Pleasant Colony
Encyclopedia
Pleasant Colony was an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
who won the first two legs of the 1981 U.S. Triple Crown series.
A big, gangly horse, standing just under seventeen hands
, Pleasant Colony was a grandson of the great Ribot
. Bred by Wall Street
financier Thomas Mellon Evans and raced under his Buckland Farm banner, at age two Pleasant Colony won two of his five starts including the Remsen Stakes
. At age three, in the spring of 1981 he was second in the Fountain of Youth Stakes
. Pleasant Colony lost 3 of 4 races to Akureyri
. He lost the Fountain of Youth Stakes
, Pilgrim Stakes
, and finished behind Akureyri in the Florida Derby
. He also was defeated by Akureyri in the Remsen Stakes
, but was placed first through disqualification. After a fifth place finish in March's Florida Derby
, his owner dismissed his trainer and replaced him with John P. Campo
. Pleasant Colony responded to the change and ridden by jockey
Jeffrey Fell
won April's Wood Memorial Stakes
by three lengths.
In the 1981 Kentucky Derby
under regular jockey Jorge Velasquez
, Pleasant Colony held off a powerful stretch drive by Woodchopper to win by three-quarters of a length. The expected rivalry with Woodchopper never materialized in the Preakness Stakes
. Pleasant Colony came from behind to win by a full length over Arkansas Derby
winner Bold Ego with Woodchopper far back in eleventh place. In the third and final leg of the Triple Crown series, the Belmont Stakes
, Pleasant Colony fell short, finishing third to winner, Summing
.
Pleasant Colony went on to win the Grade I
Woodward Stakes
and after a fourth place finish in the Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap
he was retired to stud
duty at Buckland Farm. At year's end, he was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Male Horse
.
. He became a very significant sire, producing seventy-three stakes race winners including more than a dozen Grade I winners and the Champions:
Pleasant Colony’s daughters have produced a number of Grade 1 stakes race winners. He is the damsire of Forestry
, sire of The Green Monkey
sold at the February 2006 Fasig-Tipton
Florida
auction for a world record price of $16-million. The Green Monkey
had almost no success at the racetrack and is now standing at stud.
Following his owner's death in 1997, Pleasant Colony was sent to Lane's End Farm
in Versailles, Kentucky
. In 2000 he was pensioned and sent to Blue Ridge Farm in Upperville, Virginia
where he died in 2002 at age 24.
Pleasant Colony returned to Buckland Farm, now owned by the Blake family, after his death and is buried on the farm overlooking the fields where his mares were.
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 first two legs of the 1981 U.S. Triple Crown series.
A big, gangly horse, standing just under seventeen hands
Hand (unit)
The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length, now used only for the measurement of the height of horses in some English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. With origins in ancient Egypt, it was originally based on the breadth of a human hand...
, Pleasant Colony was a grandson of the great Ribot
Ribot (horse)
Ribot was an Italian bay Thoroughbred racehorse, considered the strongest horse of all time.Undefeated in 16 races, he won over distances ranging from 5 furlongs to 1m 7f , in three different countries and in all types of track conditions...
. Bred by Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
financier Thomas Mellon Evans and raced under his Buckland Farm banner, at age two Pleasant Colony won two of his five starts including the Remsen Stakes
Remsen Stakes
The Remsen Stakes is an American Grade II race for Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York...
. At age three, in the spring of 1981 he was second in the Fountain of Youth Stakes
Fountain of Youth Stakes
The Fountain of Youth Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida at the beginning of March. A Grade II event open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt, it offers a purse of $400,000...
. Pleasant Colony lost 3 of 4 races to Akureyri
Akureyri
Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....
. He lost the Fountain of Youth Stakes
Fountain of Youth Stakes
The Fountain of Youth Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida at the beginning of March. A Grade II event open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt, it offers a purse of $400,000...
, Pilgrim Stakes
Pilgrim Stakes
The Pilgrim Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1979 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade III event raced in late September, it is open to horses two-year-old horses and is contested at a distance of 1⅛ miles on turf. In 1983, it was run on dirt...
, and finished behind Akureyri in the 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...
. He also was defeated by Akureyri in the Remsen Stakes
Remsen Stakes
The Remsen Stakes is an American Grade II race for Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York...
, but was placed first through disqualification. After a fifth place finish in March's 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...
, his owner dismissed his trainer and replaced him with John P. Campo
John P. Campo
John P. Campo, Sr. was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.Campo was born in East Harlem, New York and raised in Ozone Park, Queens. He is best known as the trainer of 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, Pleasant Colony...
