Damascus (horse)
| Damascus | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Damascus at Claiborne Farm in 1981 | |
| Sire | Sword Dancer |
| Grandsire | Sun Glow |
| Dam | Kerala |
| Damsire | My Babu |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1964 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Mrs. Edith W. Bancroft |
| Owner | Mrs. Edith W. Bancroft |
| Trainer | Frank Y. Whiteley, Jr. |
| Record | 32: 21-7-3 |
| Earnings | $1,176,781 |
| Major wins | |
|
Remsen Stakes (1966) Preakness Stakes (1967) Belmont Stakes (1967) | |
| Awards | |
|
United States Champion 3-Yr-Old colt (1967) DRF United States Champion Handicap Horse (1967) United States Horse of the Year (1967) | |
| Honours | |
|
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame (1974) #16 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century | |
| Last updated on September 20, 2006 | |
Damascus (April 14, 1964 – August 8, 1995) was a Thoroughbred race horse sired by Sword Dancer (1959's Horse of the Year) out of Kerala (by My Babu) foaled at the Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1967, he won the Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes*, Jockey Club Gold Cup*, Wood Memorial, Travers Stakes, Dwyer Stakes (closing from 12 lengths back and spotting the runner up 16 pounds), and Woodward Stakes and was named Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old colt, plus he shared the champion handicap male honors with Buckpasser.[1][2] Also in 1967, Damascus finished third in the 1967 Kentucky Derby. A high-strung horse, he was enervated by the humidity and spooked by the crowd noise, so he was thereafter given a stable pony to calm him. During the same year, top horses Dr. Fager and Buckpasser were also competing. In Blood-Horse magazine's top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Buckpasser ranks 14th and Dr. Fager ranks 6th. In a race many consider the "Race of the Century," Damascus won the 1967 Woodward by 10 lengths over both of these horses after his connections, as well as those of Buckpasser, used stablemates to set a blistering pace, thus weakening Dr. Fager. Damascus himself ranks number 16 in the Blood Horse listing.
Background
Damascus was owned and bred by Mrs. Edith W. Bancroft, whose father, William Woodward, Sr., owned Belair Stud and won five Belmonts in the 1930s. Edith Bancroft inherited the famed Belair white silks with red polka dots and scarlet cap but never used Belair as a stable name. Damascus was trained by Hall of Famer Frank Whiteley, Jr. and ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Willie Shoemaker.
Racing career
Damascus won the Travers Stakes by 22 lengths, the Remsen Stakes, the American Derby while setting a track record, the Aqueduct Handicap against older horses and carrying top weight, the Leonard Richards Stakes, the Bay Shore Stakes, the Brooklyn Handicap (beating Dr. Fager, who had beaten him in the Suburban Handicap two weeks earlier), the William Dupont Jr. Handicap, the San Fernando Breeders' Cup Stakes, and the Malibu Stakes.
He bowed a tendon while racing in his second Jockey Club Gold Cup, coming in last, which was the only time in his career he was out of the top three. Whitely then retired him to stud.
In his three-year-old season, Damascus set an earnings record for a single season ($817,941) that held until Secretariat surpassed it almost a decade later.
Out of 32 lifetime starts, Damascus won 21 times, placed seven times, and came home third three times. His career earnings amounted to $1,176,781. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1974.
Stud record
At stud at Arthur B. Hancock, Jr.'s Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky, Damascus sired 71 stakes winners before being pensioned in 1989. He was especially successful with his daughters who produced champions. He died in his paddock at the age of 31 on August 8, 1995, and was buried at Claiborne.
Breeding
| Sire Sword Dancer ch. 1956 |
Sunglow
ch. 1947 |
Sun Again | Sun Teddy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hug Again | |||
| Rosern | Mad Hatter | ||
| Rosedrop | |||
| Highland Fling
brown 1950 |
By Jimmy | Pharamond | |
| Buginarug | |||
| Swing Time | Royal Minstrel | ||
| Speed Boat | |||
| Dam Kerala bay 1958 |
My Babu
bay 1945 |
Djebel | Tourbillon |
| Loika | |||
| Perfume | Budruddin | ||
| Lavendula | |||
| Blade of Time
brown 1938 |
Sickle | Phalaris | |
| Selene | |||
| Bar Nothing | Blue Larkspur | ||
| Beaming Beauty |
Notes
- Races normally held at Belmont Park, but in the years Damascus raced were held at Aqueduct, are designated by *.
References
- ↑ "Damascus Chosen Horse of Year". Pittsburgh Press. 1967-11-24. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
- ↑ "Damascus Only Pick for Horse of Year". Schenectady Gazette. 1967-11-28. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
- Damascus in the Hall of Fame, including a video of his Belmont win
- America's Championship three-year-old males
- Whiteley in the Hall of Fame
- Damascus at stud
- Frank Whiteley and Damascus, 1967