Friar Rock
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| Friar Rock | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Rock Sand |
| Grandsire | Sainfoin |
| Dam | Fairy Gold |
| Damsire | Bend Or |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1913 |
| Country | United States  |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | August Belmont, Jr. |
| Owner | August Belmont, Jr. |
| Trainer | Sam Hildreth |
| Record | 21: 9-?-? |
| Earnings | $20,365 |
| Major Racing Wins, Awards and Honours | |
| Major Racing Wins | |
| Adirondack Stakes (1915) Brooklyn Handicap (1916) Suburban Handicap (1916) Saratoga Cup (1916) American Classic Race wins: |
|
| Racing Awards | |
| United States' Horse of the Year (1916) | |
| Infobox last updated on: August 25, 2007. | |
Friar Rock (1913-January 8, 1928) was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and raced by the prominent New York City businessman, August Belmont, Jr., he was foaled at Belmont's Nursery Stud near Lexington, Kentucky. A chestnut colt with inherited Bend-Or spotting, he was out of Belmont's imported English dam Fairy Gold, who also produced Fair Play, the sire of Man o' War. Friar Rock was sired by Rock Sand, the 1903 English Triple Crown champion purchased by August Belmont, Jr. from Sir James Miller and brought to the United States.
Trained by the future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Sam Hildreth, Friar Rock was sent to the track at age two, earning wins in the 1915 Adirondack and Whirl Stakes. At age three, Friar Rock was the dominant horse in American racing. After winning the important Brooklyn Handicap and Suburban Handicaps, the Saratoga Cup, and the Belmont Stakes, he was selected United States' Horse of the Year.
August Belmont, Jr. sold Friar Rock shortly after his win in the 1 3/4 miles Saratoga Cup. New owner, John E. Madden, brought him to stand at stud at his Hamburg Place farm in Kentucky. Only a minor success as a sire of racers, Friar Rock did produce the noteworthy runner Pilate who in turn was the sire of Eight Thirty. However, Friar Rock proved to be a good broodmare sire and on five occasions was in the top ten on the annual broodmare sire's list. One of his best known was Friar's Carse, the United States' Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and dam of War Relic.
In 1918 Friar Rock was sold again and his new owners brought him to Santa Rosa, California to stand at Rancho Wickiup where he remained for the rest of his life. Diagnosed as suffering from peritonitis, Friar Rock died at age fifteen on January 8, 1928.
