War Relic was an American

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...

.

A homebred of Samuel D. Riddle

Samuel D. Riddle

Samuel Doyle Riddle . He was born in Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, a small town southwest of Philadelphia given the family name in honor of his grandfather....

, his sire was the great Man o' War

Man O' War

Man O' War, man o' war or manowar may refer to:* Man-of-war, a warship* Man of war for uses with this spelling - Places :...

 who was ranked #1 in the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century

In 1999, a panel for The Blood-Horse magazine was made up of distinguished horse racing people: Howard Battle, Lenny Hale, Jay Hovdey, William Nack, Pete Pedersen, Jennie Rees and Tommy Trotter. These experts compiled a list of what they considered to be the top 100 United States thoroughbred...

. His dam was Friar's Carse

Friar's Carse

Friars' Carse is a mansion house and estate situated southeast of Auldgirth on the main road to Dumfries, Parish of Dunscore, Scotland. The property is located on the west bank of the River Nith and is known for its strong associations with Robert Burns who lived for a while at the nearby...

, the United States' Champion Two-Year-Old Filly

Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Filly

The 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....

 of 1925 who was the daughter of Friar Rock

Friar Rock

Friar Rock was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse. His most important win came in the 1916 Belmont Stakes.-Background:...

, the 1916 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...

 winner and Horse of the Year

Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year

The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....

. After trainer George Conway's death on June 20, 1939, War Relic's race conditioning was taken over by Walter A. Carter.

In 1941, the three-year-old War Relic won several top races, including the Massachusetts Handicap

Massachusetts Handicap

The Massachusetts Handicap, frequently referred to as the "MassCap", is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and up held annually at Suffolk Downs in Boston, Massachusetts. It is currently an Ungraded stakes race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt. The race received...

, and ran second by a nose to U.S. Triple Crown champion Whirlaway

Whirlaway

Whirlaway was an American champion thoroughbred racehorse.The chestnut horse was sired by English Derby winner Blenheim II, out of the broodmare Dustwhirl. Whirlaway was bred at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky....

 in the 1941 Saranac Handicap

Saranac Handicap

The Saranac Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Grade III stakes is open to Three-year-old horses and is raced on turf over a distance of 1³/16 miles...

 but defeated him in that year's Narragansett Special

Narragansett Special

The Narragansett Special was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Narragansett Race Track in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At the time of its inaugural running in 1935, the Narragansett Special offered a purse of $25,000 making it New England's richest horse race Open to horses age three...

.

According to the National Sporting Library's

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...

 Thoroughbred Heritage website, War Relic was the most successful sire of any of Man o' War's sons. Among War Relic's progeny was Battlefield who earned U.S. Champion Two-Year-Old Colt

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....

 honors in 1950. Intent was another successful son of War Relic both on the racetrack and at stud.

War Relic's line continues today in modern thoroughbred champions like Tiznow

Tiznow

Tiznow is an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse owned by Michael L. Cooper and Cee's Stable.-Pedigree:...

, Colonel John

Colonel John

Colonel John is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2008 Santa Anita Derby.Bred and raced by WinStar Farm, he was sired by Tiznow, the 2000 American Horse of the Year and a two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic...

, Well Armed

Well Armed

Well Armed is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Tiznow out of the stakes winning mare Well-Dressed which places Seattle Slew on the top and bottom of his pedigree...

 and Bertrando

Bertrando

Bertrando is an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. A tall colt, who would grow to 16 hands 2 inches, Bertrando was bred by Ed Nahem, at River Edge Farm in Buellton, California...

, providing a direct sire-line back to Man o' War.

War Relic died at age twenty-five in 1963 and was buried at his owner's Faraway Farm

Faraway Farm

Faraway Farm, also known as the Daniel Ropp House, is a historic home located near Martinsburg, Berkeley County, West Virginia. It was built about 1865 and is a two-story, "L"-shaped brick dwelling. It is five bays wide and the ell is four bays long with a two story recessed porch...

 near Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

. However, War Relic's remains along with those of War Admiral

War Admiral

War Admiral was an American thoroughbred racehorse, the offspring of the great thoroughbred Man o' War and the mare Brushup. He inherited his father's fiery temperament and talent, but did not resemble him physically...

 and Man o' War were eventually moved to a place of honor at the Kentucky Horse Park

Kentucky Horse Park

Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 and Interstate 75 in northern Fayette County in the United States...

.