Nasturtium (1899–1916) 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 ...

racehorse that was the

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two-year-old colt of 1901. He was a scheduled contender for the 1902

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

, but did not run in the race due to illness.

Pedigree

Nasturtium, a "racy-looking and powerful" chestnut horse standing 15.2

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...

high was bred at James Haggin's Rancho El Paso stud in

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 ...

and was sired by the imported

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stallion Watercress out of Margerique. Margerique was an unraced mare by the imported British stallion Order out of Margerine, who also foaled another successful racer The Commoner.

Racing career

Haggin sold Nasturtium as a yearling to Follansbee and Chanler, who in turn sold him to Anthony L. Aste for $4,300 at auction in 1901. Nasturtium was sold to

William C. Whitney William Collins Whitney (July 5, 1841February 2, 1904) was an American political leader and financier and a prominent descendant of the John Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration of President Grover Clev ...

on June 22, 1901 for $50,000. His training was then taken over by John W. Rogers. Nasturtium won three of his five starts in 1901. He was a disappointing 9/5 favorite when finishing tenth behind Yankee in the Futurity Stakes on August 31 at Belmont, but won the Flatbush Stakes at

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 ...

four days later. He took the race "cleverly, almost easily" from his stablemate Goldsmith in a track record time of 1:25.6. Whitney's target for the colt was the 1902

, having won the race in 1901 with

Volodyovski Volodyovski (1898–1917) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from 1900 to 1902, he ran twenty-six times and won seven races. After being one of the leading two-year-olds of 1900, he went on to win The Derby i ...

. In December 1901 Nasturtium was shipped to England on a steamer equipped with a purpose-built stable unit. His arrival at

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...

was reported to have caused "considerable interest," and was offered at odds of 6/1 for the Epsom

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

. Despite all Whitney's precautions however, Nasturtium fell ill shortly after his arrival and was unable to run in England as intended.

Stud career

After William Whitney's death, Nasturtium was sold in the October 1904 dispersal sale for $10,000 to Col. Milton Young. Nasturtium was later sold to George J. Stoll. The best of his offspring was probably the filly

Stamina Stamina may refer to: Biology and healthcare * Endurance, the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fat ...

. Nasturtium was found dead in his stall at Stoll's The Meadows stud farm in Lexington on June 26, 1916. His death may have resulted from heart disease.

References

{{reflist 1899 racehorse births 1916 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in California Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 26