War Relic (1938–1963) 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 ...

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

A homebred of

Samuel D. Riddle Samuel Doyle Riddle (July 1, 1861 – January 8, 1951) was an American businessman and racehorse owner. He was born in Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, a small town southwest of Philadelphia given the family name by his father. Samuel D. Riddle, ...

, his sire was

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 ...

who was ranked #1 in the

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century ''BloodHorse'' is a multimedia news organization covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding that started with a newsletter first published in 1916 as a monthly bulletin put out by the Thoroughbred Horse Association.

. His dam was Friar's Carse, the United States' Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of 1925 who was the daughter of

Friar Rock Friar Rock (1913 – January 8, 1928) was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse. His most important win came in the 1916 Belmont Stakes. Background Owned and raced by the prominent New York City businessman August Belmont Jr., he was foal ...

, the 1916

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 ...

winner and Horse of the Year. After trainer George Conway's death on June 20, 1939, War Relic's race conditioning was taken over by Walter A. Carter.

Racing career

In 1941, the three-year-old War Relic won several top races, including the

Massachusetts Handicap The Massachusetts Handicap, frequently referred to as the "MassCap", was a flat thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and up held annually at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was an ungraded stakes race run o ...

, and ran second by a nose to U.S. Triple Crown champion

Whirlaway Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to ...

in the 1941

Saranac Handicap The Saranac Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Graded stakes race, Grade III stakes is open to three-year-old horses and is raced on grass, turf over a distance of 1 ...

but defeated him in that year's

Narragansett Special The Narragansett Special was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Narragansett Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At the time of its inaugural running in 1934, the Narragansett Special offered a purse of $32,500 added money making it ...

Stud record

According to the National Sporting Library's Thoroughbred Heritage website, War Relic was the most successful sire of any of Man o' War's sons. Among War Relic's progeny was

Battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...

who earned U.S. Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors in 1950.

Intent Intentions are mental states in which the agent commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the ''content'' of the intention while the commitment is the ''a ...

was another successful son of War Relic both on the racetrack and at stud.http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/ManOWar.html War Relic at the Thoroughbred Heritage website War Relic's line continues today in modern thoroughbred champions like

Tiznow Tiznow (foaled March 12, 1997 in California) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his wins in the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2000 and 2001, becoming the only horse to win this race twice. He was the 2000 American Horse of the Year an ...

Colonel John Colonel John (foaled March 4, 2005 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2008 Santa Anita Derby and Travers Stakes. Background Bred and raced by WinStar Farm, Colonel John was sired by Tiznow, the 2000 U.S. Horse of th ...

, Well Armed and

Bertrando {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Bertrando , image = , caption = , sire = Skywalker , dam = Gentle Hands , damsire = Buffalo Lark , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1989 , country = United States , colour = Dark Bay , breeder = Ed Nahem , ...

, providing a direct sire-line back to Man o' War. War Relic died at age twenty-five in 1963 and was buried at his owner's

Faraway Farm Faraway Farm, also known as the Daniel Ropp House, is a historic home located near Martinsburg, Berkeley County, West Virginia. It was built about 1865 and is a two-story, "L"-shaped brick dwelling. It is five bays wide and the ell is four bays ...

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 ...

. However, War Relic's remains along with those of

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 ...

and Man o' War were eventually moved to a place of honor at the

Kentucky Horse Park Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm, international equestrian competition venue, and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 (Iron Works Pike) and Interstate 75, at Exi ...

References

{{reflist 1938 racehorse births 1963 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 1-o Godolphin Arabian sire line