Sir Walter

Sir Walter
Sire	Midlothian
Grandsire	Strathconan
Dam	La Scala
Damsire	Joe Hooker
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1890
Country	United States
Colour	Bay
Breeder	James B. A. Haggin
Owner	Oneck Stable
Trainer	Walter C. Rollins
Record	86: 35-19-15 (age 2-7); plus 3 wins at age 8
Earnings	US$90,000+
Major wins
	Seaside Stakes (1892); Atlantic Stakes (1892); Seabright Stakes (1892); Great American Stakes (1892); Great Eclipse Stakes (1892); Fulton Stakes (1893); Lorillard Stakes (1893); Omnium Handicap (1893); Tidal Stakes (1893); Stevens Stakes (1893); Stockton Stakes (1893); Union Handicap (1893); Long Island Handicap (1894); Second All-Aged Serial Handicap (1894); Third All-Aged Serial Handicap (1894); Sheepshead Bay Handicap (1894); Parkway Handicap (1895); Brooklyn Handicap (1896); Municipal Handicap (1896); Midsummer Handicap (1897); Fort Hamilton Handicap (1898)

Last updated June 04, 2019

Sir Walter (foaled 1890 in California) was an outstanding American Thoroughbred racehorse known for his gritty determination which saw him win a number of races by a matter of inches.

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are considered "hot-blooded" horses that are known for their agility, speed, and spirit.

Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been unchanged since at least classical antiquity.

Background

Sir Walter was bred by James Ben Ali Haggin at his Rancho Del Paso near Sacramento, California who had imported his sire, Midlothian, from Great Britain. His dam was La Scala, a daughter of the important Nevada/California sire, Joe Hooker.^[1]

James Ben Ali Haggin was an American attorney, rancher, investor and a major owner/breeder in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Haggin made a fortune in the aftermath of the gold rush and was a multi-millionaire by 1880.

Rancho Del Paso was a 44,371-acre (179.56 km²) Mexican land grant in present-day Sacramento County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Eliab Grimes. The grant extended along the north bank of the American River and was bounded roughly by today’s Northgate Boulevard, Manzanita Avenue, and Elkhorn Boulevard. The grant encompassed present-day North Sacramento, Del Paso Heights, Rio Linda, Arden-Arcade, and a portion of Carmichael.

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's estimated 2018 population of 501,334 makes it the sixth-largest city in California and the ninth largest capital in the United States. Sacramento is the seat of the California Legislature and the Governor of California, making it the state's political center and a hub for lobbying and think tanks. Sacramento is also the cultural and economic core of the Sacramento metropolitan area, which had a 2010 population of 2,414,783, making it the fifth largest in California.

Sir Walter was purchased as a yearling by the Oneck Stable of Harry K. Knapp and his brother, Dr. Gideon Lee Knapp, who raced him throughout his career. He was trained by Walter Rollins, about whom the New York Times would write that he "was for thirty years one of the most successful trainers of thoroughbred racers in America."^[2]

Harry Kearsarge Knapp was a United States financier and a prominent executive in the Thoroughbred horse racing industry in which he had been a steward, secretary-treasurer and vice-chairman of The Jockey Club.

Walter Childs Rollins was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer about whom the New York Times said "was for thirty years one of the most successful trainers of thoroughbred racers in America."

The decade of the 1890s was a time in American Thoroughbred racing when the Kentucky Derby had lost much of its earlier importance and was often drawing a field of just three or four horses. Although there were important races in the state of Maryland, it was the New York/New Jersey circuit which attracted the best horses from across the United States and the Metropolitan, Brooklyn and Suburban Handicaps were among the top events of the racing season. There were also a number of significant stakes and handicaps on the New York racing calendar at what are today long defunct racing venues such as Morris Park Racecourse, Sheepshead Bay Race Track and Gravesend Race Track. In addition to his Brooklyn Handicap victory, Sir Walter won numerous important races which are now all but forgotten as a result of those track's closure in the early 1900s. His racing career was such that on his retirement in 1898, the New York Times called Sir Walter a "great race horse."

