Biography

A Grade 1 winner as a 2-year-old, A.P. Indy won three Grade 1 races at age 3 — the Santa Anita Derby, Belmont Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic —  en route to Horse of the Year honors in 1992.

A son of Seattle Slew out of the Secretariat mare Weekend Surprise, A.P. Indy was bred in Kentucky at Lane’s End Farm by William S. Farish III and William Kilroy. He was the top priced yearling of 1990, selling for $2.9 million. Campaigned by Tomonori Tsurumaki and later by Farish, Kilroy, and Harold Goodman, A.P. Indy arrived at the races in 1991. Trained by Hall of Famer Neil Drysdale, A.P. Indy broke his maiden in his second career start at Santa Anita. He added an allowance win at Bay Meadows that year and won the Grade 1 Hollywood Futurity to conclude his juvenile season with a record of 3-0-0 from four starts and earnings of $357,255.

As a 3-year-old, A.P. Indy extended his win streak to seven. He won the San Rafael Stakes, Santa Anita Derby, Peter Pan Stakes, and Belmont Stakes before finishing fifth in the Molson Export Million Stakes at Woodbine. A.P. Indy then finished third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup before winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Gulfstream Park to lock up Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Male honors.

Retired after the Breeders’ Cup Classic, A.P. Indy finished his career with a record of 8-0-1 from 11 starts and earnings of $2,979,815.

A.P. Indy became an outstanding stallion following his racing career, siring 88 stakes winners, including 12 champions. Standing at Lane’s End in Kentucky, A.P. Indy sired, among others, Horse of the Year Mineshaft, champion Bernardini, and Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches, as well as Honor Code, Take Charge Indy, Pulpit, Malibu Moon, and Dreaming of Julia, among others.

A two-time leading sire in North America (2003, 2006), A.P. Indy was pensioned in 2011. He died in 2020 at the age of 30. 

Achievements

Eclipse Award Horse of the Year — 1992
Eclipse Award Champion 3-Year-Old Male — 1992

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the Belmont Stakes — 1992

Breeders' Cup highlights

Won the Classic — 1992

Notable

Won the Hollywood Futurity — 1991
Won the Peter Pan Stakes — 1992
Won the San Rafael Stakes— 1992
Won the Santa Anita Derby — 1992

Horse Profile for A.P. Indy | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information

Biography

The Eclipse Award winner for Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 1988, Winning Colors won the Kentucky Derby that year, joining fellow Hall of Famers Regret (1915) and Genuine Risk (1980) in that rare company.

Bred in Kentucky by Echo Valley Horse Farm, Winning Colors was a roan daughter of Cairo out of the Bold Hour mare All Rainbows. Purchased for $575,000 by Eugene Klein, Winning Colors was turned over to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

As a 2-year-old, Winning Colors broke her maiden in her career debut at Saratoga on Aug. 13, 1987. She raced once more that year, winning an allowance at Santa Anita.

As a sophomore, Winning Colors began her season with a victory in the La Centinela Stakes at Santa Anita before suffering her first defeat when she finished second to Goodbye Halo in the Grade 1 La Virgenes Stakes. She rebounded to an eight-length romp in the Santa Anita Oaks (Goodbye Halo was a distant third), prompting Lukas to enter her against males in the Santa Anita Derby. Winning Colors was once again brilliant, pulling away from the overmatched field to win by 7½ lengths.

Winning Colors met a strong field in the Kentucky Derby, including champion Forty Niner, Risen Star, Seeking the Gold, Regal Classic, and Private Terms. Winning Colors broke well and went to an early lead. Although Forty Niner made a furious run in the stretch, Winning Colors held on to win by a neck.

In the Preakness, Winning Colors finished third to Risen Star, who went on to win the Belmont by 14¾ lengths with Winning Colors sixth in the third leg of the Triple Crown. Returning to filly competition, Winning Colors next finished three-quarters of a length behind Personal Ensign in the Maskette and was off the board in the Spinster. She took another shot at Personal Ensign in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs but came up a nose short in a thriller.

Returning as a 4-year-old, Winning Colors won twice in seven starts before being retired with a career record of 8-3-1 from 19 starts and earnings of $1,526,837.

Winning Colors died in 2008 at the age of 23.

