Commendable (April 13, 1997 – April 10, 2014) 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 ...

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 ...

, best known for his victory in the 2000

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, nickname ...

. In his racing career, he ran twelve times and won two races. After his racing career, he stood as a

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 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Background

Commendable, a chestnut horse with a white blaze and four white feet, was sired by Gone West out of the mare Bought Twice, a half sister of the successful racehorse and sire Fappiano. As a yearling, he was consigned to the Keeneland July sales by the Taylor Made Agency, where he was bought for $575,000 by

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

and Beverly Lewis.

Racing career

1999: two-year-old season

Prior to the Belmont Stakes, Commendable earned $88,470 in seven races and his only win came in August 1999 in his debut: a Del Mar maiden race for two-year-olds. In his only other start at age two, he finished fourth in the

Del Mar Futurity The Del Mar Futurity is a seven-furlong American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. A Grade I event since 2007, the race is open to two-year-old horses and offers a purse of $300,000. In 1971, it w ...

a month later. Despite his modest achievements in 1999, he was identified as a potential contender for the Triple Crown races by his trainer,

D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is an American horse trainer and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. He has won twenty Breeders' Cup races, received five Eclipse Awards for his accomplishments, and his horses ha ...

2000: three-year-old season

In 2000, Commendable lost four races leading up to the Triple Crown series, although he finished fourth in the

San Felipe Stakes The San Felipe Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade II event open to three-year-old horses. Normally held in early -March, it is raced at a distance of one and one-s ...

to Fusaichi Pegasus and the

San Rafael Stakes The San Rafael Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race was a Grade III event with a purse of $150,000 and was open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile (8 furlongs) on ...

to War Chant. In 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-yea ...

, he finished seventeenth in a nineteen-horse field, after which his handlers chose not to run him 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 Graded stakes race, Grade I race run over a distance of ...

. On a sweltering day at Belmont, Commendable was among the outsiders for the third leg of the Triple Crown, despite the absence of leading three-year-olds

Fusaichi Pegasus Fusaichi Pegasus (; foaled April 12, 1997) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2000 Kentucky Derby, and subsequently set a record at auction - selling for US$70M to Coolmore Stud. Background The colt was purchased as a ye ...

and

Red Bullet Red Bullet (foaled 13 April 1997 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2000 Preakness Stakes. Background Red Bullet is a chestnut horse bred and raced by auto parts magnate Frank Stronach. He was sired by ...

. Lukas observed that he would need "a career best" to win. Ridden by

Pat Day Patrick Alan "Pat" Day (born October 13, 1953, in Brush, Colorado) is a retired American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991 a ...

, Commendable raced prominently, took the lead half a mile from the finish and stayed on in the straight to hold off the 9/5 favorite Aptitude by a length and a half. The 67,000 crowd were reportedly stunned by the Commendable's win which was achieved in a slow time of 2:31.2. Following his Belmont win, Commendable finished fourth in the

Dwyer Stakes The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade III stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over a ...

and then finished eighth of the nine starters in the Haskell Invitational Handicap. He later took third in the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to internati ...

and second behind

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 ...

in the Super Derby. Commendable did not race again, and his retirement was announced in November.

Stud record

He was retired to stud duty at Mill Ridge Farm in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

, where he remained until January 2005. He was then sold to the Korea Racing Association and exported to stand at a stud on Jeju Island,

Death

Commendable died on April 10, 2014, of complications of colic. His death at the Jangsu Stud Farm in

Jeolla Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in today Southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as w ...

, South Korea was confirmed in June 2014.

Pedigree

References

{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1997 racehorse births 2014 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Belmont Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 16-a