Unbridled (March 5, 1987 – October 18, 2001) was a champion American Thoroughbred
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 ...
who won the 1990
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 Breeders' Cup Classic.
He retired with a career record of eight wins, six places, and six shows in 24 starts, and $4,489,475 in career earnings. Unbridled had a rivalry with
Summer Squall
Summer Squall (March 12, 1987 – September 22, 2009) was an American thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for his win in the 1990 Preakness Stakes, and his rivalry with Unbridled, whom he defeated in four of their six meetings. He later b ...
over their three and four-year-old seasons. Summer Squall defeated Unbridled in four of their six meetings.
Background
Unbridled was a bay horse with a broad white blaze bred in Florida by
Tartan Stable
William L. McKnight (November 11, 1887 – March 4, 1978) was an American businessman and philanthropist who served his entire career in the 3M corporation, rising to chairman of the board from 1949 to 1966. He founded the McKnight Foundat ...
He was sired by Fappiano (10 wins in 17 starts), by
Mr. Prospector
Mr. Prospector (January 28, 1970 – June 1, 1999) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who became an outstanding breeding stallion and notable sire of sires. A sprinter whose career was cut short by repeated injuries, he won seven of his 14 starts, i ...
, and his dam was Gana Facil, by Le Fabuleux. Gana Facil was descended from Magic, a half-sister to both the champion sprinter
Ta Wee
Ta Wee (1966–1980) was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame race horse.
Background
Ta Wee was bred at the Tartan Stable of William L. McKnight (chairman of the board of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.). (The W. L. McKnight Han ...
and
Dr Fager
Dr. Fager (April 6, 1964 – August 5, 1976) was an American thoroughbred racehorse who had what many consider one of the greatest single racing seasons by any horse in the history of the sport. In 1968 at the age of four, he became the only horse ...
.
Racing career
In 1987, Trainer Tony Barnard was given charge of and broke Unbridled, at Tartan Farms, in Ocala, Florida. In 1989, at age two, Unbridled won the What A Pleasure Stakes and placed in all six of his starts. At age three, ridden by jockey Pat Day, he won the Grade IFlorida Derby by four lengths, then finished second behind Summer Squall in the Blue Grass Stakes. He then won America's most prestigious race, the
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 ...
, by 3½ lengths with jockey Craig Perret, while Summer Squall finishing second. He finished second in the Preakness Stakes to Summer Squall, and finished fourth without
Lasix
Furosemide is a loop diuretic medication used to treat edema, fluid build-up due to heart failure, hepatic cirrhosis, liver scarring, or kidney disease. It may also be used for the treatment of hypertension, high blood pressure. It can be take ...
in the
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...
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 ...
in 2:02.20 minutes. His performances for the year earned him the prestigious Eclipse Award as champion three-year-old male of 1990.
When Unbridled won the Derby, a network television camera in the
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...
stands captured his trainer,
Carl Nafzger
Carl A. Nafzger (born August 29, 1941, in Plainview, Texas) is an American Hall of Fame horse trainer. Before he was involved in horseracing he was a championship rodeo bull rider.
Nafzger trained Unbridled who won the 1990 Kentucky Derby and ...
, giving the horse's elderly owner, Frances Genter, a stretch call because of her poor vision. Nafzger shouted, "He's going to win! He's going to win! Oh, Mrs. Genter, I love you!"
Racing as a four-year-old, Unbridled won the
Deputy Minister Handicap
The Deputy Minister Handicap was a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early February at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The race was open to horses age four and older and contested on dirt over a distance of s ...
at Gulfstream Park and placed second behind Summer Squall in the
Fayette Handicap
The Fayette Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt held annually in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during the fall meetin ...
at
Keeneland Race Course
Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for its ...
. Unbridled lost four of six meetings with rival Summer Squall.
Stud record
Unbridled sired 292 runners that produced 183 winners (38 of those stakes winners) out of 437 foals, earning over $31 million by 2000. Ten of his offspring were Grade I stakes winners, four were classic winners, and three received Eclipse Awards. Unbridled is the last Kentucky Derby winner to sire another Derby winner: Grindstone, that won the Kentucky Derby in 1996.
