WAR ADMIRAL 1937

Br. c., 1934, by Man o’ War—Brushup, by Sweep OWNER: Glen Riddle Farm BREEDER: Samuel D. Riddle (Ky.) TRAINER: George Conway JOCKEY: Charles Kurtsinger RACE RECORD: 26 starts ages 2-5, 21 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, $273,240. AT 2: Won Eastern Shore Handicap. AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Washington H., Chesapeake, Pimlico Special. AT 4: Won Widener H., Jockey Club Gold Cup, Saratoga Cup, Saratoga H., Whitney, etc.

A son of the mighty Man o’ War, War Admiral brought many of his illustrious sire’s characteristics to the racecourse. In fact, he was owned and bred by Samuel D. Riddle, who campaigned Man o’ War.

Usually a bundle of nerves as he entered the track from the paddock, he was possessed of blazing early speed and the ability to carry it over all distances. In the Kentucky Derby, War Admiral went postward as the favorite and led gate to wire to defeat champion 2-yearold Pompoon and win by 1 3/4 lengths. A week later, he was put to a sterner test by that one in the Preakness, holding off Pompoon to win by a head. In the Belmont, War Admiral stumbled at the start, injuring his right foreleg, but he was able to win by three lengths. He went to the sidelines until October. He was undefeated in his 3-year-old season.

War Admiral had a brilliant campaign at 4, winning 9 of 11 starts, but it is sometimes overshadowed by his wellpublicized loss to Seabiscuit in the Pimlico Special. Only once did he finish unplaced, that in the mud in the Massachusetts Handicap.

At stud, War Admiral was a top sire, getting 40 stakes winners, including champions Busher and Blue Peter. He stood at Riddle’s Faraway Farm in Kentucky until Riddle’s death and then relocated to Hamburg. He died in 1959.

NYRA