{{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Two Lea , image = , caption = , sire =

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

, grandsire = Bull Dog , dam = Two Bob , damsire = The Porter , sex =

Filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

, foaled = 1946 , country =

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, colour = Bay , breeder = Calumet Farm , owner = Calumet Farm , trainer =

Horace A. Jones Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones (November 24, 1906 – September 2, 2001) was an American thoroughbred horse trainer. The son of Hall of Fame horse trainer Ben A. Jones, Jimmy Jones was born in Parnell, Missouri. Raised around horses from infancy, he l ...

, record = 26 Starts: 15-6-3 , earnings = $309,250 , race = Princess Doreen Stakes (1949)
Cleopatra Handicap (1949)
Artful Stakes (1949)

Arcadia Handicap The Arcadia Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run in early April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to horses four years of age and older, it is raced on turf over a distance of one mile. A Grade II race, it currently offe ...

(1949)

Santa Margarita Handicap The Santa Margarita Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California for fillies and mares age four and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one and one-eighths mile ...

(1950)

Vanity Handicap The Beholder Mile Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged three and up. It is run over a distance of one mile on the dirt each year in March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. History The event wa ...

(1952)

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 ...

(1952)
Ramona Handicap (1952)
San Mateo Handicap (1952)
Children's Hospital Handicap (1950) , awards = American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly (tie) (1949)

American Champion Older Female Horse The Eclipse Award for Champion Older Dirt Female Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a filly or mare, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of the ...

(1950) , honours = U.S. Racing Hall of Fame (1982)
#77 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century , updated= December 2, 2007 Two Lea (1946–1973) was a champion 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 ...

racehorse who was the 1949 Champion Three-Year-Old Filly and 1950 Champion Older Female.

Background

Born at Calumet Farm 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 ...

, her sire was

whose progeny were already successful. Her dam was Two Bob, winner of the 1936

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday ...

. As a yearling Two Lea developed

ringbone {{No footnotes, date=February 2020 Ringbone is exostosis (bone growth) in the pastern or coffin joint of a horse. In severe cases, the growth can encircle the bones, giving ringbone its name. It has been suggested by some authors that such a colloqu ...

, a difficult condition which delayed her training which delayed the start of her racing career.

Racing Career

By the time Two Lea stepped on a track at two years of age, the 1948 season was almost over. In her first three tries, she won only her last, a race at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

, by four lengths. At three, Two Lea started seven times, winning six of her races. Her only defeat came in the Modesty Stakes against older females; in that race, she carried ten pounds more than the winner. In the Cleopatra Stakes, Two Lea raced against another stablemate, Wistful, who was considered the East Coast's leading filly. Wistful had won the 1949 Kentucky Oaks, the

Pimlico Oaks {{Short description, Former horse race held at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland, US The Pimlico Oaks was a listed Thoroughbred horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Run at the beginning of April at a distance of 1 1/16 miles on ...

, and the

Coaching Club American Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...

and was on her way to divisional honors. Two Lea beat her easing up. In her last three-year-old race, the Artful, she defeated

But Why Not But Why Not (foaled in 1944) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. The daughter of Blue Larkspur and granddaughter of Black Servant is probably best remembered for wins in the Alabama Stakes, the Acorn Stakes, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pi ...

, the female champion of 1947. Here, Two Lea came close to equaling the world record for seven

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s. Two Lea shared the 1949 three-year-old female championship with

Wistful Wistful (foaled in 1946 in Kentucky) was an American Eclipse Award, Champion Thoroughbred racemare. The daughter of Sun Again and granddaughter of Sun Teddy is best remembered for wins in the Kentucky Oaks, the Coaching Club American Oaks, the ...

, another Calumet horse, as the fillies tied in the ''

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. At four, after two wins, she raced males. Ridden by

Eddie Arcaro George Edward Arcaro (February 19, 1916 – November 14, 1997), was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Tripl ...

for the first and last time, she contested the Santa Anita Maturity with Ponder, winner of the previous year's

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 ...

. On the lead and with Ponder challenging, Arcaro not only did not urge her, he was easing her up. Two Lea held on to second place. Then came the

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for old ...

which Two Lea did not win, but then neither did Citation nor Ponder. They all gave weight to a horse called Noor. Noor won, Citation placed, Two Lea showed, and Ponder came in fourth. At the end of the year, Two Lea was named the Champion Older Filly for 1950. For the next year and a half, Two Lea did not race, once again enduring ringbone. The treatment was called a "pinfire," a "cure" which resulted in a large knob on her

fetlock Fetlock is the common name in horses, large animals, and sometimes dogs for the metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints (MCPJ and MTPJ). Although it somewhat resembles the human ankle in appearance, the joint is homologous to the ba ...

. By the time she came back to the races in 1952, she was six years old. Two Lea started eleven times and won six times, five of those wins coming in stakes races. She beat Wistful again, giving her ten pounds, and then won the

against males. Her last races were at

Bay Meadows Racetrack Bay Meadows was a horse racing track in San Mateo, California from 1934 until 2008, in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States. History Built on the site of an old airfield, Bay Meadows Racecourse was the longest continually operating t ...

, where she won the San Mateo Handicap and the Children’s Hospital Handicap under top weight. In her career, Two Lea finished unplaced only twice.

Broodmare

Two Lea was also successful as a broodmare. Among others, she gave birth to

Tim Tam Tim Tam is a brand of chocolate biscuit introduced by the Australian biscuit company Arnott's in 1964. It consists of two malted biscuits separated by a light hard chocolate cream filling and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate. Hi ...

, a horse who came very close to winning the Triple Crown. Two Lea was 27 when she died in 1973. She is buried at Calumet Farm.

References

* Thoroughbred Champions, Top 100 Racehorses of the Twentieth Century, Bloodhorse Publications

External links

Two Lea’s pedigree and photo

Two Lea in the Hall of Fame
1946 racehorse births 1973 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 23-b