. Pleasant Colony responded to the change and ridden by jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
Jeffrey Fell
Jeffrey Fell
Jeffrey J. Fell is a retired jockey and a Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee who was also a successful rider in the United States.-References:* * *...
won April's Wood Memorial Stakes
Wood Memorial Stakes
The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, New York. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt....
by three lengths.
In the 1981 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...
under regular jockey Jorge Velasquez
Jorge Velasquez
Jorge Velásquez is a thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey.Jorge Velasquez career in thoroughbred racing began in his native Panama but as a teenager moved to the United States...
, Pleasant Colony held off a powerful stretch drive by Woodchopper to win by three-quarters of a length. The expected rivalry with Woodchopper never materialized in 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...
. Pleasant Colony came from behind to win by a full length over Arkansas Derby
Arkansas Derby
The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt....
winner Bold Ego with Woodchopper far back in eleventh place. In the third and final leg of the Triple Crown series, 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...
, Pleasant Colony fell short, finishing third to winner, Summing
Summing
Summing was an American thoroughbred stallion racehorse. He was sired by stakes winner Verbatim out of the Never Say Die mare, Well Kept....
.
Pleasant Colony went on to win the Grade I
Graded 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...
Woodward Stakes
Woodward Stakes
The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. Named for prominent racehorse owner, George Nicholas Woodward, it is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt for a purse of $750,000.The Woodward was run as a handicap in...
and after a fourth place finish in the Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap
Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap
The Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap was a Thoroughbred horse race first run in September 1973 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade 1 race for horses 3 years old and up, it was raced over a distance of 1 1/8 miles on a dirt track....
he was retired to 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...
duty at Buckland Farm. At year's end, he 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....
.
As a sire
From 1982 to 1998, Pleasant Colony stood at Thomas Mellon Evans's historic Buckland Farm in Buckland, VirginiaBuckland, Virginia
Buckland is an unincorporated village in Prince William County, Virginia. Established in 1798, Buckland was an early inland stagecoach town, situated along the Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike...
. He became a very significant sire, producing seventy-three stakes race winners including more than a dozen Grade I winners and the Champions:
- Pleasant Stage - 1991 Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old FillyEclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old FillyThe American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....
and winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile FilliesBreeders' Cup Juvenile FilliesThe Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a 1 1/16-mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.-Automatic Berths:Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup... - Pleasant TapPleasant TapPleasant Tap was an American thoroughbred stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Pleasant Colony, out of the mare, Never Knock...
- 1992 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male HorseEclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male HorseThe title of American Champion Older Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up. Prior to 1971, this award was referred to as "Champion Handicap Male Horse", and was open to any horse, three years old and up... - St JoviteSt JoviteSt Jovite is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by American Virginia Kraft Payson, he was sired by Pleasant Colony, winner of the 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He was out of Ms...
- EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an champion won the 1992 Irish Derby, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
Pleasant Colony’s daughters have produced a number of Grade 1 stakes race winners. He is the damsire of Forestry
Forestry (horse)
Forestry is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by Storm Cat out of the mare Shared Interest, by Pleasant Colony.Of his 11 starts, Forestry was very consistent as a three-year-old; in the money 10 times....
, sire of The Green Monkey
The Green Monkey
The Green Monkey is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. At the January 2006 Fasig-Tipton Calder sale of selected two-year-olds, The Green Monkey was sold for a world record auction price of $16 million....
sold at the February 2006 Fasig-Tipton
Fasig-Tipton
The Fasig-Tipton Company, Inc. is an auction house for Thoroughbred horses founded in 1898 by William B. Fasig and Edward A. Tipton. It is the oldest auction company of its kind in North America....
Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
auction for a world record price of $16-million. The Green Monkey
The Green Monkey
The Green Monkey is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. At the January 2006 Fasig-Tipton Calder sale of selected two-year-olds, The Green Monkey was sold for a world record auction price of $16 million....
had almost no success at the racetrack and is now standing at stud.
Following his owner's death in 1997, Pleasant Colony was sent to Lane's End Farm
Lane's End Farm
Lane's End Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Versailles, Kentucky established in 1979. The original land was part of Bosque Bonita Farm which means beautiful woods and was originally owned by Abraham Buford, a Confederate Army General. The land was later bought by leading...
in Versailles, Kentucky
Versailles, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...
. In 2000 he was pensioned and sent to Blue Ridge 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...
where he died in 2002 at age 24.
Pleasant Colony returned to Buckland Farm, now owned by the Blake family, after his death and is buried on the farm overlooking the fields where his mares were.