Wonder Where (foaled 1956 in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) was a Canadian

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 ...

who was Canada's 1959 Horse of the Year and a

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The H ...

inductee.

Background

Bred by

Frank J. Selke Francis Joseph Aloysius Selke (; May 7, 1893 – July 3, 1985) was a Canadian professional ice hockey executive in the National Hockey League. He was a nine-time Stanley Cup champion with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens and a Hockey ...

at his Rolling Range Farm in Quebec, she was sired by Occupy, a multiple stakes race winner and the 1943 top money earner in the United States voted American Co-Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. Her dam was On the Fly, a granddaughter of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

. Wonder Where was purchased at the 1957

Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) is an organization headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that was founded in 1906 to assist Thoroughbred horse breeders. Since 1982, there have been provincial divisions in Alberta, British Columbi ...

yearling sale by prominent horsemen

Larkin Maloney Larkin may refer to: * Larkin (surname) Buildings and structures * Larkin Administration Building, a destroyed building of the defunct Larkin Soap Company * Larkin Terminal Warehouse, original warehouse of the defunct Larkin Soap Company * Larki ...

and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team owner,

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National ...

. She was sent to trainer

Yonnie Starr Joseph "Yonnie" Starr (August 11, 1905 – March, 1990) was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer about whom the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame says has a "record unmatched in Canadian racing history." Starr began his caree ...

for race conditioning.

Racing career

Wonder Where the filly was sent to the track at age two where she won five of her eight starts including a win over her male counterparts in the

Clarendon Stakes The Clarendon Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race currently run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Held in early July, the sprint race is open to two-year-old horses foaled in the Province of Ontario and is contested over ...

. At age three, Wonder Where was the dominant horse in Canada, winning eight stakes races. She went up against male horses on a regular basis, winning twice, finishing second twice, and third once. Notably, in her win in the

Woodstock Stakes The Woodstock Stakes is a historic Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario since 1885. Held in mid April, the sprint race is open to three-year-old horses and is contested over a distance of five and ...

, she defeated top colt and future Hall of Fame inductee, Anita's Son. Although she had never won a race at more than 1⅛ miles, her handlers entered her in the 1⅝ miles

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is Since its creation i ...

. The distance proved too much for the filly and in her only finish out of the money in 1959, she finished seventh. Sent back to race at age four, Wonder Where made eight starts, winning five times.

Breeding record

Wonder Where was retired at the end of the 1960 to serve as a

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

under the auspices of co-owner Larkin Maloney. Her last foal was born in 1969. Of her offspring, the multiple stakes-winning filly Sno Where, sired by

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

, was the best performer on the track.

Honours

Wonder Where's brilliant 1959 racing campaign outshone even that of

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...

, the first horse to win the Canadian Triple Crown. In the balloting for

Canadian Horse of the Year The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Part of the Sovereign Awards program since 1975, ...

honours, Wonder Where outpolled New Providence by more than two to one. In recognition of her outstanding career in racing, in 2004 Wonder Where was inducted in the

. The annual

Wonder Where Stakes The Wonder Where Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1965 at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Held during the end of July/first week in August, it is the third leg of Canadian Triple Tiara series for Canadian-foal ...

at Toronto's

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

is named in her memory.

References

{{reflist 1956 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Canada Racehorses trained in Canada Canadian Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 20-b