Capot (1946–1974) 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 ...

sired by Menow out of the mare Piquet. Owned and bred by

Greentree Stable Greentree Stable, in Red Bank, New Jersey, was a major American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm established in 1914 by Payne Whitney of the Whitney family of New York City. Payne Whitney operated a horse farm and stable at Sa ...

, Capot was trained by

John M. Gaver, Sr. John Milton Gaver Sr. (October 29, 1900 – July 11, 1982) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born in Mount Airy, Maryland, John Gaver graduated from Princeton University then worked as a prep school language teacher ...

Two-year-old season

Racing as a two-year-old, Capot won the Champagne Stakes and the Wakefield Stakes. He capped off the year with his best performance in the prestigious

Pimlico Futurity The Laurel Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late September at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Run over a distance of miles on turf, at one time it was a Grade I stakes race on dirt, and one of the r ...

Three-year-old season

At age three, Capot entered the 1949

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 ...

as a 13–1 longshot. Ridden by

Ted Atkinson Theodore Frederick Atkinson (June 17, 1916 – May 5, 2005) was a Canadian-born American thoroughbred horse racing jockey, inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His sister was Ru ...

in all the

American Triple Crown In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three ...

races, Capot broke from the gate well and was forwardly placed early. He charged to the front of the field on the backstretch and held on willingly but was unable to withstand the rush from winner Ponder. Easily the best of the rest, he finished second, lengths in front of

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

. Then, in the second jewel of the Triple Crown, Capot opened as the 2.5–1 second favorite in the field of ten in the $75,000 Preakness. In that race, all broke well, and Capot sprinted near the lead in second as he passed the stands for the first time. Going into Pimlico's famous clubhouse turn, he was steadied in close quarters but held his position. Just inside the furlong pole coming down the lane, Capot assumed control and drew clear under pressure to stave off the rally of Palestinian and win by a head. It was three more lengths back to Noble Impulse in third, as favorite Ponder finished fifth. Capot won the Belmont Stakes three weeks later. His performances earned him 1949's Three-Year-Old Male Champion honors. He was also named the 1949 Horse of the Year by the ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of raceho ...

'' but lost the ''Turf and Sport Digest'' poll to Coaltown.

Four-year-old season

At age four, Capot won major stakes races including the 1950

Pimlico Special The Pimlico Special is a Grade 3 American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles ( furlongs) held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. The race currently offers a purse of $300,000. ...

Handicap at "Old Hilltop" in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He is one of only four horses to win both of Maryland's top races in the Preakness Stakes and the Pimlico Special. The others were Triple Crown winners:

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and Whirlaway. Later that year, Capot also won the Wilson Stakes and finished third in the

Fleetwing Handicap The Fleetwing Handicap was an American Thoroughbred race for horses age three and older that was run between 1908 and 1953. Inaugurated at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York it remained there through 1942 with the exception of 1915 when ...

to winner

Sheilas Reward Sheilas Reward (foaled 1947 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who was voted the American Champion Sprint Horse of 1950 and 1951. He was sired by multiple stakes winner Reaping Reward and out of the mare Smart Sheila, a ...

who broke the track record for six furlongs.

Breeding

References

Capot's pedigree and racing stats
{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1946 racehorse births 1974 racehorse deaths Whitney racehorses Racehorses bred in the United States Racehorses trained in the United States Preakness Stakes winners Belmont Stakes winners American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Thoroughbred family 5-f