Gardenia Stakes (Garden State Park)

Last updated
Gardenia Stakes
Discontinued stakes race
Location Garden State Park Racetrack, Cherry Hill, New Jersey,
United States
Inaugurated1955
Race type Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Website www.pegasusworldcup.com
Race information
Distance1 1/16 miles
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationTwo-year-old fillies

The Gardenia Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Garden State Park Racetrack near Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Created in 1955, the event was the world's richest race for two-year-old fillies with a total purse of US$130,300 in its inaugural year. It was the counterpart to the Garden State Futurity for two-year-old male horses.

Contents

The Gardenia Stakes was placed on hiatus after the 1972 edition. It would be revived in 1980 at the Meadowlands Racetrack where it would be run thru to the final running in 1991. In 1990 only, the race was run on Turf. [1]

Historical notes

The inaugural running of the Gardenia Stakes took on a muddy track place on October 15, 1955 and was won by Nasrina who would be recognized as that year's American Co-Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. [2] The substantial purse, as well as the Gardenia's place on the American racing calendar late in the year, would see the event won by fillies that would be voted National Champion honors for thirteen of its first eighteen runnings from 1955 thru 1972. Until 1970 there were three different racing organizations picking an annual National Champion and only two Gardenia winners prior to 1971, Castle Forbes in 1963 and Gallant Bloom in 1968, were not unanimous choices. [3]

Gardenia winner Numbered Account, owned by Ogden Phipps and trained by Roger Laurin was the first Eclipse Award recipient in the two-year-old filly category. The following year, the future Hall of Fame inductee La Prevoyante won the Gardenia. Owned by Canadian J. Louis Lévesque and trained by Yonnie Starr, it was her final start of 1972 and marked her twelfth straight win without a loss. [4] La Prevoyante would prove to be the last Gardenia winner to earn American Champion Two Year-Old Filly honors. In that year's voting for American Horse of the Year, La Prevoyante was second to Secretariat. [5]

Flawlessly, a daughter of 1978 U.S. Triple Crown winner Affirmed, won the 1990 Gardenia and went on to a stellar career that saw her inducted into the U. S. Racing Hall of Fame in 2004.

No.WinnerGardenia winner &
2yo U.S. Champion filly
11955 Nasrina
21957 Idun
31958 Quill
41959 My Dear Girl
51960 Bowl of Flowers
61961 Cicada
71963 Castle Forbes
81964 Queen Empress
91965 Moccasin
101968 Gallant Bloom
111969 Fast Attack
121971 Numbered Account
131972 La Prevoyante

Records

Speed record:

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners

YearWinnerAgeJockeyTrainerOwner
Dist.
(Miles)
TimeWin$ Gr.
1991Miss Legality2 Joe Bravo Hubert "Sonny" Hine Norton D. Waltuch1-1/16 m1:45.55$45,000G3
1990 Flawlessly 2 Jerry D. Bailey Richard E. Dutrow Sr. Harbor View Farm 1-1/16 m1:43.60$75,000G3
1989Danzig's Beauty2 Eddie Maple Woody Stephens Russell L. Reineman 1-1/16 m1:46.40$120,000G2
1988Gild2 Julie Krone Woody Stephens Claiborne Farm 1-1/16 m1:44.00$120,000G2
1987Thirty Eight Go Go2 Kent Desormeaux King T. Leatherbury Janet Wayson1-1/16 m1:46.80$120,000G2
1986Collins2 George Martens Flint S. Schulhofer Frances A. Genter 1-1/16 m1:45.20$120,000G2
1985I'm Sweets2Eddie MapleWoody StephensBrushwood Stable (Elizabeth Ranney Moran)1-1/16 m1:44.20$120,000G2
1984 Bessarabian 2 Gary Stahlbaum Michael J. Doyle Eaton Hall Farm (Thor Eaton)1-1/16 m1:45.80$120,000G2
1983Lucky Lucky Lucky2 Angel Cordero Jr. D. Wayne Lukas Leslie Combs II 1-1/16 m1:45.20$120,000G2
1982 Princess Rooney 2 Jacinto Vasquez Frank Gomez Paula J. Tucker1-1/16 m1:43.00$120,000G2
1981Vain Gold2 Gregg McCarron Sally A. Bailie Aisco Stable 1-1/16 m1:43.80$90,000G3
1980Carolina Command2Jimmy J. MirandaJames J. Pascuma Jr.Marian S. Feldman1-1/16 m1:44.60$90,000
1973- 1979Race not held
1972 La Prevoyante 2 John LeBlanc Yonnie Starr Jean-Louis Lévesque 1-1/16 m1:47.40$114,552
1971 Numbered Account 2 Braulio Baeza Roger Laurin Ogden Phipps 1-1/16 m1:45.80$110,625
1970Eggy2Frank Lovato Sr. Oscar White Walter M. Jeffords Jr.1-1/16 m1:45.00$113,016
1969 Fast Attack 2 Buck Thornburg Harry M. Wells Hal-Bar Ranch (Mr. Hickey, Paul Robinson, William M. Ayers)1-1/16 m1:46.20$120,265
1968 Gallant Bloom 2 John L. Rotz Max Hirsch Robert J. Kleberg Jr. 1-1/16 m1:45.80$110,142
1967 Gay Matelda 2 Robert Ussery Casey Hayes Meadow Stable 1-1/16 m1:45.80$112,722
1966Pepperwood2 Robert Ussery Casey Hayes Meadow Stable 1-1/16 m1:44.60$117,612
1965 Moccasin 2 Larry Adams Harry Trotsek Claiborne Farm 1-1/16 m1:44.40$110,214
1964 Queen Empress 2 Bill Shoemaker Bill Winfrey Wheatley Stable 1-1/16 m1:44.00$112,854
1963 Castle Forbes 2 Ismael Valenzuela Bill Winfrey Wheatley Stable 1-1/16 m1:45.40$101.076
1962Main Swap2Braulio Baeza Charles R. Parke Fred W. Hooper 1-1/16 m1:46.40$95,977
1961 Cicada 2Bill ShoemakerCasey Hayes Meadow Stable 1-1/16 m1:44.80$91,131
1960 Bowl of Flowers 2Bill Shoemaker J. Elliott Burch Brookmeade Stable 1-1/16 m1:46.00$90,623
1959 My Dear Girl 2Manuel N. Gonzales Melvin Calvert Frances A. Genter 1-1/16 m1:46.60$79,304
1958 Quill 2 Paul J. Bailey Lucien Laurin Reginald N. Webster 1-1/16 m1:45.20$81,576
1957 Idun 2 Bill Hartack Sherrill W. Ward Josephine Bay Paul 1-1/16 m1:45.40$101,750
1956Magic Forest †2 Hedley Woodhouse Sylvester Veitch Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney 1-1/16 m1:45.20$93,550
1955 Nasrina 2 William Boland Edward A. Christmas Howell E. Jackson III1-1/16 m1:45.40$87,575

* † Romanita finished first, but was disqualified and set back to third. [6]

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References

  1. "Gardenia Stakes". Equibase Co LLC. 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  2. "Nasrina, 7-2, First In $130,300 Stake". New York Times, Section Sports, page 1. 1955-10-16. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  3. The Bloodhorse.com Champion's history charts Archived September 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "La Prevoyante Wins 12th Straight Race". New York Times, Section Sports, page. 1972-11-12. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  5. "Secretariat Is Horse of Year, Topping La Prevoyante in Poll". New York Times, page 53. 1972-12-27. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  6. "Magic Forest, $29, Scores On A Foul". New York Times, Section Sports, page 205. 1956-10-21. Retrieved 2021-12-11.