Sun Beau (1925 – c.1943) 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 A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

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 ...

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 ...

Background

Sun Beau was sired by

Sun Briar Sun Briar (foaled 1915 in France) was a Thoroughbred racehorse retrospectively named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1917 and the American Champion Older Male Horse of 1919 by writers from The Blood-Horse magazine. He was a son of Su ...

. His damsire was

Fair Play Fair play or Fairplay usually refers to sportsmanship. Fair play or Fairplay may also refer to: Media * ''Fair Play'' (1925 film), an American silent film * ''Fair Play'', a 1972 TV movie starring Paul Ford * ''Fair Play'' (2014 film), a Czech ...

, who sired

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 ...

Racing career

Racing as a two-year-old in 1927, Sun Beau developed slowly, winning only once in four starts. Trained by Charles W. Carroll, at age three, he finished 11th in the 1928

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 5th in 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 () on ...

under jockey John Craigmyle. However, Sun Beau began to show improvement and wound up the season with eight wins. At age four, the colt set a record for a 1¼ mile race while winning the first of three consecutive

Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap The Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap is a Grade III race for thoroughbred horses run at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Illinois each year. The Hawthorne Gold Cup trophy has always been made of solid gold. The Hawthorne Gold Cup is currently a Gr ...

s at

Hawthorne Race Course Hawthorne Race Course is a racetrack for horse racing in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, near Chicago. The oldest continually run family-owned racetrack in North America, in 2009 the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating syst ...

near

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Several more important victories earned him the first of three straight U.S. Champion Older Male Horse titles.''The Bloodhorse.com'' Champion's history charts
/ref> At the end of his racing career, Sun Beau's total earnings were $376,744. Sun Beau continued to race at ages five and six, winning nine races in each year, the most of any year he had raced. He retired as the all-time leader in race earnings. During his five-year career, he had eight trainers.

Stud record

Sun Beau was sent to

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 ...

duty at his owner's Remlik Farm near

Urbanna, Virginia Urbanna is a town in Middlesex County, Virginia, United States. Urbanna means “City of Anne” and was named in honor of England's Queen Anne. The population was 476 at the 2010 census. Geography Urbanna is located at (37.637796, −76 ...

. He sired few stakes winners, none of which achieved his level of success. The last of his progeny was born in 1944. He died in 1943.

Honors

In 1996, Sun Beau was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

References

{{reflist 1925 racehorse births 1943 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 4-r Racehorses bred in Virginia Racehorses trained in the United States Horse racing track record setters United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees