Tippity Witchet

Last updated
Tippity Witchet
Sire Broomstick
Grandsire Ben Brush
DamLady Frivoles
Damsire St. Simon
Sex Gelding
Foaled1915
Country United States
Color Bay
Breeder George W. Loft
Harry Payne Whitney
Owner Harry Payne Whitney
Various others through the years
Trainer George M. Odom (for Whitney)
Max Hirsch (for G. W. Loft)
Preston M. Burch (for J. Sanford)
Lionel Bauer (in his claiming days)
Record266: 78-52-42
Earnings$88,241
Major wins
Aberdeen Stakes (1917)
Eastern Shore Handicap (1917)
Maryland Handicap (1917)
Erdenheim Handicap (1917)
Old Town Liberty Bond Handicap (1917)
Rainbow Handicap (1919)
Stafford Handicap (1919)
Ronkonkoma Handicap (1920)
Beauregard Handicap (1920)
Thanksgiving Handicap (1920)
The Prince George (1921)
New Year's Handicap (1921)
Fairfield Handicap (1921)
Marrero Handicap (1921)
Fairground Purse (1921)
Century Handicap (1922)
Louisiana Purse (1923)
Honors
Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame (1971)
Tippity Witchet Mile at Agua Caliente Racetrack
Last updated on December 20, 2007

Tippity Witchet (foaled 1915) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, noted for his durability and consistency in a career which lasted from 1917 until 1929.

Contents

Background

Tippity Witchet was a son of the great sire Broomstick who was the son of Ben Brush. His dam was a daughter of St. Simon, one of Great Britain's greatest stallions. The New York Times described him as "tiny" and a "sterling little gelding" (The New York Times, 5-3-29). Tippity Witchet was bred in Kentucky by the stables of Harry Payne Whitney who owned his famous sire and was owned by Harry Payne Whitney.

Racing career

In 1917 Tippity Witchet was one of the top juveniles in America, winning 14 of his 20 starts, eight of them consecutively within seven weeks. Among his wins were the 1917 Aberdeen Stakes at Havre de Grace Racetrack. [1] He was sold to George D. Smith's Brighton Stable in 1917 for $3,000 who raced him for a short time before selling him at auction on November 10, 1917 to John Sanford of Amsterdam, New York, owner of Hurricana Farm. The price was $20,500, a great deal of money at the time and, according to William Robertson (see references), made headlines on sport's pages around the country. Sanford enjoyed quite a few stakes victories with his well-bred gelding. . [2]

W. J. Young was his trainer in 1918 [3] and Preston M. Burch was his trainer in 1919 when again racing for Sanford and won the Rainbow Handicap. [4] On September 14, 1918 he was bought back by Brighton Stable. [5] In 1920, he was racing for owner George W. Loft and was trained by Max Hirsch. [6] He was sold near the end of 1920 to Lionel T. Bauer and was trained by J. P. Smith. He raced for the Bauer Stable in 1921 and in 1922 was trained by W. Livingston. [7]

As Tippity Witchet grew older, he changed hands many times, and dropped down in the ranks from stakes races to allowance to claiming events. For the most part he raced at the old Fair Grounds Race Course, but over the years, Tippity Witchet ran over 31 different tracks, winning on 27 of them whether the going was mud or hardpack, also winning at distances that ranged from 6 furlongs to one and a half miles.

In 1928 Tippity Witchet raced in the silks of the Ramona Stable. [8] On January 22, 1928, The Washington Post wrote: "Perhaps no horse more deserves the title of selling plater king of the American turf than Tippity Witchet, the 12-year-old in Broomstick's famous thoroughbred family. For eleven seasons Tippity Witchet has been an active campaigner, and his record for 1927 is as impressive as his achievements in his younger days."

His last race took place on February 1, 1929. By the time he retired, he had competed on race tracks in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba. His record stood at No. 4 in the all-time greatest number of North America wins. In his last year, he was fourteen and still winning.

Tippity Witchet was part of the inaugural class inducted into the Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame in 1971. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Barton</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Sir Barton was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the first winner of the American Triple Crown.

The Stuyvesant Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in the fall of the year at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Inaugurated in 1916, after its 58th running in 2008, the race was discontinued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George W. Loft</span> American politician (1865–1943)

George William Loft was an American businessman, politician, real estate developer, and owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broomstick (horse)</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Broomstick (1901–1931) was a Thoroughbred race horse whose most important win was in the 1904 Travers Stakes. After retirement, he became one of the great sires in American racing history, leading the North American sire list in 1913, 1914 and 1915. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1956.

