Nadir (foaled March 15, 1955) was a

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 who was one of two colts voted the

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing F ...

of 1957. He was bred and raced by Bull Hancock's

Claiborne Farm Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred horse breeding operation near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910 by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Stud in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since. ...

World's richest race & Championship year

Racing under trainer

Moody Jolley Moody S. Jolley (March 23, 1910 – February 4, 1976) was an American thoroughbred horse racing owner, breeder and trainer. His son, LeRoy, trained Ridan and other horses owned by the family. Career He began his professional training career i ...

, Nadir made eight starts at age two and won five times including an October 26, 1957 victory in the world's richest horse race, the

Garden State Stakes The Garden State Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid November at the now defunct Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A futurity event for two-year-olds, it is sometimes referred to as the Garden S ...

Garden State Park Garden State Park was a harness and thoroughbred race track in Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey. It is now the site of a high-end, mixed-use "town center" development of stores, restaurants, apartments, townhouses, and condominiums. Garden ...

for which he earned a purse of $155,047. A few days later, Claiborne Farm owner Bull Hancock turned down an offer of $1 million for the colt from Travis Kerr. Nadir was voted

by the

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of race ...

. The rival Thoroughbred Racing Association and Turf & Sports Digest polls were topped by

Jewel's Reward Jewel's Reward (March 10, 1955 – September 16, 1959) was a Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. He was voted the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1957 by the Thoroughbred Racing Association and Turf & Sports Digest magazine. The rival Daily R ...

Racing at ages 3 & 4

Nadir went into 1958 as one of the early favorites 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 ...

. Based at Florida's

Hialeah Park Race Track The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 2 ...

, he had a win at seven

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s early in the year, but in the mile and an eighth

Flamingo Stakes The Flamingo Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of a mile and one-eighth. Run as the Florida Derby until 1937, the inaugural event took place at Tampa Downs on February 27, 1926. There was ...

he ran fourth to

Tim Tam Tim Tam is a brand of chocolate biscuit introduced by the Australian biscuit company Arnott's in 1964. It consists of two malted biscuits separated by a light hard chocolate cream filling and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate. Hi ...

, finishing more than seven lengths behind the winner. In April, he ran second in the Blue Grass Heights Purse at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

won by

in track record time. In his next start, the

Derby Trial The Pat Day Mile Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on dirt over a distance of one mile scheduled on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The current purse is $500,000. History ...

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

, Nadir was again beaten by winner Tim Tam, this time finishing fourth. Withdrawn from the Kentucky Derby and the remainder of the Triple Crown races, for a short time Nadir competed at shorter distances. On June 14, the colt won his first stakes race of 1958, taking the six-furlong Select Handicap at

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

Oceanport, New Jersey Oceanport is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,832,American Derby The American Derby is a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States run annually at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The inaugural American Derby was held at Chicago's old Washington Park Race Track on the city's South Side and rac ...

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 ...

, a win that was the last major victory of his career. Nadir ended 1958 with five wins in all and purse money totaling $204,312. As a four-year-old in 1959, he made eight starts, winning once. His best result in top-level races was a second in the prestigious

Widener Handicap The Widener Handicap at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida was a Grade III stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses 3-years-old and up. It was run over a distance of miles (10 furlongs) until 1993 when it was modified to miles. Initially ...

. Nadir was retired 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 ...

at his owner's Claiborne Farm. For the eight years he served stallion duty in the United States, he met with modest success. The best of his offspring to race was the multiple stakes winning

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

R. Thomas R. Thomas (March 13, 1961 – 1971) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Kentucky by Bull Hancock at his renowned Claiborne Farm. Sired by Nadir, the 1957 American Co-Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, his dam was Fleet Flight, a daughte ...

. Beginning in 1968, Nadir stood for breeders in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where he also had limited success. He died there in 1978.Nadir's progeny
/ref>

Nadir backwards

In 1960, Nadir's trainer, Moody Jolley, purchased a yearling colt from

that he named

Ridan Nadir Kouidri (born 1975 in France) better known by his stage name Ridan, is a French singer/songwriter of Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 ...

, which is Nadir spelled backwards.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1955 racehorse births 1978 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses Thoroughbred family 17-b