Mad Hatter (horse)

Last updated
Mad Hatter
Sire Fair Play
Grandsire Hastings
DamMad Cap
Damsire Rock Sand
Sex Stallion
Foaled1916
CountryUnited States
ColourDark bay/Brown
Breeder August Belmont, Jr.
Owner Rancocas Stable
Trainer Sam Hildreth
Record41: 16-10-4
Earnings$70,290
Major wins
Bellerose Stakes (1918)
Pimlico Autumn Handicap (1919)
Minneola Handicap (1919)
Latonia Championship Stakes (1919)
Yorktown Handicap (1920)
Bowie Handicap (1920)
Jockey Club Gold Cup (1921, 1922)
Metropolitan Handicap (1921, 1922)
Champlain Handicap (1922)
Pierrepont Handicap (1922)
Toboggan Handicap (1923)
Suburban Handicap (1924)
Queens County Handicap (1924)
Awards
U.S. Champion Older Male Horse (1921)
Last updated on September 20, 2006

Mad Hatter (foaled 1916 in Kentucky) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was named U.S. Champion Older Male Horse in 1921.

Contents

Background

Bred by August Belmont, Jr., he was sired by the great Fair Play, the sire of Man o' War, out of another Rock Sand mare, Mad Cap. He was foaled one year earlier than Man o'War and was a full brother to Belmont Stakes winner Mad Play.

Trained by Sam Hildreth and ridden most of the time by the great jockey Earl Sande, Mad Hatter was known as much for his erratic temperament as for his racing ability. Sande was one of the few jockeys that understood Mad Hatter, especially in his later years.

Racing career

Late to mature, Mad Hatter was lightly raced and won the Bellerose Stakes as a two-year-old.

At three, he won the Minneola Handicap easily, having only been to the post twice before and never at more than a mile. Then he lost to Sir Barton in the Maryland Handicap at Laurel Park Racecourse, placing second after running fractions of :22 2/5, and :46 3/5. Sir Barton beat him by two lengths.

After winning the inaugural Latonia Championship Stakes over a muddy track by 8 lengths, Mad Hatter went on to Pimlico Race Course in November in the Pimlico Autumn Handicap, beating Sir Barton, who placed a distant third, twelve lengths behind him. In his next race, the Saratoga Handicap, again against Sir Barton and Exterminator, he got into a speed duel with The Porter and placed last.

Mad Hatter won the 1920 Yorktown and Bowie Handicaps. In 1921, Mad Hatter had victories in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Metropolitan Handicap and was named U.S. Champion Older Male Horse.

Mad Hatter continued to win graded stakes races as a campaigner with a win in the Champlain Handicap plus a repeat win of the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 1922, the Toboggan Handicap in 1923, and the Suburban and Queens County Handicaps in 1924. [1]

Stud career

Fertility problems were reported for Mad Hatter. His brother, Belmont Stakes winner Mad Play, was completely sterile. However, out of 177 foals, Mad Hatter sired 23 graded stakes winners such as The Nut, Cocked Hat, Cresta Run, and the champion filly Snowflake.

Resources

Related Research Articles

Sir Barton American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

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

Equipoise (1928–1938) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from 1930 until 1935, he ran fifty-one times and won twenty-nine races. A leading two-year-old in 1930, he missed most of the next season, including two of the three American Triple Crown races through injury and illness. "Ekky" returned to the track in 1934 and proved to be a dominant champion, winning numerous important stakes races in the next three years. Equipoise died in 1938 after a short but promising stud career.

Gallant Fox was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the second winner of the American Triple Crown.

Birdstone is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2004 Belmont Stakes and has become a successful sire.

Assault (horse) American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Assault was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the seventh winner of the American Triple Crown and the only Texas-bred winner of the Triple Crown.

Bimelech American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Bimelech was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won two Triple Crown races and was a Champion at both age two and three. He was ranked #84 among U.S. racehorses of the 20th century. After retiring to stud, he sired 30 stakes winners and his daughters produced 50 stakes winners.

Sarava American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Sarava is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2002 Belmont Stakes.

Mad Play was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by August Belmont, Jr., he was sired by Fair Play, who also sired Man o' War, out of a Rock Sand mare, Mad Cap. He was a full brother to 1921 U.S. Champion Older Male Horse Mad Hatter.

Princess Doreen (1921–1952) was a Thoroughbred racehorse best known for being the top American female money-winner. After showing promising form as a two-year-old she improved to be the best female racehorse of her generation for the next three seasons. Not only did she race males and win, but she did so carrying high weight for four years.

Peaks and Valleys (1992–2012) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse.

Omar Khayyam (horse) British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Omar Khayyam (1914–1938) was a British-born Thoroughbred racehorse who was sold as a yearling to an American racing partnership and who became the first foreign-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He was named for the famous Persian mathematician, poet, and astronomer, Omar Khayyam.

Pillory was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.

Milkmaid (horse) 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.

Broad Brush was an American thoroughbred racehorse foaled in Maryland. He was by the Hall of Fame stallion Ack Ack out of the Hoist The Flag mare Hay Patcher.

Jacola (1935–1959) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Arthur B. Hancock, she was sired by the British import Jacopo, a son of the 1924 Epsom Derby winner, Sansovino. Jacola was out of the mare La France, a daughter of Sir Gallahad, who was the leading sire in North America in 1930, 1933, 1934, and 1940 and who sired 1930 U.S. Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox. A year following Jacola's birth, La France foaled U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Johnstown, winner of the 1939 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

Springbok (horse) 19th-century American Thoroughbred racehorse

Springbok (1870–1897) 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.

Ruler on Ice American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Ruler on Ice is a Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 2011 Belmont Stakes. He was bred and foaled in Kentucky by Brandywine Farm in partnership with Liberation Farm on. He is a chestnut gelding sired by Hill 'n' Dale Farms' Roman Ruler out of the Saratoga Six-bred mare, Champagne Glow. The colt was consigned as lot 988 at the 2009 Keeneland September yearling auction, where he was purchased by George and Lori Hall for $100,000. Ruler on Ice only won one minor race after winning the Belmont and was retired from racing in July 2014. He lives in Versailles, Kentucky at the farm of his owners.

Billy Kelly (horse) 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.

Marguerite was an American Thoroughbred racemare owned by Belair Stud who had to be retired after only one start but who established her place in racing history as the dam of four significant runners.

Chatterton was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, best known as the leading sire in North America of 1932, when his son Faireno won the Belmont Stakes. During his racing career, he won 15 of 32 starts including the Autumn Handicap and Falls City Handicap.

References

  1. "Saratoga Form Chart". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1922-08-13. Retrieved 2021-08-12.