The Wicked North (foaled 1989, died 2011) was an American champion

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 ...

racehorse. He won three

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

stakes in 1994, for which he was voted U.S. Champion Older Male Horse. He died at the Hagyard Equine Medical Center in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

in 2011.

Background

The Wicked North, a chestnut horse with a white blaze and one white sock, was sired by the Northern Dancer stallion Far North out of the stakes-winning broodmare Wicked Witchcraft. He was an unusually large thoroughbred, reportedly weighing about 1,300 lbs at one point in his career. As a yearling, The Wicked North was bought at auction by the retired plumbing contractor Philip Hersh for $10,000. He was trained in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

by David Bernstein and ridden in all his Grade I wins by Kent Desormeaux.

Racing career

Until he was five years old The Wicked North was mainly campaigned over sprint distances with his most significant win coming in the Grade III Bing Crosby Handicap. In 1994 Bernstein moved The Wicked North up in distance, and he showed much improved form. He won the

Californian Stakes The Californian Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California (relocated from the now closed Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California). The Grade II event is open to hor ...

, the Oaklawn Handicap and the

San Antonio Handicap The San Antonio Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Raced on the dirt, it is for horses age three and older. In 2017, the distance was shortened from miles to miles. The race was origina ...

. He also finished first in the Santa Anita Handicap but was disqualified. He started odds-on favourite for the

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000. ...

but finished fourth after sustaining a serious injury to his

suspensory ligament A suspensory ligament is a ligament that supports a body part, especially an organ. Types include: * Suspensory ligament of axilla, also known as Gerdy's ligament * Cooper's ligaments, also known as the suspensory ligaments of Cooper or Suspensory ...

. He was unable to race again and was retired to stud.

Honors and awards

The Wicked North was voted U.S. Champion Older Male Horse for 1994 at the Eclipse Awards.

Stud career

The Wicked North stood as a stallion at the True North farm at

Versailles, Kentucky Versailles () is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 9,316 according to 2017 cen ...

until 2008 when he was retired after suffering from equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. He spent the remainder of his life at the Old Friends retirement centre at Georgetown, Kentucky.

References

External links

Pictures of The Wicked North at the Old Friends retirement facility. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wicked North 1989 racehorse births 2011 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners Old Friends Equine Retirement Thoroughbred family 1-l