John Henry (horse)

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For other uses, see John Henry (disambiguation).
John Henry
#23 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century
Statue at Arlington Park
Statue at Santa Anita Park
Last updated on September 17, 2006

John Henry (March 9, 1975 – October 8, 2007) was an American champion

Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century
.

Background

The horse was named after the folk hero John Henry. As a colt, John Henry had a habit of tearing steel water and feed buckets off stall walls and stomping them flat. This reminded his owners of the legendary John Henry, who was known as a "steel-drivin' man".[citation needed][2] He was gelded both for his temperament as well as his lack of good breeding, which meant that he would have been unlikely to be in much demand as a breeding stallion. John Henry was a Golden Chance Farm foal. His sire, Ole Bob Bowers, was sired by Prince Blessed and his dam, Once Double, was sired by Double Jay, a graded stakes race winner.

John Henry was back at the knee (a flaw in conformation that generally makes a long racing career unlikely), undersized, and plainly bred. He was sold as a yearling for $1,100 at the Keeneland January Mixed sale to John Callaway who is credited with giving John Henry his name.

Racing record

John Henry had a series of trainers, and earned money in minor stakes, allowance races, and mid-level claiming races. In 1978,

Round Table Handicap at Arlington Park
.

In 1979, John Henry was given to a new trainer, Lefty Nickerson. Under him, John Henry won 4 of 11 races in 1979. When the grass season was over in New York, Rubin decided to send the horse to California under trainer Ron McAnally. Under McAnally, John Henry won six stakes races in a row.

Racing through the age of nine, John Henry won the 1981

Oak Tree Invitational Stakes, two Grade I turf stakes in Southern California. He won one of America's most important races for older horses, the 1981 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park, at 1½ miles on the dirt. This victory clinched his first Horse of the Year title, and as noted on the CBS telecast of that race (October 10, 1981, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHexkk8Xhl0
), becoming the sport's all-time leading money earner.

A bronze statue called Against All Odds, created by Edwin Bogucki, stands on a balcony overlooking the paddock at Arlington Park. It commemorates one of John Henry's most famous finishes; in 1981, at the inaugural Arlington Million, John Henry won over 5-year-old The Bart in a photo finish.

On December 11, 1983, John Henry became the first racehorse to surpass $4 million in career earnings when he won the Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes with jockey Chris McCarron at Hollywood Park Racetrack.

John Henry's last race was the 1984 Ballantine Scotch Classic at the Meadowlands. As he took the lead in the stretch, Meadowlands track announcer Dave Johnson exclaimed, "And down the stretch they come! The old man, John Henry, takes command!" He pulled away to his 39th career victory and his second Horse of the Year title. The final time of 2:13 equaled the track record for 1⅜ mile.

John Henry was a late entry into the Inaugural Breeders Cup in 1984 but a strained ligament in his left foreleg caused him to be withdrawn from the race and retired.

John Henry's final race record stood at 83 starts, 39 wins, 15 seconds, and 9 thirds with $6,591,860 in earnings. He was twice voted the

Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year in 1981 and 1984; 1981 being the first unanimous election of the winner. That feat was not repeated until 2015 when Triple Crown winner American Pharoah was also elected unanimously.[3]

Retirement

John Henry's brass nameplate

After retirement, Rubin sent John Henry to the Hall of Champions at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. He joined three time Horse of the Year Forego, as well as Standardbred Rambling Willie, and Throroughbreds Rossi Gold and A Letter To Harry. The Hall Of Champions would in time become home to retired Thoroughbred champions Cigar, Da Hoss and Funny Cide.[4]

Regular rider

top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, he was ranked #23. John Henry was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1990.[5]

Death

John Henry was

EDT (2305 UTC) on October 8, 2007, at the age of 32. He developed serious kidney problems and stopped responding to veterinary treatment, so the decision was made to put him down.[4] He was buried on the night of his death in front of the Hall of Champions at a spot in front of his paddock. A memorial service was held at the park on October 19.[6]

John Henry's accomplishments

Pedigree

Pedigree of John Henry (USA), brown gelding, 1975[1]
Sire
Ole Bob Bowers
1963 		Prince Blessed
1957 		Princequillo Prince Rose
Cosquilla
Dog Blessed Bull Dog
Blessed Again
Blue Jeans
1950 		Bull Lea
Bull Dog
Rose Leaves
Blue Grass Blue Larkspur
Camelot
Dam
Once Double
1967 		Double Jay
1944 		Balladier Black Toney
Blue Warbler
Broomshot Whisk Broom
Centre Shot
Intent One
1955 		Intent War Relic
Liz F.
Dusty Legs Mahmoud
Dustemall[7]
  • Through his sire, John Henry was inbred 4 × 4 to Bull Dog, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "John Henry pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  2. ^ "NPR : John Henry, Present at the Creation". NPR. 2012-07-12. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  3. ^ "American Pharoah is Unanimous 2015 Horse of the Year". NTRA. January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Wall, Maryjean (2007-10-08). "The champion is now the legend". Lexington Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  5. ^ John Henry Memorial Fund
  6. ^ "Memorial service set for John Henry". Lexington Herald-Leader. 2007-10-09. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  7. ^ "Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Woodbine - Family 8-c". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2014-01-05.

External links

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