Springbok (horse)
Encyclopedia
Springbok was an American Thoroughbred
racehorse who won the seventh Belmont Stakes
in 1873. Foaled in 1870, he was sired by the imported stallion Australian, his dam was a daughter of Lexington
. During his racing career he started 25 races, winning 17 of them. Besides the Belmont, Springbok won the Saratoga Cup
twice, in 1874 and 1875 and was named Champion Older Male horse in 1874 and 1875. After retiring from the racetrack, he sired five stakes winners and died in 1897.
stallion, bred by A. J. Alexander of Woodburn, Kentucky. Springbok was one of 26 stakes winning foals sired by Australian. Springbok was Hester's only stakes winning foal.
At two years of age, Springbok was owned and raced by Daniel Swigert, but was sold that year to David McDaniel for $2,000 (approximately $ today).
. He carried 110 pounds (49.9 kg) in the race, which had a winning time of 3 minutes 1 seconds. He won $5,200 (approximately $ today) for his owner from the race. The race was run on June 7 over a distance of miles (i.e. 13 furlongs (2,615.2 m)) on a fast track. He won the race by four lengths from the second placed finisher, Count D'Orsay, and the third place was Strachino. The wining jockey was James Rowe
, later to be a noted trainer. This was the third of three consecutive wins of the Belmont Stakes by David McDaniel as both owner and trainer, as he had already won the 1871 race with Harry Bassett and the 1872 race with Joe Daniels
.
Besides the Belmont, Springbok won the 1874 and 1875 Saratoga Cup
and the 1874 Citizens Stakes. During the 1870s, the Saratoga Cup was a 2+1/4 mi race. In 1874, Springbok won the race while carrying 108 pounds (49 kg), beating Preakness who came in second, and Katie Pease, who placed third. The winning time was 4 minutes 11 seconds, with a value to the winner of $2,450 (approximately $ today). His 1875 Saratoga Cup win was a dead heat
with the horse Preakness. In that race, Springbok carried 114 pounds (51.7 kg), and the winning time was 3 minutes 56 seconds. Third place was secured by Grinstead. The win paid $2,250 (approximately $ today) to Springbok's owner.
Springbok's total race career was 25 starts with 17 wins for a total earnings of $20,020 (approximately $ today). He is considered to be the 1874 American Champion Older Male Horse, and also the Champion Older Male Horse for 1875, a title he shared with Preakness.
, 1884 St. Louis Derby and the 1884 Hindoo Stakes. East Lynne was a 1882 mare out of Easter Planet by Planet. East Lynne won the 1885 Dixie Stakes and the 1885 Hunter Handicap. Ethel, a 1888 mare out of La Vena by Planet, won the 1890 Clipsetta Stakes and the 1891 Ashland Oaks. Huntress was a 1885 mare out of Edith by the imported stallion Saxon. Huntress won the 1887 Clipsetta Stakes, the 1888 St. Louis Oaks, and the 1889 Cincinnati Hotel Handicap. Vallera, a 1888 stallion out of Valasco by Pat Malloy, won the 1891 Tennessee Derby
, 1891 Travers Stakes
, and the 1891 Kenner Stakes
.
Springbok died on March 19, 1897 at the Megibben-Edgewater farm in Kentucky.
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 who won the seventh 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...
in 1873. Foaled in 1870, he was sired by the imported stallion Australian, his dam was a daughter of Lexington
Lexington (horse)
Lexington was a United States Thoroughbred race horse who won six of his seven race starts. Perhaps his greatest fame came however as the most successful sire of the second half of the nineteenth century; he was the Leading sire in North America 16 times, and of his many brood mare and racer...
. During his racing career he started 25 races, winning 17 of them. Besides the Belmont, Springbok won the Saratoga Cup
Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap
The Saratoga Breeders’ Cup Handicap was, until it was discontinued in 2005, a Thoroughbred race for horses three-years-old and up run at Saratoga Race Course...
twice, in 1874 and 1875 and was named Champion Older Male horse in 1874 and 1875. After retiring from the racetrack, he sired five stakes winners and died in 1897.
Early life
Springbok was sired by the imported horse Australian and out of the mare Hester. Hester was by Lexington and out of a mare named Heads I Say by imported stallion Glencoe. Springbok was foaled in 1870, and was a chestnutChestnut (coat)
Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
stallion, bred by A. J. Alexander of Woodburn, Kentucky. Springbok was one of 26 stakes winning foals sired by Australian. Springbok was Hester's only stakes winning foal.