Cudgel (1914–1941) was an American two-time Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George M. Odom</span>

George Martin Odom was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame jockey and trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing. He is only one of two people to ever have won the Belmont Stakes as both a jockey and a trainer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milkmaid (horse)</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Milkmaid was an American two-time Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. She was bred by J. Hal Woodford at his farm in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Woodford had bred and raced the 1907 Kentucky Derby winner, Pink Star. Out of the mare, Nell Olin, her sire was the British import, Peep o' Day, a son of the great Ayrshire who won the 1888 2,000 Guineas Stakes and Epsom Derby then just missed winning the British Triple Crown when he ran second in the St. Leger Stakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meridian (horse)</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Meridian (1908–1935) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1911 Kentucky Derby, setting a new record by running 11⁄4 miles in 2 minutes, 5 seconds. The previous record of 2:061⁄4 had been set by Lieut. Gibson in the 1900 Derby. Meridian was determined to be the historical Champion Three-Year Old and Horse of the Year of 1911.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chance Play</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Chance Play was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion sire. In a career which lasted from 1925 to 1928 he ran in thirty-nine races and won sixteen of them. Although he was successful in his early career over sprint distances, he did not reach his peak until the age of four in 1927, when he was arguably the best horse in the United States, winning several major races including the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Vigil was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1923 Preakness Stakes in a performance the Los Angeles Times called "the most brilliant victory in the history of the Preakness."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Girl</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Blue Girl (1899–1919) was an American Thoroughbred racemare that was the Champion 2 and 3-year old female in 1901 and 1902, respectively.

Bostonian was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. The son of Broomstick out of a Peter Pan mare Yankee Maid, Bostonian is best remembered for posting a 1-1/2 length win over his stablemate and Kentucky Derby Champion Whiskery in the mile and three sixteenth $65,000 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 9, 1927

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Kelly (horse)</span> American thoroughbred racehorse

Billy Kelly was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the champion two-year-old in 1918 when he won 14 of 17 starts. Favored for the 1919 Kentucky Derby, he lost to his stablemate, the then lightly regarded Sir Barton, but Billy Kelly would beat Sir Barton in 8 of 12 head to head races. Billy Kelly would go on to win 39 races from 69 starts. He was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildair</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Wildair was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by Exemplar of Racing Harry Payne Whitney and trained by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, James Rowe Sr. Wildair's most important race win came in the 1920 Metropolitan Handicap, one of the most prestigious American races outside of the Triple Crown series.

The Huron Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run between 1901 and 1940 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Raced on dirt, it was run at a distance of 1 3/16 miles with the exception of 1914 when the distance was set at 1 1/4 miles.

Whichone (1927–1944) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1929. Although Whichone earned important race wins as a three-year-old, injuries hampered his racing career including a bowed tendon sustained in the running of the 1930 Travers Stakes that ended his career.

The Empire City Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1917 through 1933 at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. A race for three-year-old horses of either sex, the event was contested at a mile and one-eighth at inception until 1920 when it was set at what became known as the "Derby distance" of a mile and one-quarter. With the Brooklyn Derby at Belmont Park having changed its name to the Dwyer Stakes, the Empire City Derby was then the only Derby event in the Northeastern United States.

The Philadelphia Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held thirty-eight times between 1913 and 1950 at Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Run on dirt, the race was open to horses of either sex age three and older.

The Eastern Shore Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run between 1913 and 1949 at Havre de Grace Racetrack, in Havre de Grace, Maryland. A race for two-year-old horses of either sex, it was inaugurated and run for most of its existence as the Eastern Shore Handicap.

The Porter was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He won 26 times from 54 starts in a career that lasted five years, and was second in the 1918 Preakness Stakes. He became an important sire, leading the North American sire list in 1937.

References

  1. ↑ "STAKE GOES TO WHITNEY.; Tippity Witchet Takes Two-Year Old Event at Havre de Grace". 24 April 1917.
  2. ↑ "BIG PROFITS IN RACING.; Six Horses Costing $12,600 Sold for $131,600". 23 December 1917.
  3. ↑ "Victory easy for Tippity Witchet" (PDF). The New York Times. July 31, 1918.
  4. ↑ Tippity Witchet takes rainbow; Handicap at Six Furlongs to Son of Broomstick in Fast Time--Four Choices Lose. The New York Times
  5. ↑ "SALE OF SANFORD RACERS.; Tippity Witchet Brings $13,000 Less Than His Former Price". 15 September 1918.
  6. ↑ "TIPPITY WITCHET IS WINNER AT BELMONT; Loft Horse Finds Soft Track to His Liking and Captures the Ronkonkoma Handicap". 11 September 1920.
  7. ↑ "WAR MASK WINNER AT NEW ORLEANS; Dundee Entry and Sea Sinner Defeat Tippity Witchet, an Odds-On Favorite. THE SWIMMER ALSO TRAILS is a 7-to-10 Choice in the Fourth Race, but Is Able Only to Finish Third--Track Is Heavy. Slow Start Is Costly. General to the Fore. Warner to Captain Eleven". 12 December 1920.
  8. ↑ "SANKARI IS FIRST BY HEAD AT TIJUANA; Overtakes Bob Rogers in Fast Finish in the $1,500 Broadway Handicap.RIP RAP TRAILS THIRDCup Bearer, Vigor and Valley JoeNoses Apart in Opener--TippityWitchet Wins". The New York Times. 17 December 1928.
  9. ↑ "Fair Grounds Hall of Fame" (PDF).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.