Pass Catcher (foaled April 6, 1968 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 a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 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 ...

that won the 103rd running of the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

Background

Pass Catcher, a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

was bred and raced by Peter Kissel's October House Farm. His sire was All Hands and his dam was La Grue. All Hands was a son of

Turn-To Turn-To (1951–1973) was a British-born, American-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Background He was sired by the British stallion Royal Charger, out of the French mare Source Sucree, whose sire, Admiral Drake, was third on the Fre ...

who was a grandson of the great English runner and outstanding sire,

Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by ''Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...

. Pass Catcher was trained by Eddie Yowel who had won the 1965

with

Hail To All Hail To All (foaled 1962) was an American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse which won the 1965 Belmont Stakes. Background Hail to All was a bay horse bred at Styles Colwill's Halcyon Farm in Maryland. He was sired by Hail To Reason, out of th ...

Racing career

At age two, the colt ran second in the 1970

Hopeful Stakes The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has ...

but came out of the race with a hairline fracture that kept him out of racing until the following March. Not ready for the first two legs of the rigorous

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

races, Pass Catcher regained his racing form with a win in two straight races then, just five days before the Belmont Stakes, had a second-place finish to

Bold Reasoning Bold Reasoning (April 29, 1968 – April 24, 1975) was an American thoroughbred racehorse. He is best known as being the sire of the 1977 Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

in the

Jersey Derby The Jersey Derby is a $60,000 American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in late July/early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Since 1993, it has been raced on grass at a distance of miles. A Jerse ...

. The 1971 Belmont Stakes drew a record crowd of over 80,000,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KzojAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OrcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1395,2361343&dq=pass-catcher+belmont&hl=en swelled by thousands of members of the

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and area

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

community who came to cheer for

Canonero II Cañonero II (April 24, 1968 – November 11, 1981) was a Venezuelan champion Thoroughbred race horse that may be best remembered for winning the first two legs of the 1971 U.S. Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. After t ...

, the

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n colt who had won 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 ...

and

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 ...

and was poised to win the U.S. Triple Crown. Pass Catcher was ridden in the Belmont Stakes by

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 ...

jockey

Walter Blum Walter Blum (born September 28, 1934, Brooklyn, New York) is a retired Hall of Fame jockey. Riding career A horse racing fan from boyhood, in his teens Blum began working as a racetrack hotwalker. Despite being blind in his right eye from th ...

. Pass Catcher disputed the lead with Canonero before drawing away and opening a five length lead. At the eighth pole, Blum dropped his whip but rode the colt to an upset victory over the fast-closing Jim French and

Bold Reason Bold Reason (1968–1985) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion broodmare sire. Background Bold Reason was bred by Harry Guggenheim, and was sired by Hail To Reason, the 1970 Leading sire in North America. His dam was Guggenheim ...

with the favored Canonero finishing fourth. Pass Catcher won minor races at age four until being 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 ...

Stud career

He sired Amber Pass (b. 1977), a multiple stakes winner including the Monmouth Invitational Handicap. Among his other progeny were stakes winners, Amerilad, Melanie Frances, Michelle Can Pass, and Nice Catch.

References

External links

1971 Belmont Stakes at YouTube.com
{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1968 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Belmont Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 1-c