Achievements

Eclipse Award Champion 3-Year-Old Filly — 1988

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the Kentucky Derby — 1988

Notable

Won the La Centinela Stakes — 1988
Won the Santa Anita Derby — 1988
Won the Santa Anita Oaks — 1988
Won the Turfway Breeders' Cup Handicap — 1989

Horse Profile for Winning Colors | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information

Biography

A successful international runner on both dirt and turf, Exceller won stakes races in the United States, Canada, England, and France and became the first horse to defeat two Triple Crown winners in the same race when he beat Seattle Slew and Affirmed in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

A bay son of Vaguely Noble out of the Bald Eagle mare Too Bald, Exceller was bred by Jane Englehard and campaigned by Nelson Bunker Hunt, who initially sent him to Europe. As a 3-year-old in France in 1976, Exceller won the Grand Prix de Paris and the Prix Royal-Oak, both at 1⅞ miles.

At age 4, Exceller won England’s Coronation Cup and France’s Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud before coming to North America to win the Canadian International at Woodbine.

In 1978, with Hall of Famer Charlie Whittingham succeeding Francois Mathet and Maurice Zilber as his trainer, Exceller won on both dirt and turf in America. His wins that year included the Arcadia Handicap, Hollywood Turf Invitational Handicap, San Juan Capistrano Handicap, Sunset Handicap, and Oak Tree Invitational Stakes. In the Jockey Club Gold Cup, with Hall of Famer Bill Shoemaker up, Exceller rallied from 22 lengths back to win the 1½-mile event by a nose over Seattle Slew.

Overall, Exceller posted a record of 15-5-6 from 33 starts and earnings of $1,654,003. Upon his retirement in 1979, Exceller was sent to stud at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. He sired 19 stakes winners and his daughters produced 18 added-money winners.

Hunt eventually sold Exceller to breeding interests in Sweden and tragically Exceller was sent to slaughter in 1997 when he was no longer a viable stallion. He was 24 years old. Three months after news of Exceller’s death became public, a non-profit organization named The Exceller Fund was founded to help find retirement homes for ex-racehorses in an effort to help avoid similar fates to the one Exceller suffered. 

Achievements

Won the Grand Prix de Paris — 1976
Won the Prix du Lis — 1976
Won the Prix Royal-Oak-French St. Leger — 1976
Won the Canadian International Championship Stakes — 1977
Won the Coronation Cup — 1977
Won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud — 1977
Won the Arcadia Handicap — 1978
Won the Hollywood Gold Cup — 1978
Won the Hollywood Invitational Handicap — 1978
Won the Jockey Club Gold Cup — 1978
Won the Oak Tree Invitational — 1978
Won the San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap — 1978
Won the Sunset Handicap — 1978

Horse Profile for Exceller | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information

Biography

Bred in Kentucky, Miesque shined on the international stage in England and France, but it was her two epic performances in the Breeders’ Cup Mile that secured her legacy.

A bay daughter of Nureyev out of the Prove Out mare Pasadoble, Miesque was bred by Flaxman Holdings, Ltd., the racing empire established by Stavros Niarchos. Trained by Francois Boutin, Miesque drew attention early in her career by winning two Group 1 races at Longchamp in France as a 2-year-old in 1986 to be named French champion 2-year-old filly.

As a 3-year-old in 1987, Miesque won the Prix Imprudence and then the French and the English One Thousand Guineas. Her most impressive performance of the season, however, came in the Breeders' Cup Mile when she defeated older males and set a course record of 1:32⅘ at Hollywood Park. The scintillating effort helped Miesque secure the Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Female.

Returning to the races as a 4-year-old in 1988, Miesque added two more Group 1 wins in France before returning to the U.S. for another shot at the Breeders' Cup Mile. Racing in her home state of Kentucky at Churchill Downs, Miesque delivered another brilliant effort and defeated the champion Steinlen by four lengths. She was once again named the Eclipse Award winner for Champion Turf Female.

Following her second Breeders’ Cup victory, Miesque was retired to Oak Tree Farm in Kentucky with career record of 12-3-1 from 16 starts and earnings of $2,096,517. A successful broodmare, Miesque produced Kingmambo, Miesque's son, and East of the Moon.

Miesque died at the age of 27 at Claiborne Farm in 2011.

Achievements

Eclipse Award Champion Turf Female — 1987
Eclipse Award Champion Turf Female — 1988

Breeders' Cup Highlights

Won the Mile — 1987
Won the Mile — 1988

Notable

Won the Prix de la Salamandre — 1986
Won the Prix Marcel Boussac — 1986
Won the Dubai Poule d'Essai des Pouliches-French One Thousand Guineas — 1987
Won the General Accident One Thousand Guineas — 1987
Won the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois — 1987
Won the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp Ecurie Fustok  — 1987
Won the Prix d'Ispahan — 1988
Won the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois — 1988

Horse Profile for Miesque | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information

Biography

Bred by Maine Chance Farm, Gun Bow was unraced as a 2-year-old because of soundness issues. In December 1962, he was purchased by Harry Albert and Mrs. John Stanley, who raced the son of Gun Shot under the name of Gedney Farm.