Unbridled is also the last stallion to have sired at least one winner in each of the American Triple Crown races (first for each listed): Grindstone, Kentucky Derby, 1996; Red Bullet, Preakness Stakes, 2000; and Empire Maker, Belmont Stakes, 2003.
Some of Unbridled's other offspring include:
*Colts/Horses: Unbridled's Song, Eddington,
Anees Anees is a given name that may refer to:
*Anees (horse) (1997–2003), American Thoroughbred racehorse
*Anees Ahmed, Indian lawyer
*Anees Bazmee, Indian film producer and director
*Anees Jung (born 1964), Indian author and journalist
*Anees Salim
...
Banshee Breeze
Banshee Breeze (1995–2001) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. A winner of five Grade 1 races, she was voted the 1998 American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.
Background
Banshee Breeze was bred in Kentucky by James B. Tafel. She w ...
, Halfbridled, Exogenous, Santa Catarina, Surya, Lady Ballade, Happily Unbridled, Boom Town Girl, Unrestrained,
Manistique
Manistique, formerly Monistique, is the only city and county seat of Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 2,828.
The city borders the adjacent Manistique Township, but the two are a ...
, and Belterra.
Unbridled was grandsire through Unbridled's Song of the filly
Eight Belles
Eight Belles (February 23, 2005 – May 3, 2008) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who came second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby to the winner Big Brown. Her collapse just after the race resulted in immediate euthanasia.
Earlier in the ye ...
, who finished second at the
2008 Kentucky Derby
The 2008 Kentucky Derby was the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 3, 2008 with 157,770 in attendance, the second largest in Derby history.pasterns at the finish and was euthanized on the track, and of the colt Arrogate, who won the
2016 Breeders' Cup Classic
The 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 33rd running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2016 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 5, 2016 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California with a purse of $6 ...
2011 Preakness Stakes
The 2011 Preakness Stakes was the 136th running of the Preakness Stakes and was won by Shackleford. The race took place on May 21, 2011, and was televised in the United States on the NBC television network. The post time was EDT ( UTC). The race ...
.
One of Grindstone's foals, Birdstone, upset Smarty Jones to win the 2004 Belmont Stakes. Birdstone, in turn, sired Mine That Bird, a gelding that won the
2009 Kentucky Derby
The 2009 Kentucky Derby was the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby. The value of the race was $2,177,000 in stakes. The race was sponsored by Yum! Brands and hence officially was called ''Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.'' The race took ...
, and
Summer Bird
Summer Bird (April 7, 2006 – December 23, 2013) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse, son of 2004 Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone. He was bred by retired cardiologist Kalarikkal Jayaraman and his wife, retired pathologist Vilasini ...
, a colt that won the
2009 Belmont Stakes
The 2009 Belmont Stakes was the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes. The race took place on June 6, 2009, and was televised on ABC and ESPN360. The value of the race was $1,000,000 in stakes. Post time was 6:19 p.m. EST. As the final jewel ...
. Empire Maker, which won the
2003 Belmont Stakes
The 2003 Belmont Stakes was the 135th running of the Belmont Stakes. The race, known as the "test of the champion" and sometimes called the "final jewel" in thoroughbred horse racing's Triple Crown series, was held on June 7, 2003, three weeks af ...
, sired Pioneerof the Nile, who placed behind his cousin Mine That Bird in the 2009 Kentucky Derby, and eventually sired American Pharoah, the first-ever winner of the
Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing
The Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing is an informal name for the winning of four major Thoroughbred horse races in one season in the United States. The term has been applied to at least two different configurations of races, both of which inclu ...
in 2015. American Pharoah gave Unbridled the honour of four generations of Triple Crown race winners.
Death
In September 2001, Unbridled underwent two operations at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, near
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 ...
, to be treated for intestinal issues. He underwent his first surgery on September 21, where three feet of his intestine was removed. Five days removed from the first surgery, he suffered a setback, and underwent a second surgery on September 26. Unbridled recovered again and was sent home to Claiborne Farm on October 8. On October 19, 2001, at 6:00 PM, Unbridled was
euthanized
Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...
at the clinic after a severe bout of colic, with his condition being deemed inoperable.
Unbridled was laid to rest at Claiborne Farm.