Whimsical (foaled 1903 at Catesby Woodford's Raceland Farm near Paris, Kentucky) was an American

Thoroughbred racehorse 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 ...

. She is best known as the second filly to ever win the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

Background

Whimsical was sired by Orlando, out of the mare, Kismet, who was sired by United States Racing Hall of Fame

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

, Hindoo.

Racing career

As a two-year-old Whimsical won the

Belles Stakes The Belles Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually for two-year-old fillies from 1886 through 1908 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, New York. The race was run on dirt and for its final seven editions at a dista ...

and Golden Rod Stakes at

Sheepshead Bay Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * ''Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central Am ...

and finished second when racing against

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

s in the Champagne Stakes. At age three she won the Standard Stakes at

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

in which she defeated 1905 Preakness Stakes winner Cairngorm and 1905 Futurity Stakes winner Ormondale. In the Preakness Stakes she led from the start and won easily in a time of 1:45 by 4 lengths over Content and Larabie. In this period, the race was held at Gravesend Race Track on

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Owner Tim Gaynor sold Whimsical to the partnership of Matthew Looram and a Mr. Biddle. The new owners maintained Gaynor as Whimsical's trainer until late August 1907 when they replaced him with

Frank Weir Frank Weir (30 January 1911 – 12 May 1981) was a British orchestra leader and jazz musician. He reached number 1 one on the UK Singles Chart in 1954 with Vera Lynn on a recording of the song "My Son, My Son", receiving positive reviews in ''Vari ...

Retirement

Whimsical was retired to Brookdale Farm to become a broodmare.

Honours

The

Whimsical Stakes The Whimsical Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid April at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A Grade III race since 2006, it is open to fillies and mares aged four and older. It is raced over a distance of 6 furl ...

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

is a 6 furlong race named for her and is raced on Preakness weekend.

Pedigree

References

1903 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Preakness Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 2-n {{Racehorse-stub