Sent to trainer Eddie Neloy, Gun Bow won six of 18 starts as a 3-year-old in 1963, including the Narragansett Special. The following year, Gun Bow became a standout and a top rival to five-time Horse of the Year Kelso. In the 1964 Brooklyn Handicap, Gun Bow set a track record of 1:59⅗ for 1¼ miles, defeating Kelso by 12 lengths. That autumn, Kelso defeated Gun Bow in the Aqueduct Stakes, but Gun Bow beat him by a nose in the Woodward. Gun Bow was then second when Kelso set an American record in the 1½-mile Washington, D.C. International.

Gun Bow was successful at various tracks. In California, he won the San Fernando Stakes, San Antonio Handicap (twice), and the Charles H. Strub Stakes (by 12 lengths); he won the Gulfstream Park Handicap and Donn Handicap in Florida; and in New York he won the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga by 10 lengths under 130 pounds and defeated Chieftain and Affectionately in the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont. He also carried 132 pounds in winning the Washington Handicap in Chicago.

Five of Gun Bow’s victories in 1964 — the Woodward Stakes, Brooklyn Handicap, Washington Handicap, Gulfstream Park Handicap, and the Charles H. Strub Stakes — were each worth $100,000 or more. He topped the money list that year at $580,100, winning half of his 16 starts and finishing in the money 14 times.  

Gun Bow was retired to stud after his 5-year-old campaign in 1965 with a career record of 17-8-4 from 42 starts and earnings of $798,722. He had moderate success as a sire. An outstanding daughter, Pistol Packer, won several Group 1 races in France, including the 1971 Prix de Diane. In 1974, Gun Bow was sold to a breeding farm in Japan, where he died in 1979 at the age of 19.

Achievements

Won the Narragansett Special — 1963
Won the Brooklyn Handicap — 1964
Won the Charles H. Strub Stakes — 1964
Won the Gulfstream Park Handicap — 1964
Won the San Antonio Handicap — 1964
Won the San Fernando Stakes — 1964
Won the Washington Handicap — 1964
Won the Whitney Stakes — 1964
Won the Woodward Stakes — 1964
Won the Donn Handicap — 1965
Won the Metropolitan Handicap — 1965
Won the San Antonio Handicap — 1965

Horse Profile for Gun Bow | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information

Biography

A three-time champion on the grass, Fort Marcy was named Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male Horse by Daily Racing Form in 1970. He set three course records — all at 1½ miles — during his six-year career.  

Bred in Virginia by owner Paul Mellon, Fort Marcy was a gelded son of Amerigo out of the unraced Princequillo mare Key Bridge. After winning only once in 10 starts as a 2-year-old in 1966, Fort Marcy was switched to the turf the following year and posted a record of 7-2-4 from 18 starts and earnings of $236,264. The highlight of his sophomore campaign was a victory over Damascus in the Washington, D.C. International.

A champion turf horse in 1967, 1968, and 1970, Fort Marcy was also named Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male in 1970 by Daily Racing Form. That year, he won the D. C. International for the second time and also scored victories in the United Nations Handicap and Man o’ War Stakes.

Other major wins by Fort Marcy included the Sunset Handicap (setting a Hollywood Park course record of 2:26⅗ for 1½ miles), Hollywood Park Invitational, Stars and Stripes Handicap, Bernard Baruch Handicap, Dixie Handicap (setting a Pimlico course record of 2:27⅖ for 1½ miles), and Bowling Green Handicap (setting a Belmont course record of 2:26⅗ for 1½ miles).

Fort Marcy was retired after his 1971 campaign with a career record of 21-18-14 from 75 starts and earnings of $1,109,791. He won a total of 16 stakes races and ranked seventh all time in career earnings at the time of his retirement.

Fort Marcy died in 1991 at the age of 27 at Rokeby Farm in Upperville, Virginia.

