Quicken Tree (horse)
Encyclopedia
Quicken Tree was an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
known for his dramatic come-from-behind style of running and his ability to win at classic and marathon distances. His California
breeder, Louis Rowan
, a co-founder of the Oak Tree Racing Association
, named the horse one of the folk names given to the Rowan
plant.
Quicken Tree was foaled in California at Louis Rowan's Summit Lake Farm. He was sired by 1959 Preakness Stakes
winner Royal Orbit
, a grandson of the great Nearco
whom Thoroughbred Heritage
calls "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century". http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Pharos.html Louis Rowan owned Quicken Tree's dam, Mother Wit, a daughter of 1951 American Horse of the Year Counterpoint
, who was a son of the 1943 U.S. Triple Crown
champion and Hall of Fame
inductee Count Fleet
. Rowan, a co-founder of the Oak Tree Racing Association
, raced him in partnership with Wheelock Whitney, Jr.
Quicken Tree was extremely high-strung, and trainer Clyde Turk
had a great deal of difficulty training him. The decision was then made to geld
the horse. The operation changed little, but time and patience eventually paid off and Quicken Tree made his racing debut at age three in January of 1966. Still skittish, he had problems in the starting gate and froze at the sound of the bell. After finally departing well behind the rest of the field, he finished dead last. His "freezing up" at the sound of the starting gate bell plagued him throughout his racing career, resulting in his need to frequently waste energy just to catch up with the rest of the field. Nonetheless, Quicken Tree's problem meant dramatic come-from-behind wins that made him a crowd favorite. He won for the first time in his fourth start, after which he showed little talent and was offered to potential buyers in claiming race
s. No one wanted him.
Nearing the end of Quicken Tree's frustrating three-year-old campaign, things began to change and he won a division of the Escondido Handicap
at the Del Mar Racetrack
and the Tropicana Hotel of Las Vegas Handicap at Bay Meadows Racetrack. In early 1967, Minnesota
sportsman Wheelock Whitney, Jr.
saw the increasing potential in the gelding and purchased a part interest in the then four-year-old. That year, Quicken Tree won two important handicaps in California, then captured the two-mile Display Handicap
at Aqueduct Racetrack
in New York
. In 1968, he won in California but earned the biggest wins of his career to that point on New York racetracks where he competed against such stars as future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
inductees Dr. Fager
and Damascus
. Quicken Tree's 1968 wins included the Jockey Club Gold Cup
at a distance of two miles, and the Manhattan Handicap
at a mile and a half.
In 1969, Quicken Tree added to his resume. In 1970, trainer Clyde Turk's assistant, William Canney, took over the horse's race conditioning. Under Canney, he continued to win, and, some twenty years after Noor
won both the 1¼ mile Santa Anita Handicap
and the 1¾ mile San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap
, Quicken Tree became only the second horse to accomplish that feat. His win the San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap (a dead heat with Fiddle Isle) was his last victory. Although he recovered following an operation to repair a cracked sesamoid bone
that happened when he kicked the wall in his stall, he developed a case of enteritis
and died in his stall at Santa Anita Park
on October 22, 1970. He was buried next to Lamb Chop
near the mile and a quarter chute at Santa Anita Park
.
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...
known for his dramatic come-from-behind style of running and his ability to win at classic and marathon distances. His California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
breeder, Louis Rowan
Louis R. Rowan
Louis R. Rowan was an American businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder.A native of California, Rowan was educated in England. In 1968, along with Clement L. Hirsch and Dr. Jack Robbins, he co-founded the Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...
, a co-founder of the Oak Tree Racing Association
Oak Tree Racing Association
The Oak Tree Racing Association is an American not-for-profit corporation that exists to conduct live thoroughbred horse racing in Southern California.-History:...
, named the horse one of the folk names given to the Rowan
Rowan
The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies...
plant.
Quicken Tree was foaled in California at Louis Rowan's Summit Lake Farm. He was sired by 1959 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 Royal Orbit
Royal Orbit
Royal Orbit was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown races....
, a grandson of the great Nearco
Nearco
Nearco was an Italian bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by Thoroughbred Heritage as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He was not only unbeaten, winning 14 races at distances from 5 furlongs to 1 mile 7 furlongs ,...
whom Thoroughbred Heritage
National Sporting Library
The National Sporting Library & Museum The National Sporting Library and Museum, located in beautiful, historic Middleburg, Virginia, is dedicated to preserving, promoting, and sharing the literature, art, and culture of horse and field sports...
calls "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century". http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Pharos.html Louis Rowan owned Quicken Tree's dam, Mother Wit, a daughter of 1951 American Horse of the Year Counterpoint
Counterpoint (horse)
Counterpoint was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by 1943 U.S. Triple Crown champion Count Fleet, as a yearling he injured an ankle bone severely enough that his racing future was put in doubt...
, who was a son of the 1943 U.S. Triple Crown
United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
champion and 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...
inductee Count Fleet
Count Fleet
Count Fleet was born and died at Stoner Creek Stud farm in Paris, Kentucky, United States. He was a Thoroughbred racehorse and Triple Crown champion in 1943....
. Rowan, a co-founder of the Oak Tree Racing Association
Oak Tree Racing Association
The Oak Tree Racing Association is an American not-for-profit corporation that exists to conduct live thoroughbred horse racing in Southern California.-History:...
