Wildair (foaled 1917 in Kentucky) 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 bred and raced by Exemplar of Racing

Harry Payne Whitney Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family. Early years Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as the eldest son ...

and trained by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, James Rowe Sr. Wildair's most important race win came in the 1920

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...

, one of the most prestigious American races outside of the Triple Crown series.

Breeding

Regally bred, Wildair was sired by Hall of Fame inductee

Broomstick A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

who was the son of another Hall of Fame inductee,

Ben Brush Ben Brush (1893–1918) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1896 Kentucky Derby. Walter Vosburgh, for whom the Vosburgh Stakes is named, said Bramble was "a breed as tough as pine nuts." On May 6, 1896, Bramble and Ros ...

. Wildair's dam was Verdure by yet another Hall of Fame inductee

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

.Equiline pedigree for Wildair
Retrieved September 4, 2018

Racing career

In his three-year-old season, after running third to the legendary

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 ...

in 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 ...

, Wildair won the 1920

Empire City Derby The Empire City Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1917 through 1933 at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. A race for three-year-old horses of either sex, the event was contested at a mile and one-eighth a ...

. Among his other notable wins in 1920, Wildair won the Chesapeake Handicap at

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 ...

and defeated the 1919 U.S. Triple Crown champion

Sir Barton Sir Barton (April 26, 1916 – October 30, 1937) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the first winner of the American Triple Crown. Background Sir Barton was a chestnut colt bred in 1916, in Kentucky, by John E. Madden at H ...

to win the Marathon Handicap at

Havre de Grace Racetrack The Havre de Grace Racetrack was an American horse racing track on Post Road in Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland. Nicknamed "The Graw," it operated from August 24, 1912, to 1950. For a time, it was owned by the Harford Agricultural and B ...

. Racing at age four, Wildair won the

Delaware Handicap The Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade 2 race is open to fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-quarter miles o ...

Progeny

Wildair was modestly successful as a sire. His best was the colt

Sir Harry Sir Harry is the name given to nine different Thoroughbred racehorses 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 com ...

who won the 1927 Coffroth Handicap, the then richest race in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

with a purse of $100,000. That same year Sir Harry ran second to Bostonian in the

1927 Preakness Stakes The 1927 Preakness Stakes was the 52nd running of the $63,100 Preakness Stakes Thoroughbred horse race. The race took place on May 9, 1927, and was won by Bostonian who was ridden by Whitey Abel. The colt won the race by a half length over runn ...

. Wildair was also the

damsire Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

of several very good horses including

Pot O'Luck Pot O'Luck (1942) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by the renowned Calumet Farm of Lexington, Kentucky. He was sired by Chance Play, the 1927 retrospective American Horse of the Year and 1935 Leading sire in North America. Ou ...

and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees

Alsab Alsab (1939–1963) was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Background Alsab was bred in Kentucky by Thomas Piatt. His sire was Good Goods, and his dam was Winds Chant. Buy ...

and

Bewitch Bewitch (1945–1959) was a Thoroughbred race horse born in 1945 at Calumet Farm, Kentucky, United States in the same crop in which the stallion Bull Lea produced Citation and Coaltown. Each of them was eventually inaugurated into the Thoroughbr ...

.Pedigree Query, Wildair progeny
Retrieved September 4, 2018

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1917 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 19-b Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States