Achievements

Champion Male Turf Horse — 1967
Champion Male Turf Horse (TRA) — 1968
Horse of the Year (Daily Racing Form) — 1970
Champion Older Male Horse (Daily Racing Form) — 1970
Champion Male Turf Horse — 1970

Notable

Won the Bernard Baruch Handicap — 1967
Won the Long Branch Stakes — 1967
Won the Nashua Handicap — 1967
Won the Tidal Handicap — 1967, 1969
Won the Washington, D. C. International Stakes — 1967, 1970
Won the Stars and Stripes Handicap — 1968
Won the Sunset Handicap — 1968
Won the Bougainvillea Handicap — 1969
Won the Hollywood Park Invitational Turf Handicap — 1969
Won the Kelly-Olympic Handicap — 1969
Won the Bowling Green Handicap — 1970
Won the Dixie Handicap — 1970
Won the Man o' War Stakes — 1970
Won the United Nations Handicap — 1970

Horse Profile for Fort Marcy | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information

Biography

A two-time Eclipse Award winner, Riva Ridge was bred in Kentucky by Christopher Chenery’s Meadow Stud. A bay son of First Landing out of the Heliopolis mare Iberia, Riva Ridge was trained by Lucien Laurin and ridden primarily by Ron Turcotte.

Riva Ridge broke his maiden in his second career start on June 23, 1971, at Belmont Park (Key to the Mint finished second). Later that summer, he won his first stakes race, the Flash at Saratoga. Riva Ridge followed the Flash victory with four more consecutive wins — the Futurity Stakes, Champagne Stakes, Pimlico-Laurel Futurity, and Garden State Stakes — to conclude his juvenile campaign with a record of 7-0-0 from nine starts and earnings of $503,263. He was named the Eclipse Award winner for Champion 2-Year-Old Male.

As a 3-year-old, Riva Ridge won the Hibiscus Stakes and Blue Grass Stakes before a 3¼-length victory as the favorite in the 1972 Kentucky Derby. A fourth-place finish on a wet track in the Preakness dashed Riva Ridge’s Triple Crown hopes, but he bounced back with a seven-length victory in the Belmont. Riva Ridge also won the Hollywood Derby that year. 

Returning as a 4-year-old in 1973, Riva Ridge won the Massachusetts, Brooklyn, and Stuyvesant handicaps. He tied the Suffolk Downs track record for 1⅛ miles in the Massachusetts Handicap, while his time of 1:52⅖ in the Brooklyn (held at Aqueduct) set a world record for 1 3/16 miles on dirt. That year, Riva Ridge also finished second to Triple Crown winner and stablemate Secretariat in the Marlboro Cup Invitational. Riva Ridge won his second Eclipse Award in 1973 (Champion Older Male).

Riva Ridge was retired to Claiborne Farm in Kentucky at the conclusion of his 4-year-old season with a career mark of 17-3-1 from 30 starts and earnings of $1,111,347. He died at the age of 16 on April 21, 1985.

Achievements

Eclipse Award Champion 2-Year-Old Male — 1971
Eclipse Award Champion Older Male — 1973

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the Kentucky Derby — 1972
Won the Belmont Stakes — 1972

Notable

Won the Champagne Stakes — 1971
Won the Flash Stakes — 1971
Won the Futurity Stakes — 1971
Won the Garden State Stakes — 1971
Won the Pimlico-Laurel Futurity — 1971
Won the Blue Grass Stakes — 1972
Won the Hibiscus Stakes — 1972
Won the Hollywood Derby — 1972
Won the Brooklyn Handicap — 1973
Won the Massachusetts Handicap — 1973
Won the Stuyvesant Handicap — 1973

Horse Profile for Riva Ridge | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information

Biography

A bay daughter of Consultants Bid out of the Good Manners mare Arlucea, Bayakoa won back-to-back editions of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in 1989 and 1990 and was named Champion Older Female in each of those seasons.

Bred in Argentina, Bayakoa won the Premio Palermo in her homeland in 1987 before being purchased by Janis and Frank Whitham to race in the United States for Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally.

Bayakoa was a modest success in her first year in America, winning an allowance in her first U.S. start and adding the June Darling Stakes in 1988 as a 4-year-old.

At age 5 in 1989, Bayakoa won eight graded stakes races, including Grade 1 scores in the Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap, Apple Blossom Handicap, Milady Handicap, Vanity Handicap, Ruffian Handicap, Spinster Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup Distaff. In her Grade 2 victory in the Hawthorne Handicap, Bayakoa ran the fastest one-turn dirt mile ever by a mare in 1:32⅘. Overall, she posted a record of 9-1-0 from 11 starts and earnings of $1,406,403 to be named Champion Older Female.

In 1990, Bayakoa repeated in the Santa Margarita, Hawthorne, Spinster, Milady, and Breeders’ Cup Distaff to once again earn the Eclipse Award for Champion Older Female, finishing the season 7-2-0 from 10 starts with earnings of $1,234,406. It marked the first time since Shuvee in 1970 and 1971 that a mare won consecutive seasonal championships.