At two years of age, Springbok was owned and raced by Daniel Swigert, but was sold that year to David McDaniel for $2,000 (approximately $ today).
Racing career
Springbok won the seventh running of the Belmont Stakes in 1873 at Jerome Park RacetrackJerome Park Racetrack
Jerome Park Racetrack was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility.-History:It opened in 1866 in the northwest part of Fordham, Westchester County , New York....
. He carried 110 pounds (49.9 kg) in the race, which had a winning time of 3 minutes 1 seconds. He won $5,200 (approximately $ today) for his owner from the race. The race was run on June 7 over a distance of miles (i.e. 13 furlongs (2,615.2 m)) on a fast track. He won the race by four lengths from the second placed finisher, Count D'Orsay, and the third place was Strachino. The wining jockey was James Rowe
James G. Rowe, Jr.
James Gordon Rowe, Jr. was an American Thoroughbred horse trainer.The son of U.S. Hall of Fame trainer, James G. Rowe, Sr., in 1929 he took over from his father as head trainer for Harry Payne Whitney's Brookdale Farm. After Whitney died, James Rowe, Jr. went to work for Helen Hay Whitney's...
, later to be a noted trainer. This was the third of three consecutive wins of the Belmont Stakes by David McDaniel as both owner and trainer, as he had already won the 1871 race with Harry Bassett and the 1872 race with Joe Daniels
Joe Daniels (horse)
Joe Daniels was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion who won the sixth Belmont Stakes in 1872. Bred in Kentucky, Joe Daniels won two stakes races as a two-year-old and then the Belmont as a three-year-old when he also won a number of other stakes races, and some match races in California...
.
Besides the Belmont, Springbok won the 1874 and 1875 Saratoga Cup
Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap
The Saratoga Breeders’ Cup Handicap was, until it was discontinued in 2005, a Thoroughbred race for horses three-years-old and up run at Saratoga Race Course...
and the 1874 Citizens Stakes. During the 1870s, the Saratoga Cup was a 2+1/4 mi race. In 1874, Springbok won the race while carrying 108 pounds (49 kg), beating Preakness who came in second, and Katie Pease, who placed third. The winning time was 4 minutes 11 seconds, with a value to the winner of $2,450 (approximately $ today). His 1875 Saratoga Cup win was a dead heat
Tie (draw)
To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as...
with the horse Preakness. In that race, Springbok carried 114 pounds (51.7 kg), and the winning time was 3 minutes 56 seconds. Third place was secured by Grinstead. The win paid $2,250 (approximately $ today) to Springbok's owner.
Springbok's total race career was 25 starts with 17 wins for a total earnings of $20,020 (approximately $ today). He is considered to be the 1874 American Champion Older Male Horse, and also the Champion Older Male Horse for 1875, a title he shared with Preakness.
Breeding career
In his breeding career, Springbok sired the stakes winners Audrain, East Lynne, Ethel, Huntress, and Vallera. Audrain, a 1881 stallion out of Alme by Planet, won the 1884 Latonia DerbyLatonia Derby
The Latonia Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1883 through 1937 at Latonia Race Track in Latonia, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, for its first 52 years the Latonia Derby was contested at a mile and a half; in 1935, the race was shortened to a mile and a...
, 1884 St. Louis Derby and the 1884 Hindoo Stakes. East Lynne was a 1882 mare out of Easter Planet by Planet. East Lynne won the 1885 Dixie Stakes and the 1885 Hunter Handicap. Ethel, a 1888 mare out of La Vena by Planet, won the 1890 Clipsetta Stakes and the 1891 Ashland Oaks. Huntress was a 1885 mare out of Edith by the imported stallion Saxon. Huntress won the 1887 Clipsetta Stakes, the 1888 St. Louis Oaks, and the 1889 Cincinnati Hotel Handicap. Vallera, a 1888 stallion out of Valasco by Pat Malloy, won the 1891 Tennessee Derby
Tennessee Derby
The Tennessee Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race that was run annually from 1884 to 1886 and then 1890–1906 at the Montgomery Park racetrack located on the Memphis Fairgrounds in Tennessee. The Tennessee Derby rivaled the Kentucky Derby at the time for prestige and purse money, but was...
, 1891 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...
, and the 1891 Kenner Stakes
Kenner Stakes
The Kenner Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run from 1870 through 1942 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to three-year-old horses, it was last contested at a distance of a mile and three sixteenths on dirt. It was run as the Miller Stakes from 1920 through...
.
Springbok died on March 19, 1897 at the Megibben-Edgewater farm in Kentucky.
External link
- Famous Horses of America pages 34–35