Searching (1952-1973) was an American

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 fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

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 ...

racemare Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: * Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jarg ...

. Foaled at

Claiborne Farm Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred horse breeding operation near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910 by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Stud in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever sin ...

near

Paris, Kentucky Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. Paris is the seat of its county and forms part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As ...

where the

Wheatley Stable Wheatley Stable was the '' nom de course '' for the thoroughbred horse racing partnership formed by Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden Livingston Mills. The horses were raised at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky. History Over the yea ...

(founded in 1926 by Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother,

Ogden L. Mills Ogden Livingston Mills (August 23, 1884October 11, 1937) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Treasury in President Herbert Hoover's cabinet, during which time Mills pushed for tax increa ...

) bred and raised its horses. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Gladys's son

Ogden Phipps Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was induc ...

purchased a number of horses from the estate of Colonel Edward R. Bradley and his

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 qualit ...

. Among them was the good racing mare Big Hurry. Phipps bred Big Hurry (the racing daughter of Bradley’s favorite stallion,

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 ...

, out of Bradley’s

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 ...

La Troienne La Troienne (1926–1954) was one of the most famous and influential Thoroughbred broodmares in twentieth century America. She produced 10 winners including two Hall of Fame inductees while at stud, while her daughters in turn produced many notab ...

) to the fourth winner of the U.S. Triple Crown Champion,

War Admiral War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the 'Match ...

. From this match came a bay filly he named Searching. Searching raced poorly in her first 20 starts under Hall of Fame trainer

James E. Fitzsimmons James Edward "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons (July 23, 1874 – March 11, 1966) was a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Early life Born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in 1874, Fitzsimmons began his career in 1885 working at a racetrack as a stable boy. After ...

, Phipps sold her to Ethel Jacobs, the wife of another Hall of Fame trainer, Hirsch Jacobs. Under Hirsch, Searching improved immensely. In her next 69 starts, many of them important stakes, she was in the money most of the time. As a

, Searching produced eight foals, seven of them winners, and three stakes winners, including Admiring and Priceless Gem. The filly that she is remembered for is

Affectionately Affectionately (April 26, 1960 – 1979) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background She was sired by 1956 American Horse of the Year Swaps, out of the racing mare Searching. Searching's dam was Big Hurry, by Black Toney out of La ...

, #81 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century. Affectionately also produced

Personality Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, ...

.http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1083540/index.htm April 27, 1970 ''Sports Illustrated'' article on the Jacob' racing family and their colt, Personality Affectionately was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1978.

References

{{reflist

External links

Searching's pedigree
1952 racehorse births 1973 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 1-x