Kentucky Derby American stakes race for Thoroughbreds, part of the Triple Crown

The Kentucky Derby is a horse race that is held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of one and a quarter miles (2.0 km) at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds and fillies 121 pounds.

Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after the English queen Henrietta Maria, known in England as Queen Mary.

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States. New York was one of the original thirteen colonies that formed the United States. With an estimated 19.54 million residents in 2018, it is the fourth most populous state. In order to distinguish the state from the city with the same name, it is sometimes referred to as New York State.

Racing career

In his first few years of racing, Sir Walter was most often ridden by jockey Samuel Doggett. As a two-year-old, the colt won five of his eight starts and at age three won nine of twenty outings and notably running third in the 1893 Withers Stakes and fourth in the 1893 Realization Stakes. At four, he won thirteen of twenty-two starts and was second in the Manhattan Handicap. At ages five and six he won just three times but most significantly was ridden to victory by Fred Taral in the 1896 Brooklyn Handicap.

Samuel Jesse "Sam" Doggett was one of the leading American Thoroughbred horse racing jockeys of the 1890s and a founding director of the Horsemen's Protective Association who went on to train and own racehorses.

A colt is a male horse, usually below the age of four years.

The Withers Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds willing to compete one and one-sixteenth mile on the dirt. Held at Aqueduct Racetrack in February, it is a Grade III event, and currently offers a purse of $250,000.

Already having beaten Keene Stables' great Champion, Domino, on October 29, 1897, a seven-year-old Sir Walter beat the four-year-old Hastings in a handicap race at Morris Park Racetrack.

James Robert Keene was a Wall Street stockbroker and a major thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder.

The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Horse of the Year" is not an official national award.

Domino (horse) American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Domino (1891–1897) was a 19th-century American thoroughbred race horse.

At age eight, Sir Walter returned to racing but was retired in early July 1898. However, before long he returned to the track and won three more races in September and October.^[3] His career record stood as follows:

Year	Age	Starts	1st	2nd	3rd
1892	2	8	5	0	1
1893	3	20	9	4	4
1894	4	22	13	5	2
1895	5	12	1	5	4
1896	6	7	2	0	3
1897	7	17	5	5	1
1898	8	not found	3	nf	nf

Stud record

In 1899, Sir Walter's owner planned to race him again but he fell ill and in September the decision was made to retire him. He was sent to stand at stud at Hal Price Headley's Beaumont Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.^[4] According to Thoroughbred Heritage, he was moderately successful as a stallion.^[1]

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References

1 2 Heritage, Patricia Erigero Thoroughbred. "Joe Hooker". www.tbheritage.com.
↑ "WALTER C. ROLLINS SHOOTS HIMSELF; One of the Best-Known Horsemen in the Country and Grew Rich as a Trainer. OWNED THE RACER HERBERT Trained General Monroe, Winner of the First Suburban Handicap -- Grieved Over Wife's Death".
↑ "THE MORRIS PARK RACES; Sir Walter Added Another to His Long List of Close Victories. BRIAR SWEET ALSO A WINNER She Led All the Way, but When Bangle Became Dangerous Maher Sent Her Along Under the Whip".
↑ "Sir Walter back in Kentucky" (PDF). timesmachine.nytimes.com. September 29, 1899.

External links

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[auto-1] 1 2 Heritage, Patricia Erigero Thoroughbred. "Joe Hooker". www.tbheritage.com.

[2] "WALTER C. ROLLINS SHOOTS HIMSELF; One of the Best-Known Horsemen in the Country and Grew Rich as a Trainer. OWNED THE RACER HERBERT Trained General Monroe, Winner of the First Suburban Handicap -- Grieved Over Wife's Death".

[3] "THE MORRIS PARK RACES; Sir Walter Added Another to His Long List of Close Victories. BRIAR SWEET ALSO A WINNER She Led All the Way, but When Bangle Became Dangerous Maher Sent Her Along Under the Whip".

[4] "Sir Walter back in Kentucky" (PDF). timesmachine.nytimes.com. September 29, 1899.