Nasomo (1956-1968) was an American

Thoroughbred racehorse 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 ...

from the Pine Tree Stables, registered in

Freeport, Bahamas Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama of the northwest Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted of pineyard with substantial areas of swa ...

. He was a son of Nasrullah. Nasomo was owned by Mrs. Pauline Woolworth of

Winthrop, Massachusetts Winthrop is a town in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban community in Greater Boston situated at ...

, and had lifetime earnings of .

Track record at Belmont Park

On September 4, 1959 the three-year-old colt eclipsed the track record 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 ...

, covering the mile and a sixteenth course in 1:40 4/5. Nasomo equaled the mile record at Belmont Park, 1:34 4/5, then shared by

Count Fleet Count Fleet (March 24, 1940 – December 3, 1973) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the sixth winner of the American Triple Crown. He won the Belmont Stakes by a then record margin of twenty-five lengths. After an undefeated ...

and Blessbull. Ridden by Rogelio Trejos, the thoroughbred won the feature race in a time which was four-fifths of a second faster than the standard posted by Ricci Tavi in 1957. In the $7,500 Central Park Purse, an April 25, 1960 feature race at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack locate ...

, Nasomo was at 10 to 1 odds when he triumphed in 1:36 for the mile race, while being ridden by future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee,

Bobby Ussery Robert Nelson "Bobby" Ussery (born September 3, 1935 in Vian, Oklahoma) is a retired American Thoroughbred horse racing hall of fame jockey. His first race as a professional jockey came at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans on November 22, ...

Deceptive performer

In his book, "Betting Thoroughbreds", Steven Davidowitz described Nasomo as "a slow-breaking

Silky Sullivan Silky Sullivan (February 28, 1955 – November 18, 1977) was an American thoroughbred racehorse best known for his come-from-behind racing style. Racing style There were other great closers— Whirlaway, Stymie, Calidoscopio, Needles ...

type." Davidowitz studied Nasomo's workout patterns, which the author found predicated a greatly improved performance in competition. In the late spring of 1961 Davidowitz perused Nasomo's past performance charts at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

. He looked particularly at the thoroughbred's half-mile workout from the starting gate which was affixed to the bottom of Nasomo's chart. ".47 bg (bay gelding)" leaped off the page at Davidowitz!

References

{{reflist 1956 racehorse births 1968 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Horse racing track record setters Thoroughbred family 1-x