Friar Rock (1913 – January 8, 1928) was a Champion
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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. His most important win came in the 1916 Belmont Stakes.
Background
Owned and raced by the prominent
New York City
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Nursery Stud
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Fair Play
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, the sire of
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 t ...
. Friar Rock was sired by
Rock Sand
Rock Sand (1900–1914) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from the spring of 1902 until October 1904 he ran twenty times and won sixteen races. He was a leading British two-year-old of his generation, ...
, the 1903 English Triple Crown champion purchased by August Belmont Jr. from Sir James Miller and brought to the United States. Friar Rock was trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee
Sam Hildreth
Samuel Clay Hildreth (May 16, 1866 – September 24, 1929) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer and owner.Adirondack and
Whirl Stakes
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. That year, he won five of his twelve races.https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/05/31/119031605.pdf At age three, he was the dominant horse in American racing. After winning the important Brooklyn Handicap, Suburban Handicap,
Saratoga Cup
The Saratoga Cup was an American Thoroughbred horse race open to horses of either sex age three and older although geldings were not eligible from 1865 through 1918. Between 1865 and 1955 it was hosted by Saratoga Race Course, in Saratoga Springs ...
, and Belmont Stakes, he would be selected United States' Horse of the Year. In the Suburban, Friar Rock was considered a longshot in the field of six. Carrying 99 pounds, he stalked the leaders before taking over in the stretch to win by two lengths over the imported Short Grass, who carried 117 pounds. Friar Rock became the third three-year-old ever to win the Suburban. (The first two were
Africander
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Huge herds of Sanga type cattle were herded by the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) when the Dutch established the Cape Colony in 1652 ...
August Belmont Jr. sold Friar Rock shortly after his win in the 1 miles Saratoga Cup. New owner
John E. Madden
John Edward Madden (December 28, 1856 – November 3, 1929) was a prominent American Thoroughbred and Standardbred owner, breeder and trainer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He owned Hamburg Place Stud in Lexington, Kentucky ...
brought him to stand at stud at his
Hamburg Place
John Edward Madden (December 28, 1856 – November 3, 1929) was a prominent American Thoroughbred and Standardbred owner, breeder and trainer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He owned Hamburg Place Stud in Lexington, Kentucky ...
farm in Kentucky. Only a minor success as a sire of racers, Friar Rock did produce the noteworthy runner Pilate, who in turn was the sire of
Eight Thirty
Eight Thirty (March 27, 1936 – April 7, 1965) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned by George D. Widener, Jr. and bred by his Erdenheim Farm. Widener is one of only five people ever named an Exemplar of Racing. Ei ...
. Pilate himself won 24 of his 44 starts. Friar Rock's other progeny included Rockminster (winner of the Pimlico Cup Handicap), Flat Iron (raced 107 times and won the Hawthorne Handicap), and Polydorus (won the Tremont Stakes). Friar Rock proved to be a good broodmare sire and on five occasions was in the top ten on the annual broodmare sires' list. One of his best-known daughters was
Friar's Carse
Friars' Carse is a mansion house and estate situated (NX 926 850) southeast of Auldgirth on the main road (A76) to Dumfries, Parish of Dunscore, Scotland. The property is located on the west bank of the River Nith and is known for its strong as ...
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...
, to stand at Rancho Wickiup, where he remained for the rest of his life. Diagnosed as suffering from
peritonitis
Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...
, Friar Rock died at age fifteen on January 8, 1928.
In 1918 Madden had sold a half interest in Friar Rock to John Rosseter. The deal included sending the horse to Rosseter in California until the end of the breeding season of 1920. Then Madden was to keep Friar Rock in Kentucky for the seasons of 1921 and 1922. When the end of the season of 1920 came, Rosseter refused to send Friar Rock back to Kentucky. After Madden sued Rosseter, the horse was eventually delivered to him on May 23, 1921, in good condition.