Parlo (April 12, 1951 – 1978) 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.

Background

Bred by

William du Pont, Jr. William du Pont Jr. (February 11, 1896 – December 31, 1965) was an English-born American businessman and banker, and a prominent figure in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. He developed and designed more than 20 racing venues, including F ...

at his Walnut Hall Farm near

Boyce, Virginia Boyce is a town in Clarke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 749 at the 2020 census, up from 589 at the 2010 census. Geography Boyce is located in western Clarke County at (39.093118, −78.059190), along U.S. Route 340. ...

, she was out of the mare Fairy Palace and sired by the good British runner Heliopolis whom Parlo helped earn his second Leading sire in North America title in 1954. Parlo was trained by Richard Handlen.

Racing career

At age two Parlo's best major race result was a second in the 1953

Demoiselle Stakes The Demoiselle Stakes is a stakes race for thoroughbred horses open to two-year-old fillies who are willing to race the one and one-eighth miles on dirt. The Grade II event is run at Aqueduct Racetrack every November for a current purse of $250 ...

. In 1954 Parlo had major wins that included the

Delaware Oaks The Delaware Oaks Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton near Wilmington, Delaware. Part of the Del Cap Festival Weekend that features other races over the two days including ...

Delaware Park Racetrack Delaware Park (also known as ''DelPark'') is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track, casino, and golf course in Stanton, Delaware. It is located just outside the city of Wilmington, and about 30 miles from Philadelphia. Thoroughbred racing ...

, the

Alabama Stakes The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

, the Beldame Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack in stakes record time, and the

Firenze Handicap The Personal Ensign Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the third week of August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to fillies and Mares age three and older, it is contested at a dist ...

at Jamaica Race Course by seven

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

. At the end of the year she was voted 1954

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

and took 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 raceh ...

'' award for Champion Female Handicap Horse. In June 1955 Parlo won the

Top Flight Handicap The Top Flight Invitational Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A Listed race, it is open to fillies and mares, age three and older. The event is contested over a distance of one ...

, setting a new Belmont Park track record time. Then, in July she won the

Delaware Handicap The Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade 2 race is open to fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-quarter miles o ...

in track record time. She earned her second straight American Champion Older Female Horse title from the Thoroughbred Racing Association. The rival ''Daily Racing Form'' award for Champion Female Handicap Horse went to the three-year-old

Misty Morn {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Misty Morn , image = , caption = , sire = Princequillo , grandsire = Prince Rose , dam = Grey Flight , damsire = Mahmoud , sex = Filly , foaled = 1952 , country = United States , colour = Bay , ...

. Winless for over a year, in July 1956 Partlo won the Bellerose Handicap at Jamaica Race Course.

Stud record

Bred to outstanding horses such as Ribot,

Sea Bird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

, Native Dancer, and

Graustark Graustark is a fictional country in Eastern Europe used as a setting for several novels by George Barr McCutcheon. Graustark's neighbors, which also figure in the stories, are Axphain to the north and Dawsbergen to the south. Description Gr ...

, among others, Parlo produced eleven foals between 1958 and 1975. While her offspring that raced met with limited success, her daughter, All Beautiful, by

Battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...

was the 1969 American Broodmare of the Year as the dam of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame colt,

Arts and Letters Arts and Letters (April 1, 1966 – October 16, 1998) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Arts and Letters was a chestnut horse owned and bred by American sportsman and philanthropist Paul Mellon, and tra ...

.Pedigree Query
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References

Parlo's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{reflist 1951 racehorse births 1978 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 1-c Racehorses bred in Virginia Racehorses trained in the United States Du Pont racehorses American Champion racehorses