Hansel (horse)
Encyclopedia
Hansel is an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
who won the final two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown
races in 1991 and was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Male Horse
. Out of the mare
Count on Bonnie, his sire was Woodman
, a Champion 2-year-old colt in Ireland
who was a son of the influential Champion sire
Mr. Prospector
. Woodman also sired the 1994 Breeders' Cup Juvenile
and Preakness Stakes
winner, Timber Country
, as well as the 1999 Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Colt
and Queen's Plate
winner, Woodcarver. Hansel's owner was bank
er Joe Lewis Allbritton, who raced him under his Lazy Lane Farm banner.
Tremont Stakes
and the Grade II Arlington-Washington Futurity Stakes
and finishing second in the Grade I Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, in track record time. In April, he finished third in the Grade I Florida Derby
behind the 1990 U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old
Fly So Free
and second-place finisher Strike the Gold
. Two weeks prior to the Derby, Hansel won the grade two Lexington Stakes at Keeneland Racecourse.
In the 1991 Kentucky Derby
, Hansel was the betting favorite but after a mile tired badly and finished tenth. As a result of his poor performance, trainer Frank Brothers
initially decided to skip the Preakness Stakes
. However, after a good workout by Hansel and encouragement from Hall of Fame
trainer Jack Van Berg
, for whom he had worked as an assistant, Brothers changed his mind and shipped the colt to Pimlico Race Course
. Hansel beat the Preakness field of eight by seven lengths. He finished ahead of place runners Corporate Report and Mane Minister with Best Pal and Strike the Gold finishing fifth and sixth respectively.
In the Belmont Stakes
, Hansel had to race without Lasix, a drug used to control bleeding that the NYRA
had banned at the time. As a result, bettors made Strike the Gold their first choice. However, Hansel held off a late charge by Strike the Gold to win the Belmont Stakes
by a head, with Mane Minister
finishing third as he had in the Derby and Preakness.
Hansel became the first "Dual Classic Winner" to win the last two jewels of the Triple Crown since Little Current in 1974. He was awarded the fifth $1,000,000 Chrysler Triple Crown Bonus. Hansel also finished second to Corporate Report in the 1991 Travers Stakes
at Saratoga. He was then named American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse winning the Eclipse Award
by a comfortable margin over the other finalists.
and was retired at the end of the racing season to stand at stud
at the Sheik's Gainsborough Stud. Under the terms of the sale, Joe Lewis Allbritton retained breeding interest in him. During the 1998 and 1999 breeding seasons, Hansel was sent to stand at Questroyal Stud, LLC. in Claverack, New York
, after which he was sent to breeders in Japan
, where he remained until 2006. He now stands at Allbritton's Lazy Lane Farm in Upperville, Virginia
.
(Formerly Isabel Dodge Sloane's
Brookmeade Stud
)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
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...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
who won the final two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
races in 1991 and was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Male Horse
Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Male Horse
The American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....
. Out of the mare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
Count on Bonnie, his sire was Woodman
Woodman (horse)
Woodman was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in Ireland but who is best known as a sire of a number of important racehorses....
, a Champion 2-year-old colt in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
who was a son of the influential Champion sire
Leading sire in North America
The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...
Mr. Prospector
Mr. Prospector
Mr. Prospector was a thoroughbred racehorse foaled in Kentucky, whose descendants have been dominant in the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. He won half of his 14 career races.-Background:...
. Woodman also sired the 1994 Breeders' Cup Juvenile
Breeders' Cup Juvenile
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....
and Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
winner, Timber Country
Timber Country
Timber Country is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first horse to ever win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile then go on to win one of the U.S. Triple Crown races for three-year-olds....
, as well as the 1999 Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Colt
Sovereign Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Male Horse
The Canadian Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada, it is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top 3-Year-Old male Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada.Past winners:...
and Queen's Plate
Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
winner, Woodcarver. Hansel's owner was bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
er Joe Lewis Allbritton, who raced him under his Lazy Lane Farm banner.