Bayakoa raced three more times as a 7-year-old in 1991 before being retired with an overall record of 21-9-0 from 39 starts and earnings of $2,856,414. She died at Penbrook Farm in Kentucky in 1997 at the age of 13.

Achievements

Eclipse Award Champion Older Female — 1989
Eclipse Award Champion Older Female — 1990

Breeders' Cup Highlights

Won the Distaff — 1989
Won the Distaff — 1990

Notable

Won the Premio Palermo — 1987
Won the June Darling Stakes — 1988
Won the Apple Blossom Handicap — 1989 
Won the Hawthorne Handicap — 1989, 1990 
Won the Milady Handicap — 1989, 1990
Won the Ruffian Handicap — 1989
Won the Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap — 1989, 1990
Won the Spinster Stakes — 1989, 1990 
Won the Vanity Handicap — 1989
Won the Chula Vista Handicap — 1990
Won the Santa Maria Handicap — 1990

Horse Profile for Bayakoa (ARG) | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information

Biography

Bold ’n Determined was a precocious 2-year-old, winning all four of her starts in 1979. She went on to win from coast to coast as a sophomore and continued her excellence in the handicap ranks as a 4-year-old.

A daughter of Bold and Brave out of the Determine mare Pidi, Bold ’n Determine was campaigned by Saron Stable and trained by Hall of Famer Neil Drysdale. As a 2-year-old, Bold ’n Determined won her debut in the spring of 1979 at Hollywood Park. She added a victory in the Oak Leaf Stakes and finished her season undefeated with earnings of $108,240.

At 3, Bold ’n Determined won six Grade 1 races, including two-thirds of the New York Filly Triple Crown — the Acorn Stakes at a mile and the Coaching Club American Oaks at 1½ miles. She also won the Kentucky Oaks, Fantasy Stakes, Santa Susana Stakes, and Spinster Stakes. In a thrilling running of the Maskette Stakes, Bold ’n Determined defeated Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk by a nose. Her overall record as a 3-year-old was 9-1-0 from 12 starts with earnings of $643,303.

Returning to the races as a 4-year-old in 1981, Bold ’n Determined added victories in the Bewitch Stakes and Apple Blossom Handicap before ankle trouble forced her retirement with a career mark of 16-2-0 from 20 starts and earnings of $949,599.

Bold ’n Determined died in 1997 at the age of 20 at Gainsborough Farm near Lexington, Kentucky.

Achievements

Won the Oak Leaf Stakes — 1979
Won the Acorn Stakes — 1980
Won the Coaching Club American Oaks — 1980
Won the Fantasy Stakes — 1980
Won the Kentucky Oaks — 1980
Won the Maskette Stakes — 1980
Won the Pasadena Stakes — 1980
Won the Santa Susana Stakes — 1980
Won the Spinster Stakes — 1980
Won the Apple Blossom Handicap — 1981

Horse Profile for Bold 'n Determined | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information

Biography

Recognized as Horse of the Year in 1936 — the first year of formal voting — Granville was a son of Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox out of the Sarmatian mare Gravita.

A homebred for the Belair Stud of William Woodward, Sr., Granville was trained by Hall of Famer James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons and arrived at the races as a 2-year-old in 1935. After four unsuccessful attempts, Granville broke his maiden Sept. 7, 1935, at Aqueduct for his only victory as a juvenile.

As a sophomore, Granville won his season debut in an allowance at Jamaica before finishing second in the Wood Memorial. He then lost rider Jimmy Stout in the Kentucky Derby before suffering narrow defeats in the Preakness Stakes and Suburban Handicap.

Granville finally broke through on the big stage when he won the Belmont Stakes, which began a six-race win streak. Following the Belmont, Granville won the Arlington Classic, Kenner Stakes, Travers Stakes, Saratoga Cup, and Lawrence Realization in succession. In the 1¾-mile Saratoga Cup, Granville defeated Hall of Famer Discovery by eight lengths in arguably the best performance of his career. An ankle injury prompted his retirement after the Lawrence Realization.

Overall, Granville finished with a record of 8-4-3 from 18 starts and earnings of $111,820. Following his retirement, Granville stood at Kentmere Farm in Virginia and later at John Hay Whitney’s farm near Lexington, Kentucky, and Word Ranch in New Mexico. He sired only two stakes winners. 

Achievements

Horse of the Year — 1936
Champion 3-Year-Old Male — 1936

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the Belmont Stakes — 1936

Notable

Won the Arlington Classic — 1936
Won the Kenner Stakes — 1936
Won the Lawrence Realization Stakes — 1936
Won the Saratoga Cup — 1936
Won the Travers Stakes — 1936

Horse Profile for Granville | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information