Never Bend
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| Never Bend | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Nasrullah |
| Grandsire | Nearco |
| Dam | Lalun |
| Damsire | Djeddah |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1960 |
| Country | United States  |
| Colour | Dark Bay |
| Breeder | Harry F. Guggenheim |
| Owner | Cain Hoy Stable |
| Trainer | Woody Stephens |
| Record | 23: 13-4-4 |
| Earnings | $641,524 |
| Major Racing Wins, Awards and Honours | |
| Major Racing Wins | |
| Champagne Stakes (1962) Futurity Stakes (1962) Cowdin Stakes (1962) Flamingo Stakes (1963) |
|
| Racing Awards | |
| U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt Male Horse (1962) Leading sire in GB & Ireland (1971) |
|
| Infobox last updated on: November 30, 2006. | |
Never Bend (1960-1977) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse and a leading sire in England. Foaled at Claiborne Farm for owner/breeder Harry F. Guggenheim, Never Bend was the dominant two-year-old racing in the United States in 1962. His performance that year earned him the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Male Horse and as such was considered an early favorite for the ensuing 1963 U.S. Triple Crown races.
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[edit] 1963 Kentucky Derby
The 1963 edition of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown series, saw 120,000 patrons gather at Churchill Downs for a race that featured three Thoroughbred stars. TIME magazine reported jockey Eddie Arcaro as saying: "I can't remember a Derby creating so much excitement." [1]
Although Never Bend had won the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah Park, leading up to May's Kentucky Derby he had been outshone by the undefeated Candy Spots who had been most impressive in winning the Florida Derby and the Santa Anita Derby. At the same time, a Greentree Stable colt named No Robbery had won the Wood Memorial Stakes and also came into the Derby undefeated. By post time, bettors had made Candy Spots the 3-2 favorite, No Robbery the second choice at 5-2, then Never Bend the third choice at odds of 3-1. When the gate opened, Never Bend quickly took the lead and held it until the eighth pole when a colt named Chateaugay came from sixth place to win by 1¼ lengths.
[edit] The 1963 Preakness Stakes
In the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, Never Bend again faced both Candy Spots and Chateaugay. Bettors still made Candy Spots the favorite. As he had in the Derby, Never Bend charged out to an early lead with Candy Spots comfortably sitting in third. As they turned onto the homestretch Chateaugay came from well back to catch and pass Never Bend who had fallen behind the then front-running Candy Spots. He finished third behind Chateaugay and the race winner, Candy Spots.
Never Bend did not run in the third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series. Before being retired, in the fall of that year he finished second to Mongo in the United Nations Handicap and second to the great Kelso in the Woodward Stakes.
[edit] As a sire
Never Bend retired to stand at stud for the 1964 season and would become a very important sire, producing 61 stakes winners. His most famous son was Mill Reef, ranked 4th on the list of the European Top 100 horses of the 20th Century and a leading sire whose race wins include the Epsom Derby and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Never Bend's other progeny included Riverman, a two-time Leading sire in France, and J.O. Tobin, Champion 2-year-old in England and Eclipse Award sprinter in the U.S. at age 4 who handed Seattle Slew his first defeat. Never Bend was also the broodmare sire of 115 stakes winners with two of his mares voted Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. [2]
Never Bend died in 1977 at the age of seventeen.
