Silver Spoon (March 6, 1956 - January 1978) was a multiple stakes winning 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 ...

race horse 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 ...

Background

Silver Spoon was a daughter of Triple Crown winner Citation. Citation was by

Bull Lea A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includ ...

, the foundation sire of Calumet Farm. Silver Spoon's dam, Silver Fog, carried the blood of Equipose, Blenheim,

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 t ...

Broomstick A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

, and a host of others. Silver Spoon was a big chestnut filly with four white stockings, standing 16 hands one inch tall, and weighing 1,135 pounds. As a foal, she injured her hip and forever after walked with a pronounced hesitation or "hitch" in her gait.

Racing career

Her first race was an $8,000 claiming event for two-year-olds at Belmont Park. There were no takers. Ridden by

Eldon Nelson Glen Eldon Nelson (January 28, 1927 - March 16, 2012) was an American jockey in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing who competed primarily at tracks on the East Coast of the United States and who is best known for winning the 1972 Preakness St ...

, she won by six lengths. Sent to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, Silver Spoon dominated her division, going undefeated in a six-race winning streak. Winning both the Santa Susana Stakes now called the

Santa Anita Oaks Santa Anita Oaks is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to three-year-old fillies willing to race 8.5 furlongs ( miles) on the dirt. The race is a Grade II even ...

and the

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is one ...

, she became one of only two fillies ever to do so. The other was the winner of the 1988 Kentucky Derby: Winning Colors. In the Santa Anita Derby, she took the race against colts. With her ears pricked, she romped home by two and a half lengths against that year's eventual

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 ...

winner, Royal Orbit. This was the win that convinced her connections to enter her in the 1959 Kentucky Derby. The only filly to start in the race between the years 1945 to 1980, she came in a respectable fifth, three and a half lengths behind the winner,

Tomy Lee Tomy Lee (May 7, 1956 – October 29, 1971) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1959 Kentucky Derby defeating Sword Dancer, First Landing, Royal Orbit and the filly Silver Spoon. Tomy Lee became only the second non-America ...

. A few months later, back on the West Coast, she soundly beat Tomy Lee in the Cinema Handicap. In the Cinema, she conceded 9 pounds to the runner-up. In the press, Silver Spoon was hailed as the best filly since the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

Honors

In the 1959 voting for Champion three-old-filly, the Thoroughbred Racing Association voted for Silver Spoon, but in the rival ''

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 race ...

'' poll she was beaten by 85 points to 73 by Royal Native. In the year she died, 1978, Silver Spoon was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. She is buried at the Gainesway Farm, once part of the C.V. Whitney Farm, beside her equals, among them Winning Colors.

Breeding record

As a

broodmare 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 four ...

, Silver Spoon gave birth to seven foals. One was the stakes-winning Inca Queen by

Hail To Reason Hail to Reason (April 18, 1958 – February 24, 1976) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire. In a racing career cut short by injury, he was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1960 after winning seven stakes ...

References

{{reflist
Silver Spoon’s pedigree, stats, and photo

Silver Spoon at the Hall of Fame
* "''The History of Thoroughbred Racing in America''," by William H.P. Robertson, Bonanza Books, New York 1956 racehorse births 1978 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky Thoroughbred family A1