Peter Pan (1904–1933) 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 ...

racehorse and sire, bred and raced by prominent horseman,

James R. Keene James Robert Keene (February 8, 1838 - January 3, 1913) was a Wall Street stockbroker and a major thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder. Biography He was born in London, England in 1838. He was fourteen years of age when his family immigr ...

. As winner of the Belmont Stakes, the Brooklyn Derby and the

Brighton Handicap The Brighton Handicap was an American thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1896 through 1907 at the Brighton Beach Race Course in Brighton Beach, Coney Island, New York and in 1910 at Empire City Race Track. Open to horses age three and older, ...

, he was later inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. His progeny included many famous American racehorses, including several winners of the Kentucky Derby and the

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 () o ...

Background

Bred and raced by prominent horseman,

, Peter Pan was out of the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...

Cinderella whose sire was

Hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

, the 1867 winner of England's most important race, The Derby. Peter Pan was sired by

Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

, a 1901 American Classic Race winner who in turn was a son of

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also c ...

, the American Horse of the Year of 1893. Peter Pan was conditioned by future Hall of Fame trainer James G. Rowe, Sr.

Racing career

At age 2, Peter Pan won four of his eight starts including the prestigious 1906

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 ...

. In 1907, Peter Pan won six of his nine starts with two seconds, one of which was in the spring in the

Withers Stakes The Withers Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The event currently carries a purse ...

. As the prestigious U.S. Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing had not at that time been established, the 3-year-old Peter Pan was not entered in the Kentucky Derby or the

. However, he won the then 1⅜ miles Belmont Stakes, a race that is now the third leg of the Triple Crown series. In winning the Belmont, he defeated Frank Gill who had beaten him in the Withers Stakes. In 1907, Peter Pan also won the important Brooklyn Derby, the Standard Stakes at

Gravesend Race Track Gravesend Race Track at Gravesend in Brooklyn, New York was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club with the backing of Philip and Michael Dwyer, two wealthy raci ...

, as well as the Advance and the

Tidal Stakes The Tidal Stakes is a discontinued Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York from the 1880s through until the track closed in 1910. According to a 1901 report on the ra ...

at Sheepshead Bay Race Track. Shortly after winning the

he suffered a

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

injury and was retired to stallion duty at his owner's Castelton Stud. In a review of Peter Pan's win in the 1907 Brighton Handicap in front of 40,000 fans, the ''

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'' was quoted as saying the horse "accomplished a task that completely overshadowed any previous 3-year-old performance in turf history."

Honors

Following its creation, Peter Pan was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1956, as were his sire Commando and grandsire Domino, as well as his granddaughter

Top Flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

.Peter Pan's profile at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
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Stud record

Peter Pan stood at his owner's Castleton Stud in Lexington, Kentucky then was sold for US$100,000 in 1912 to a breeding farm in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Brought back to the United States, he was sold to

Harry Payne Whitney Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family. Early years Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as the eldest son ...

and stood at Brookdale Farm in

Lincroft, New Jersey Lincroft is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.

until 1915 when he became the foundation sire for the new

Whitney Farm The Whitney Farm is a historic farm property at 215 Whitneyville Road in Appleton, Maine. Encompassing more than of land in Appleton and Searsmont, the farm exemplifies the evolutionary history of farm properties in the Mid Coast region, with ...

in Lexington, Kentucky. Peter Pan died in December 1933 at the age of twenty-nine and was buried at the Whitney Farm in Lexington (now part of the Gainesway Farm).

Progeny

Peter Pan's progeny includes: *

Black Toney Black Toney (1911–1938) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, owned and raced by Edward R. Bradley Background Black Toney was bred by James R. Keene's Castleton Lyons Farm. Keene, whose health was failing (he died in 1913), so ...

(1911) - Foundation sire for

Idle Hour Stock Farm Idle Hour Stock Farm was a 400-acre (1.6 km2) thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm near Lexington, Kentucky, United States established in 1906 by Colonel Edward R. Bradley. Beginning with the sire, Black Toney, and a roster of quali ...

, among the U.S. top twenty sires on ten occasions * Pennant - sire of Hall of Fame inductees

Equipoise Equipoise may refer to: * Clinical equipoise, or the principle of equipoise, a medical research term * Equilibrioception, the state of being balanced or in equilibrium * Boldenone undecylenate, an anabolic steroid, by the trade name ''Equipoise'' * ...

Jolly Roger Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the later part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly ...

/ 1924 U.S. Co-Champion Two Year Old Filly Maud Muller / 1938

winner Dauber *

Puss In Boots "Puss in Boots" ( it, Il gatto con gli stivali) is an Italian fairy tale, later spread throughout the rest of Europe, about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for ...

(1913) - 1915 U.S. Champion Two Year Old Filly *

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(1916) - 1919 Champion Three Year Old Filly * Prudery (1918) - 1920 U.S. Champion Two Year Old Filly & 1921 Champion Three Year Old Filly * Tryster (1918) - U.S. Champion Two Year Old Colt

Damsire Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

of notable horses such as: * Bostonian (1924) - won 1927

Whiskery Whiskery (foaled 1924 - died 1937) was an American Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse. He was the winner of the 1927 Kentucky Derby after defeating Osmand by a nose in the stretch. Whiskery won the Ardsley Handicap at age two and the Chesapeak ...

(1924) - won 1927 Kentucky Derby, Champion Three Year Old Colt * Victorian (1925) - won 1928 Preakness Stakes *

(1929) - U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, 1931 U.S. Champion Two Year Old Filly & 1932 Champion Three Year Old Filly

Grandsire Grandsire is one of the standard change ringing methods, which are methods of ringing church bells or handbells using a series of mathematical permutations rather than using a melody. The grandsire method is usually rung on an odd number of bells: ...

of notable horses such as: * Black Gold (1921) - Hall of Fame inductee, 1924 Kentucky Derby winner * Equipose (1928-1938) - National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductee, Two Time Horse of the Year (1932,1933) * Brokers Tip (1930) - 1933 Kentucky Derby winner *

Bimelech Bimelech (February 27, 1937 – 1966) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won two Triple Crown races and was a Champion at both age two and three. He was ranked #84 among U.S. racehorses of the 20th century. After retiring to stud, he sired ...

(1937) - Hall of Fame inductee, 1940 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner

Pedigree

References

Peter Pan's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1904 racehorse births 1933 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses Belmont Stakes winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires Thoroughbred family 2-o Chefs-de-Race