Cudgel (horse)

Cudgel (1914–1941) was an American two-time Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.

Owned by J. K. L. Ross and trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee H. Guy Bedwell, Cudgel is probably best remembered for his win in the 1919 Havre de Grace Handicap in which he defeated two future Hall of Fame inductees, Exterminator and Sir Barton.

Cudgel raced at age three in 1917. He finished eleventh in the Kentucky Derby but showed some of his developing abilities when he finished second in the Latonia Derby. Frequently ridden by Earl Sande as well as Johnny Loftus, at age four Cudgel was the dominant older horse of 1918. The next year, despite a long layoff between May and August as a result of an injury, he came back to share Champion Older Horse honors with Sun Briar.

After retiring from racing, Cudgel stood at stud Ross's Yarrow Brae Stud near Laurel, Maryland. A successful sire, among his best, daughter Fluvanna was the 1923 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and his son, Froth Blower, won the 1931 King's Plate, Canada's most prestigious race.

Cudgel died in October 1941 at age twenty-seven.

References

• Cudgel's pedigree and partial racing stats
• Cudgel racing and offspring statistics at The Triple Crown database
• September 29, 1918 New York Times article on Cudgel's win in the Liberty Handicap at Havre de Grace Racetrack
• August 16, 1919 New York Times article on Cudgel's win in the Hudson Handicap at Saratoga Race Course