, raced him in partnership with Wheelock Whitney, Jr.
Wheelock Whitney, Jr.
Wheelock "Whee" Whitney, Jr. is a Minneapolis businessman, educator, sports team executive and owner, philanthropist and politician who attended Phillips Andover and Yale University with George H.W. Bush. He and Bush were both members of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Yale...
Quicken Tree was extremely high-strung, and trainer Clyde Turk
Clyde Turk
Clyde Turk was an American jockey and trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. He began riding horses in the 1920s and in 1929 was riding at the new Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico...
had a great deal of difficulty training him. The decision was then made to geld
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
the horse. The operation changed little, but time and patience eventually paid off and Quicken Tree made his racing debut at age three in January of 1966. Still skittish, he had problems in the starting gate and froze at the sound of the bell. After finally departing well behind the rest of the field, he finished dead last. His "freezing up" at the sound of the starting gate bell plagued him throughout his racing career, resulting in his need to frequently waste energy just to catch up with the rest of the field. Nonetheless, Quicken Tree's problem meant dramatic come-from-behind wins that made him a crowd favorite. He won for the first time in his fourth start, after which he showed little talent and was offered to potential buyers in claiming race
Claiming race
A claiming race in thoroughbred horse racing is one in which the horses are all for sale for more or less the same price up until shortly before the race. Race types form a hierarchy in terms of the quality of horse they attract, with handicap races and graded stakes races attracting the "best"...
s. No one wanted him.
Nearing the end of Quicken Tree's frustrating three-year-old campaign, things began to change and he won a division of the Escondido Handicap
Cougar II Handicap
The Cougar II Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late July/early August at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. A Grade III event open to horses age three and older, it is contested on Polytrack synthetic dirt over a distance of a mile and a half...
at the Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...
and the Tropicana Hotel of Las Vegas Handicap at Bay Meadows Racetrack. In early 1967, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
sportsman Wheelock Whitney, Jr.
Wheelock Whitney, Jr.
Wheelock "Whee" Whitney, Jr. is a Minneapolis businessman, educator, sports team executive and owner, philanthropist and politician who attended Phillips Andover and Yale University with George H.W. Bush. He and Bush were both members of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Yale...
saw the increasing potential in the gelding and purchased a part interest in the then four-year-old. That year, Quicken Tree won two important handicaps in California, then captured the two-mile Display Handicap
Display Handicap
The Display Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse raceformerly run on Long Island, New York's Aqueduct Racetrack. It was for 3-year-olds and up, and was traditionally held on the last day of racing in New York for that calendar year...
at Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In 1968, he won in California but earned the biggest wins of his career to that point on New York racetracks where he competed against such stars as future U.S. Racing 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...
inductees Dr. Fager
Dr. Fager
Dr. Fager was an American a thoroughbred racehorse who had what many consider one of the greatest single racing seasons by any horse in the history of the sport. "The Doctor" was the only horse who ever held four titles in one year...
and Damascus
Damascus (horse)
Damascus was a thoroughbred race horse sired by Sword Dancer out of Kerala foaled at the Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...
. Quicken Tree's 1968 wins included the Jockey Club Gold Cup
Jockey Club Gold Cup
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the...
at a distance of two miles, and the Manhattan Handicap
Manhattan Handicap
The Manhattan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York...
at a mile and a half.
In 1969, Quicken Tree added to his resume. In 1970, trainer Clyde Turk's assistant, William Canney, took over the horse's race conditioning. Under Canney, he continued to win, and, some twenty years after Noor
Noor (horse)
Noor was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse Champion who competed successfully in the United Kingdom and the United States. Given the Arabic name meaning "Light", Noor was sired by five-time U.S. leading sire Nasrullah...
won both the 1¼ mile Santa Anita Handicap
Santa Anita Handicap
The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up , and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during the winter racing season...
and the 1¾ mile San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap
San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap
The San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap is an American invitational handicap Thoroughbred horse race run annually on turf at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is North America's longest graded stakes race. Open to horses age four and older, the Grade II event currently offers a...
, Quicken Tree became only the second horse to accomplish that feat. His win the San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap (a dead heat with Fiddle Isle) was his last victory. Although he recovered following an operation to repair a cracked sesamoid bone
Sesamoid bone
In anatomy, a sesamoid bone is a bone embedded within a tendon.Sesamoids are found in locations where a tendon passes over a joint, such as the hand, knee, and foot. Functionally, they act to protect the tendon and to increase its mechanical effect. The presence of the sesamoid bone holds the...
that happened when he kicked the wall in his stall, he developed a case of enteritis
Enteritis
In medicine, enteritis, from Greek words enteron and suffix -itis , refers to inflammation of the small intestine. It is most commonly caused by the ingestion of substances contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. Symptoms include abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, dehydration and fever...
and died in his stall at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
on October 22, 1970. He was buried next to Lamb Chop
Lamb Chop (horse)
Lamb Chop was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Bred by Bull Hancock's renowned Claiborne Farm, she was sired by the great Bold Ruler, an eight-time Leading sire in North America and grandson of Nearco. Her dam, Sheepsfoot, was a daughter of the 1943 U.S...
near the mile and a quarter chute at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
.