Nadir (horse)

Last updated
Nadir
Sire Nasrullah
Grandsire Nearco
DamGallita
Damsire Challenger II
Sex Stallion
Foaled1955
Country United States
Colour Bay
Breeder Claiborne Farm
OwnerClaiborne Farm
Trainer Moody Jolley
Rider Bill Hartack
Record32: 11-7-8
Earnings US$434,316
Major wins
Garden State Stakes (1957)
American Derby (1958)
Select Handicap (1958)
Awards
DRF American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt (1957)

Nadir (foaled March 15, 1955) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was one of two colts voted the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1957. [1] He was bred and raced by Bull Hancock's Claiborne Farm. [2]

Contents

World's richest race & Championship year

Racing under trainer Moody Jolley, [3] Nadir made eight starts at age two and won five times including an October 26, 1957 victory in the world's richest horse race, the Garden State Stakes at Garden State Park for which he earned a purse of $155,047. [4] A few days later, Claiborne Farm owner Bull Hancock turned down an offer of $1 million for the colt from Travis Kerr. [5]

Nadir was voted American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt by the Daily Racing Form. The rival Thoroughbred Racing Association and Turf & Sports Digest polls were topped by Jewel's Reward.

Racing at ages 3 & 4

Nadir went into 1958 as one of the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby. Based at Florida's Hialeah Park Race Track, he had a win at seven furlongs early in the year, but in the mile and an eighth Flamingo Stakes he ran fourth to Tim Tam, finishing more than seven lengths behind the winner. In April, he ran second in the Blue Grass Heights Purse at Keeneland won by Tim Tam in track record time. [6] In his next start, the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs, Nadir was again beaten by winner Tim Tam, this time finishing fourth. Withdrawn from the Kentucky Derby and the remainder of the Triple Crown races, for a short time Nadir competed at shorter distances. On June 14, the colt won his first stakes race of 1958, taking the six-furlong Select Handicap at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey by a nose. [7] In August, he captured the mile and one-eighth American Derby at Chicago's Arlington Park, a win that was the last major victory of his career. [8] Nadir ended 1958 with five wins in all and purse money totaling $204,312. As a four-year-old in 1959, he made eight starts, winning once. His best result in top-level races was a second in the prestigious Widener Handicap. [9]

Nadir was retired to stand at stud at his owner's Claiborne Farm. For the eight years he served stallion duty in the United States, he met with modest success. The best of his offspring to race was the multiple stakes winning gelding R. Thomas. Beginning in 1968, Nadir stood for breeders in Japan, where he also had limited success. He died there in 1978. [10]

Nadir backwards

In 1960, Nadir's trainer, Moody Jolley, purchased a yearling colt from Claiborne Farm that he named Ridan, which is Nadir spelled backwards.

Pedigree

Pedigree of Nadir
Sire
Nasrullah
Nearco Pharos Phalaris
Scapa Flow
NogaraHavresac
Catnip
Mumtaz Begum Blenheim Blandford
Malva
Mumtaz Mahal The Tetrarch
Lady Josephine
Dam
Gallita
Challenger II Swynford John O'Gaunt
Canterbury Pilgrim
Sword PlayGreat Sport
Flash of Steel
Gallette Sir Gallahad III Teddy
Plucky Liege
Flambette Durbar
La Flambee

Related Research Articles

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

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.

Bold Ruler was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign that included wins in the Preakness Stakes and Trenton Handicap, in which he defeated fellow Hall of Fame inductees Round Table and Gallant Man. Bold Ruler was named American Champion Sprinter at age four, and upon retirement became the leading sire in North America eight times between 1963 and 1973, the most of any sire in the twentieth century.

Tim Tam was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1958 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, but fell short of winning the Triple Crown of American thoroughbred horse racing, coming in second place in the Belmont Stakes. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Nasrullah was a Thoroughbred racehorse that was bred in Ireland and trained in the United Kingdom before becoming a champion sire in both Europe and North America. As a two-year-old, he won the Coventry Stakes and finished second in the Middle Park Stakes, ending the year as the top-rated colt of his generation. In the following season, he became increasingly difficult to manage, and his temperament compromised his racing career. He was the beaten favourite in the 2,000 Guineas and finished a close third in the Derby Stakes before winning the Champion Stakes. As a breeding stallion he stood in England, Ireland, and the United States and had great success in each location.

Hill Prince (1947–1970) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the leading American two-year-olds of 1949, alongside Oil Capitol and Middleground. In 1950, he ran fifteen times, winning races including the Preakness Stakes, Wood Memorial Stakes, Withers Stakes, American Derby, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Jerome Handicap and Sunset Handicap and being named American Horse of the Year. Hill Prince raced for two further seasons and had some success despite a number of injuries and training problems. He later became a moderately successful breeding stallion.

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

Round Table was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He is considered the greatest turf horse in American racing history.

Wheatley Stable was the nom de course for the thoroughbred horse racing partnership formed by Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden Livingston Mills. The horses were raised at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky.

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

Silky Sullivan was an American thoroughbred racehorse best known for his come-from-behind racing style.

Ridan was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who in 1961 was one of the best two-year-old colts racing in the United States but lost the 1962 U.S. Champion Three-Year-Old honors by a fraction of a nose.

Never Bend (1960–1977) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1962 American Champion Two-Year-Old and later became a leading sire in England.

Peter D. Anderson was an American jockey and Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He began his riding career in the latter part of the late 1940s and was the leading apprentice jockey in New York in 1948. Like many of his compatriots, Anderson struggled throughout his career to maintain his weight.

Gato Del Sol was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his win in the 1982 Kentucky Derby.

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

Bull Lea was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is best known as the foundation sire responsible for making Calumet Farm one of the most successful racing stables in American history. In their article on Calumet Farm, the International Museum of the Horse in Lexington, Kentucky wrote that Bull Lea was "one of the greatest sires in Thoroughbred breeding history."

Moody S. Jolley was an American thoroughbred horse racing owner, breeder and trainer. His son, LeRoy, trained Ridan and other horses owned by the family.

Devil's Bag (1981–2005) was an American champion Thoroughbred racehorse who was syndicated as a two-year-old for US$36 million, the highest price for any 2-year-old in racing history.

Hasty Road (1951–1978) was an American thoroughbred racehorse which won the 1954 Preakness Stakes. In 1953, Hasty Road won six of his nine races including the Arlington Futurity and the Washington Park Futurity, and set a record for prize money won by a two-year-old. In 1954 Hasty Road defeated Determine in track record time in the Derby Trial and then finished second to the same horse in the Kentucky Derby. At Pimlico Race Course in May he recorded his most important victory when winning the Preakness Stakes by a neck from Correlation. The rest of his three-year-old campaign wasn't as good, but he returned to form to win the Widener Handicap in February 1955 before his racing career was ended by injury.

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

Ambiorix (1946–1975) was a French Champion Two-Year-Old Thoroughbred racehorse who became a leading sire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Fool</span> American Thoroughbred racehorse

Tom Fool was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1953 American Horse of the Year and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame. He sired the champion racehorses Buckpasser and Tim Tam.

Lincoln Road was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1958 Jersey Derby as a three-year-old. The son of With Pleasure is best remembered for his runner-up finishes in the 1958 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

Miss Disco (1944-1974) was an American Thoroughbred racemare that won important sprint events against colts during her racing career but who secured her place in history when, as a broodmare at Claiborne Farm, she was bred to Nasrullah and produced the very influential National Champion and Hall of Fame sire Bold Ruler.

References