Two year-old season
Hansel had success racing at age two, winning the Grade IIIGraded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
Tremont Stakes
Tremont Stakes
The Tremont Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually for 2-year-olds at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.Due to the troubled economy in 2008, the Tremont was canceled by the NYRA as they adjusted races to meet the new Grade I standard purse of $300,000. The Tremont Stakes was...
and the Grade II Arlington-Washington Futurity Stakes
Arlington-Washington Futurity Stakes
The Arlington-Washington Futurity Stakes is a Grade III flat horse race for Thoroughbred two-year-olds. It is raced over a distance of 8 furlongs, or one mile, on Polytrack synthetic dirt at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois every fall and currently offers a purse of $150,000.It was run...
and finishing second in the Grade I Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
Three-year-old season
In 1991, Hansel began his three-year-old campaign at the end of March when he won the Grade II Jim Beam StakesLane's End Stakes
The Spiral Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held in late March at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky in the Cincinnati area. The race is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the main track, which is now a synethic surface at Turfway...
at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, in track record time. In April, he finished third in the Grade I Florida Derby
Florida Derby
The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida on the Saturday closest to the end of March or the first of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade 1 race is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt...
behind the 1990 U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old
Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Male Horse
The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....
Fly So Free
Fly So Free
Fly So Free was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. A grandson of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Damascus, Fly So Free was owned by New York City Broadway theatre producer and music publishing company owner Tommy Valando and his wife Elizabeth.In 1990, Fly So Free capped off a...
and second-place finisher Strike the Gold
Strike the Gold
Strike the Gold is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1991 Kentucky Derby. Upon the death of 1987 Derby winner Alysheba in March 2009, Strike the Gold became the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner....
. Two weeks prior to the Derby, Hansel won the grade two Lexington Stakes at Keeneland Racecourse.
In the 1991 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
, Hansel was the betting favorite but after a mile tired badly and finished tenth. As a result of his poor performance, trainer Frank Brothers
Frank L. Brothers
Frank L. Brothers is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who in 1991 won two of the three U.S. Triple Crown races...
initially decided to skip the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
. However, after a good workout by Hansel and encouragement from Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
trainer Jack Van Berg
Jack Van Berg
John Charles "Jack" Van Berg is an American Hall of Fame horse trainer. Born into a horse racing family, his father is Hall of Fame trainer, Marion Van Berg....
, for whom he had worked as an assistant, Brothers changed his mind and shipped the colt to Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...
. Hansel beat the Preakness field of eight by seven lengths. He finished ahead of place runners Corporate Report and Mane Minister with Best Pal and Strike the Gold finishing fifth and sixth respectively.
In the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
, Hansel had to race without Lasix, a drug used to control bleeding that the NYRA
New York Racing Association
The New York Racing Association, Inc. is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest thoroughbred horse-racing tracks in the state of New York. It runs Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island , and Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga...
had banned at the time. As a result, bettors made Strike the Gold their first choice. However, Hansel held off a late charge by Strike the Gold to win the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
by a head, with Mane Minister
Mane Minister
Mane Minister is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best remembered as the first horse to ever finish third in all three of the U.S. Triple Crown races. Bred by Normandy Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, he was out of the mare Lacework, whose sire was In Reality, winner of the 1967 Florida Derby and...
finishing third as he had in the Derby and Preakness.
Hansel became the first "Dual Classic Winner" to win the last two jewels of the Triple Crown since Little Current in 1974. He was awarded the fifth $1,000,000 Chrysler Triple Crown Bonus. Hansel also finished second to Corporate Report in the 1991 Travers Stakes
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...
at Saratoga. He was then named American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse winning the Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
by a comfortable margin over the other finalists.
Retirement
In early September 1991, Hansel was sold to Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid Al MaktoumMaktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also referred to as Sheikh Maktoum was the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the emir of Dubai.-Biography:...
and was retired at the end of the racing season to stand at stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
at the Sheik's Gainsborough Stud. Under the terms of the sale, Joe Lewis Allbritton retained breeding interest in him. During the 1998 and 1999 breeding seasons, Hansel was sent to stand at Questroyal Stud, LLC. in Claverack, New York
Claverack, New York
Claverack is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 6,401 at the 2000 census. The town name is a corruption for the Dutch word for "Clover Fields" or "Clover Reach"....
, after which he was sent to breeders in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where he remained until 2006. He now stands at Allbritton's Lazy Lane Farm in Upperville, Virginia
Upperville, Virginia
Upperville is an unincorporated community in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States, located along U.S. Route 50 fifty miles from downtown Washington, D.C.. Founded in the 1790s along Pantherskin Creek, it was originally named Carrstown by first settler Josephus Carr...
.
(Formerly Isabel Dodge Sloane's
Isabel Dodge Sloane
Isabel Cleves Dodge Sloane was an American heiress and socialite who owned a major Thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm....
Brookmeade Stud
Brookmeade Stable
Brookmeade Stable was a successful thoroughbred horse racing stable owned by heiress and socialite Isabel Dodge Sloane. Sloane first won using the name Brookmeade Stable at the Manly Memorial Steeplechase at Pimlico in 1924....
)