughter of 1963

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

winner Candy Spots. The colt was named by Aaron Jones for an old gold mining site at Lemhi Creek in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

where he owned a cabin retreat. Trained by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Laz Barrera Lazaro Sosa Barrera (May 8, 1924 – April 25, 1991) was a Cuban-born American Hall of Fame thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born in Havana, "Laz" Barrera was one of nine brothers who went on to become involved in thoroughbred horse racing in th ...

, Lemhi Gold did not race at age two in 1980.

Racing career

In 1981, the three-year-old suffered a shin injury on March 26 in his second start. That injury eliminated any chance he may have had to compete in U.S. Triple Crown series. Lemhi Gold made a return to racing on July 9 with a fourteen-length win on turf in a division of the Westwood Stakes at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

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 ...

. On August 2, he finished second by a neck in the Jim Dandy Stakes on dirt at Saratoga Race Course in

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 * '' ...

and then a few weeks later finished ninth in the Jerome Handicap 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 ...

after injuring his back in the starting gate. This second injury of 1981 meant that Lemhi Gold did not race again until 1982.

1982 Championship Season

Racing at age four in 1982, Lemhi Gold demonstrated an ability to win at longer distances and on either turf or dirt. By the end of May, he had earned his fourth win in four career starts on turf, including victories in the 1982

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

and San Juan Capistrano Handicaps by a combined twelve lengths. In July, he won the Sword Dancer Handicap on turf, and in August ran fourth to winner Perrault on the grass at Chicago's

Arlington Park Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago regi ...

in the Arlington Million. In September, Lemhi Gold was sent to run on the dirt at

in the

where he beat the heavily favored Timely Writer by 8¾ lengths. In October, he won again on dirt, capturing the 1½ mile Jockey Club Gold Cup by 4½ lengths. At the end of October, in his final race of 1982, Lemhi Gold ran fifth on the grass to winner John Henry in the Oak Tree Invitational Stakes at Santa Anita Park. Lemhi Gold was voted the Eclipse Award as the

of 1982. In the closest vote since the Eclipse Awards were created in 1971, he finished second in the

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

balloting to

Conquistador Cielo Conquistador Cielo (March 20, 1979 – December 17, 2002) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He is best known for his performances as a three-year-old in 1982 when he won the Belmont Stakes and was voted United States Horse of the Year. ...

1983 European Racing

During the latter part of 1982, owner Aaron Jones was negotiating a syndication deal for Lemhi Gold to stand at stud. Reported to be for as much as US$28 million, the deal never materialized and on December 15, 1982, 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 that Lemhi Gold would be shipped to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for a 1983 campaign on the grass courses in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

to culminate in October with a run in the most prestigious European event, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. On May 29, 1983, Lemhi Gold made his European racing debut, finishing last in a seven-horse field in the

Prix Dollar The Prix Dollar is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,950 metres (about 1 mile and 1¾ furlongs), and it ...

at Longchamp Racecourse in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In his next start on July 3 at

Saint-Cloud Racecourse Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France. During World War 1, the race course site housed the No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospital ...

, he ran fourth in the

Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is sc ...

to American Paul Mellon's winning colt Diamond Shoal, who was ridden by American Steve Cauthen. He was then sent to England to run in the July 23 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot Racecourse. After he finished eighth, he was retired from racing.

At Stud

Lemhi Gold returned to the United States to stand at stud at

Gainesway Farm Gainesway Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding business in Lexington, Kentucky. It was originally called Greentree Farms. The 1,500 acre (6 km²) property has been home to stallions such as Youth and Exceller and numerous others w ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. In 1990, he was sent to breeders in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and around 1997 to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The progeny of Lemhi Gold met with modest success in racing. Probably his best runner was the American

Lemhi Go (b. 1988), who won the La Prevoyante Handicap and

Arlington Matron Handicap The Matron Stakes is an American Grade III flat horse race for Thoroughbred fillies and mares, aged three years and upward. Raced over a distance of 9 furlongs on the dirt at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois every spring. It currentl ...

Pedigree

References

{{reflist

External links

Video at YouTube of Lemhi Gold winning the 1982 Marlboro Cup
1978 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners Thoroughbred family 14-b