War Emblem
| War Emblem | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Our Emblem |
| Grandsire | Mr. Prospector |
| Dam | Sweetest Lady |
| Damsire | Lord at War |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1999 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Dark Brown |
| Breeder | Charles Nuckols Jr. & Sons |
| Owner |
Russell L. Reineman The Thoroughbred Corp. |
| Trainer |
Frank R. Springer Bob Baffert |
| Record | 13: 7-0-0 |
| Earnings | $3,491,000 |
| Major wins | |
|
Illinois Derby (2002) Kentucky Derby (2002) Preakness Stakes (2002) | |
| Awards | |
| American Champion 3-Yr-Old Male Horse (2002) | |
| Last updated on September 7, 2007 | |
War Emblem (foaled February 20, 1999 in Kentucky) was the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 2002. His Derby time was 2:01.13. Victor Espinoza was his jockey for the Derby, never having seen the horse until the morning of the race. War Emblem, who went off at 21-to-1 odds, gave trainer Bob Baffert his third Derby winner in 12 tries. War Emblem beat the likes of Medaglia d'Oro (winner of the Travers Stakes, Jim Dandy Stakes, and Whitney Handicap among others); Perfect Drift (winner of the Stephen Foster, the Indiana Derby, and the Washington Park Handicap twice, among others); and Harlan's Holiday (winner of the Florida Derby, the Pennsylvania Derby, and the Donn Handicap among others).
Early career
War Emblem's sire was Our Emblem, and his dam was Sweetest Lady. He also won the 2002 Preakness Stakes and the Haskell Invitational Handicap, and had prepped for the Derby with a win at the Illinois Derby.
The Kentucky-bred War Emblem, dark brown with a stark white demarkation between his eyes, lost the Triple Crown bid to Sarava at the Belmont Stakes. Sarava had odds of 70-1. War Emblem stumbled and nearly fell to his knees out of the gate coming out in last place and surged to the lead in the final turn before fading quickly at the top of the stretch. The Belmont attracted the biggest crowd in the track's history with 103,222 spectators.[1]
Baffert said of the Belmont, "He was so one-dimensional and such an irritable horse as it was, as soon as he was behind horses, I had to sit there for 2½ minutes waiting for the race to be over." As he approached the quarter pole, Tom Durkin called, "And War Emblem is toiling as we turn for home."
Ahmed bin Salman bought a ninety percent interest in War Emblem for $1 million from the Russell L. Reineman Stable following the horse's April 6 win in the Illinois Derby, just three weeks before the Kentucky Derby.
Career as a sire
In September 2002, War Emblem was sold to the prominent Yoshida racing family of Japan for US$17.7 million to stand at stud at their renowned Shadai Stallion Station in Shiraoi, Hokkaido.
Expected to follow in the footsteps of Shadai's great sires Northern Taste and Sunday Silence, War Emblem has had problems in the breeding shed. His matings produced only four foals in his first year at stud, then after an extended vacation, more than forty in his second, then only two in his third. In 2007 and 2008, it was reported that War Emblem has rejected nearly every mare presented to him for mating. He sired only 106 registered foals between 2004 and 2011.[2] On June 8, 2008, War Emblem was evaluated by a stallion behavior team from the University of Pennsylvania. They suggested that he should be separated from other stallions to help improve his confidence. The measures seemed to help War Emblem in the 2009 breeding season, with a career record of 43 foals born in 2010. However, War Emblem reverted to his old habits in 2010, only covering 5 of 300 mares presented to him in the season.[3] In 2012, he covered only three mares, none of which became pregnant.[2]
War Emblem was represented by his first career stakes winner when Shonan Alba (Xianlang (IRE), by Great Commotion) won the Kyodo News Service Hai, an 1,800 meter listed race on Tokyo Race Course's turf course. Nearly a month later, the filly Air Pascale (Raffica, by Sunday Silence) scored in the listed Tulip Sho at Hashin Race Course. Then, on March 22, another filly, Black Emblem (Vin de Noir, by Hector Protector), became War Emblem's third stakes winner from 26 lifetime foals with an odds-on victory in the Flower Cup at 1,800 meters at Nakayama Race Course.
Pedigree
| Sire Our Emblem dark brown 1991 |
Mr. Prospector
bay 1970 |
Raise A Native chestnut 1961 |
Native Dancer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raise You | |||
| Gold Digger bay 1962 |
Nashua | ||
| Sequence | |||
| Personal Ensign
bay 1984 |
Private Account bay 1976 |
Damascus | |
| Numbered Account | |||
| Grecian Banner dark brown 1974 |
Hoist The Flag | ||
| Dorine | |||
| Dam Sweetest Lady bay 1990 |
Lord At War
chestnut 1980 |
General bay 1974 |
Brigadier Gerard |
| Mercuriale | |||
| Luna De Miel chestnut 1974 |
Con Brio | ||
| Good Will | |||
| Sweetest Roman
bay 1977 |
The Pruner dark brown 1976 |
Herbager | |
| Punctilious | |||
| I Also bay 1969 |
Sky HIgh | ||
| Roman Song |
References
- ↑ "Belmont Stakes Attendance, Wagering Set Records". BloodHorse.com. 8 June 2002.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 MacDonald, Michelle. "War Emblem". Bloodhorse. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
- ↑ MacDonald, Michele. "War Emblem saga continues". Brisnet.com. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
External links
- War Emblem's pedigree and racing stats
- War Emblem's Kentucky Derby
- War Emblem: Three-year-old Male of the Year
- War Emblem
- Copy of September 12, 2002 Chicago Sun-Times article by Jim O'Donnell on the sale of War Emblem
- July 10, 2006 Bloodhorse.com article on War Emblem's problems at stud
- Bloodhorse.com article on War Emblem's first stakes winner
- March 29, 2008 Bloodhorse.com Article on War Emblem's Three Stakes Winners
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