Sea Sovereign 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 ...

stallion racehorse foaled in 1942, sired by 1930s winner

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...

, for owner Charles Howard. Although Sea Sovereign achieved moderate success as a racehorse, he is most famous for being part of the line sired by Seabiscuit. The fine lines of Sea Sovereign's posture, along with his light-bay coloring, resulted in the horse appearing in the 1949

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

film to portray his sire, ''

The Story of Seabiscuit ''The Story of Seabiscuit'' is a 1949 American drama film directed by David Butler and starring Shirley Temple and Barry Fitzgerald in a semi-fictionalized account of racehorse Seabiscuit, the top money winner up to the 1940s. The screenplay w ...

''.

Background

Sea Sovereign was foaled in 1942, sired by Seabiscuit, who was born on May 23, 1933, in Lexington, Kentucky, and was among the most famous race horses of the century.Laura Hillebrand, ''Seabiscuit''. Both horses were in a line of pedigree descended from

Man o' War Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and ...

. Seabiscuit had been mated over one hundred times successfully, though none of his foals turned out to be extraordinary runners. Sea Sovereign's mother was Queen Helen by Light Brigade. One account of Seabiscuit's life is depicted in a

film from 1949 titled ''

'', though it was Sea Sovereign who portrayed Seabiscuit. The film also included archival racetrack footage which showed the actual Seabiscuit racing in competition. Sea Sovereign was also the great-grandson of Man o' War (who appeared in a separate, 1925 film titled ''

Kentucky Pride ''Kentucky Pride'' is a 1925 American silent drama film from Fox Film about the life of a horse breeder and racer, directed by the famed film director John Ford and starring Henry B. Walthall (who had previously played the Little Colonel in ...

'').

Racing career

Sea Sovereign had a very moderate and very brief career as a racehorse. He made eight starts with three firsts and $34,070 in earnings. The most notable win came in the Santa Catalina Handicap in 1945.

Stud career

Very little is known of the subsequent career of Sea Sovereign, and the principal interest in the horse after a moderately successfully racing career appears to be as part of the study of the stud career of Seabiscuit.

References

{{reflist 1942 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 1-g Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in California