Triplicate (foaled 1941) was an American
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...
.
Background
Triplicate was sired by the 1928
American Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...
and
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,
Reigh Count. His dam was Fairday, a daughter of another Hall of Fame inductee,
Fair Play.
Racing career
Triplicate was purchased as an unsuccessful three-year-old for $6,000 by actor/dancer
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...
who owned Blue Valley Ranch, a Thoroughbred breeding farm in the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
. Under veteran trainer
Clyde Phillips, Triplicate had his best year in 1946 at age five. In March he defeated
Howard Hawks' horse and won the -mile
San Juan Capistrano Handicap in track record time and on July 27 beat the best horses on the West Coast in the $100,000
Hollywood Gold Cup
The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $200,000 ...
.
Trainer Clyde Phillips died on December 17, 1946, and Triplicate's race conditioning was taken over by
Lloyd Campion. In 1947, Triplicate's most important win came under superstar jockey
Johnny Longden
John Eric "Johnny" Longden (February 14, 1907 – February 14, 2003) was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey and a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. His father emigrated to ...
in the $75,000
Golden Gate Handicap at
Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields was an American horse racing race track, track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closi ...
. In his last year of racing at age seven in 1949, he met with only modest success.
Sire line tree
*Triplicate
Sire Line: King Fergus
/ref>
**Better Bee
***Abes Hope[American Classic Pedigree: Bee Bee Bee](_blank)
/ref>
References
Triplicate's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{Fred Astaire
1941 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in the United States
Racehorses trained in the United States
Thoroughbred family 1-m
Fred Astaire