Archworth | |
---|---|
Racehorse Archworth, 26 April 1939 | |
Sire | Worthmore |
Grandsire | Thunderer |
Dam | Archipelago |
Damsire | Samoa |
Sex | Stallion |
Foaled | 1936 |
Country | Canada |
Colour | Chestnut |
Breeder | William Henry Wright |
Owner | George McCullagh |
Trainer | Mark Cowell |
Record | 47: 15-9-7 |
Earnings | $31,234 [1] |
Major wins | |
Clarendon Stakes (1938) Cup and Saucer Stakes (1938) Canadian Triple Crown wins: King's Plate (1939) Prince of Wales Stakes (1939) Breeders' Stakes (1939) | |
Awards | |
Champion 2 and 3 Year-Old Colt in Canada 2nd Canadian Triple Crown Champion (1939 - retroactive) | |
Honours | |
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (2014) |
Archworth (foaled 1936) was a Thoroughbred racehorse owned by The Globe and Mail publisher George McCullagh that won the 1939 King's Plate, Prince of Wales Plate, and Breeders' Stakes, races that were later designated as the Canadian Triple Crown. Archworth was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Globe and Mail is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of 2,018,923 in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it falls slightly behind the Toronto Star in overall weekly circulation because the Star publishes a Sunday edition while the Globe does not. The Globe and Mail is regarded by some as Canada's "newspaper of record". The newspaper is owned by The Woodbridge Company, based in Toronto.
Clement George McCullagh was an influential Canadian newspaper owner between 1936-52. He created The Globe and Mail by merging the Liberal-allied Globe and Conservative-allied Mail and Empire newspapers in 1936. He was also actively involved in Canadian politics and later owned the Toronto Telegram newspaper.
The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, Ontario. Restricted to only three-year-old horses bred in Canada, it is contested on dirt over a distance of a mile and three sixteenths. In 1959, the Prince of Wales Stakes became the second race in the Canadian Triple Crown series. It follows the June running of the Queen's Plate and precedes the Breeders' Stakes in August.
Archworth was a chestnut stallion bred in Ontario by William Henry Wright. [2] His sire was the American stakes winner Worthmore, [3] who proved only moderately successful as a sire. Archworth's dam Archipelego was by Samoa, who was imported from Britain and became a moderately successful sire. [4]
William Henry "Bill" Wright was a Canadian prospector.
Archworth was purchased as a yearling in 1937 by George McCullagh, the publisher of The Globe and Mail , for $500. He was trained by Mark Cowell. [2]
Archworth raced nine times at age two, with four wins [1] including the Cup and Saucer Stakes and Clarendon Stakes. He was named the Canadian champion two-year-old of 1938. [2]
The Cup and Saucer Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Open to two-year-old horses foaled in Canada, it is currently run at a distance of 1 1⁄16 miles on turf. The race was known as Mrs. Orpen's Cup and Saucer Handicap until 1947 and then the Orpen Cup and Saucer Handicap from 1947 to 1949.
The Clarendon Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race currently run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Held in early July, the sprint race is open to two-year-old horses foaled in the Province of Ontario and is contested over a distance of five and a half furlongs on Polytrack synthetic dirt. It currently offers a purse of $150,000.
At age three, Archworth raced 16 times with five wins and three second-place finishes [1] and was named the Canadian champion three-year-old of 1939. He is best known for winning the King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate when the sovereign is a female) in the first year in which the race was restricted to three-year-olds. It was the first time the Plate had been attended by the ruling monarch, King George VI. Archworth won in a "runaway affair" by ten lengths, and King George presented 60 gold-plated sovereigns and a gold-plated trophy to McCullagh. Queen Elizabeth was impressed by the colt's front-running style, saying "Never have I seen a horse go out and take such a long lead and hold it." McCullagh gave credit to the colt's breeder, William Wright, saying: "It's a great day for me, but I am only the stuffed shirt who bought him for $500. My thrill is nothing at all compared to the joy in Bill Wright's heart. It's been a lifelong dream. When he came to this country from England he used to watch the races at Woodbine from a knothole in the fence. Standing there, he vowed that if he ever struck it rich, he would try to breed a winner of the Plate. The dream came true today. All the credit goes to Bill, to trainer Mark Cowell, and to jockey Denny Birley." [2]
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the wife of King George VI and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. She was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions from her husband's accession in 1936 until his death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter. She was the last Empress of India.
In 1939, Archworth also won the Prince of Wales Plate and Breeders' Stakes. In 1959, the Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing was formed using these races and the King/Queen's Plate, but only horses that won the races from 1959 onward were recognized as Triple Crown winners. It was not until 2014 that the early winners of the three races were retroactively acknowledged. Archworth then became known as Canada's second Triple Crown winner. [5]
The Breeders' Stakes is a stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses foaled in Canada, first run in 1889. Since 1959, it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds. Held annually in August at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, the Breeders' Stakes follows the June running of the Queen's Plate and the July running of the Prince of Wales Stakes. At a distance of one-and-a-half miles, the Breeders' Stakes is the longest of the three Triple Crown races and is the only jewel raced on turf.
The Canadian Triple Crown is a series of three Thoroughbred horse races run annually in Canada which is open to three-year-old horses foaled in Canada. Established in 1959, the series is unique in that it shares the same distances as its American counterpart, but is contested on three different race surfaces.
Archworth's later career was undistinguished, with only 1 win from 9 starts in 1940 and 5 wins from 13 starts in 1941. [1] In October 1940, he ran second in the Sennings Park Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York. Similar to his performance in the King's Plate the year before, he opened a large lead down the backstretch. This time however he was caught in the stretch and lost by a head. [6] In 1941, he finished third in the Hendrie Memorial Handicap and Queen’s Cup Handicap and won the Maple Leaf Hockey Club handicap, an overnight night stakes. [2]
Archworth was retired to stud where he had an undistinguished career. Jockey Club statistics show he had 45 foals of whom 39 became runners with 24 winning at least one race. His most successful offspring was Victory Arch, who won 14 races from 38 starts, including the Prince of Wales Plate. [7] [8]
Mr. Prospector was a Thoroughbred racehorse who became an outstanding breeding stallion and notable sire of sires. A sprinter whose career was cut short by repeated injuries, he won seven of his 14 starts, including the Gravesend Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack and the Whirlaway Handicap at Garden State Park.
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