Bull Dog (horse)

Bull Dog (1927–1954) was an French Thoroughbred racehorse who became a North American Champion sire and Champion broodmare sire.

Owned and bred by American Jefferson Davis Cohn at his Haras du Bois-Roussel in Alençon in France's Lower Normandy region, Bull Dog was sired by Teddy who had been the Leading sire in France in 1923. His dam was Plucky Liege, one of the most important broodmares of the 20th century [1] who was sired by Spearmint, a winner of the two most prestigious races in England and France in 1906, the Epsom Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris.

Conditioned for racing by the highly successful Staffordshire-born trainer, Robert Denman, at age two Bull Dog earned a second-place finish in the important Prix Robert Papin at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse. As a three-year-old he won the 1930 Prix Daphnis and the Prix La Flèche d'Or, but it was his performance off the racetrack for which he is best remembered.

As a sire

Bull Dog was a younger full brother to Sir Gallahad who was also owned by Jefferson Davis Cohn and who sold him in 1926 to an American breeding syndicate. Sir Gallahad became an extremely important Champion sire and Champion broodmare sire in North America. Because of his immediate success, American E. Dale Schaffer purchased Bull Dog in late 1930 and brought him to the United States too stand at his Coldstream Stud in Lexington, Kentucky.

At stud, Bull Dog became the Leading sire in North America in 1943 and the Leading broodmare sire in North America in 1953, 1954, and 1956. Bull Dog died at Coldstream Stud in 1954 having sired horses that would win 52 stakes races, and the broodmare sire of more than 85 stakes winners. Among his most significant sons was Bull Lea, a very influential sire for Kentucky's renowned Calumet Farm whose sons included the 1948 U.S. Triple Crown champion, Citation.

References

• Bull Dog's pedigree and partial racing stats