Iron Liege
Iron Liege | |
---|---|
Sire | Bull Lea |
Grandsire | Bull Dog |
Dam | Iron Maiden |
Damsire | War Admiral |
Sex | Stallion |
Foaled | March 11, 1954[1] |
Country | United States |
Colour | Bay |
Breeder | Calumet Farm |
Owner | Calumet Farm |
Trainer | Horace A. Jones |
Record | 33: 11-9-5 |
Earnings | $404,169 |
Major wins | |
Forerunner Stakes (1957) Sheridan Handicap (1957) Jersey Stakes (1957) Laurance Armour Memorial Handicap (1957) McLennan Handicap (1958) Triple Crown Race wins: Kentucky Derby (1957) Preakness Stakes 2nd (1957) | |
Last updated on August 6, 2007 |
Iron Liege (March 11, 1954 – December 14, 1972) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1957 Kentucky Derby.
Background
Iron Liege was a bay horse bred and owned by Calumet Farm. He was sired by Calumet's leading sire Bull Lea, out of the mare Iron Maiden a daughter of the 1937 U.S. Triple Crown champion, War Admiral. Iron Maiden also produced Iron Reward, the dam of Swaps.[2]
He was trained throughout his racing career by Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Jones.
Three-year-old season
As a three-year-old colt in 1957 leading up to the Kentucky Derby, Iron Liege and his more highly regarded stablemate Gen. Duke sometimes ran coupled. These races included an allowance win by Iron Liege over Gen. Duke at Hialeah and a third-place finish to victorious Gen. Duke and Bold Ruler in the Florida Derby. Both colts were entered in the Derby Trial preceding the Kentucky Derby, with Gen. Duke finishing second and Iron Liege fifth. After the race, Jones determined that Gen. Duke was not fit to run in the Derby, which left Iron Liege his sole entrant against perhaps the greatest field ever assembled for the race, including: Bold Ruler, Round Table, and Gallant Man. Future Hall of Fame jockey Bill Hartack, who was Gen. Duke's regular rider, was assigned to ride Iron Liege in the Derby.
In the Derby, Iron Liege took the lead over pacesetter Federal Hill but encountered a fast-charging Gallant Man in deep stretch. As the two passed the +1⁄16 mile pole, Gallant Man's rider, future Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker, stood up in his irons long enough for Gallant Man to briefly lose his stride. Iron Liege held off Gallant Man and won by a nose in a driving finish, with Round Table third and Bold Ruler fourth.[3] After first blaming his actions on a bad step by Gallant Man, Shoemaker admitted that he misjudged the +1⁄16 mile pole as the finish line, and he was suspended 15 days by the Churchill Downs stewards for "gross carelessness". His gaffe has been noted in books, in articles, and on online sites as one of the biggest blunders in racing history.
Following his Kentucky Derby win, Iron Liege finished second to Bold Ruler in the Preakness, but did not compete in the Belmont Stakes. He also finished second in the American Derby to Round Table. As a three-year-old, Iron Liege also posted stakes wins in the Forerunner Stakes, Sheridan Stakes, Laurance Armour Memorial Handicap, and Jersey Stakes. As a four-year-old, he won the McLennan Handicap.
Stud record
Iron Liege stood as a breeding stallion in Japan and died at the Shizunai stud in Hokkaido in 1972. The best of his offspring included:
- Strong Eight (Arima Kinen, Naruo Kinen, American Jockey Club Cup)
- Taiho Hero (Naruo Kinen, Megro Kinen, Sapporo Kinen)
- Adjar (Prix Perth)
Pedigree
Sire Bull Lea (USA) 1935 | Bull Dog (FR) 1927 | Teddy | Ajax |
---|---|---|---|
Rondeau | |||
Plucky Liege | Spearmint | ||
Concertina | |||
Rose Leaves (USA) 1916 | Ballot | Voter | |
Cerito | |||
Colonial | Trenton | ||
Thankful Blossom | |||
Dam Iron Maiden (USA) 1941 | War Admiral (USA) 1934 | Man o' War | Fair Play |
Mahubah | |||
Brushup | Sweep | ||
Annette K | |||
Betty Derr (USA) 1928 | Sir Gallahad | Teddy | |
Plucky Liege | |||
Uncle's Lassie | Uncle | ||
Planutess (family A4)[2] |
- Iron Liege was inbred 3 × 4 to the stallion Teddy and the mare Plucky Liege, meaning that these horses appear in both the third and fourth generations of his pedigree.
References
- ^ a b "Iron Liege pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ a b "Medley Mare Number 2 - Family A4". Thoroughbred Bloodlines.
- ^ "2006 - 2017 Kentucky Derby & Oaks - May 5 and 6, 2017 - Tickets, Events, News".
External links
- Iron Liege at Find a Grave
- v
- t
- e
- 1875 Aristides
- 1876 Vagrant
- 1877 Baden-Baden
- 1878 Day Star
- 1879 Lord Murphy
- 1880 Fonso
- 1881 Hindoo
- 1882 Apollo
- 1883 Leonatus
- 1884 Buchanan
- 1885 Joe Cotton
- 1886 Ben Ali
- 1887 Montrose
- 1888 Macbeth II
- 1889 Spokane
- 1890 Riley
- 1891 Kingman
- 1892 Azra
- 1893 Lookout
- 1894 Chant
- 1895 Halma
- 1896 Ben Brush
- 1897 Typhoon II
- 1898 Plaudit
- 1899 Manuel
- 1900 Lieut. Gibson
- 1901 His Eminence
- 1902 Alan-a-Dale
- 1903 Judge Himes
- 1904 Elwood
- 1905 Agile
- 1906 Sir Huon
- 1907 Pink Star
- 1908 Stone Street
- 1909 Wintergreen
- 1910 Donau
- 1911 Meridian
- 1912 Worth
- 1913 Donerail
- 1914 Old Rosebud
- 1915 Regret ♥
- 1916 George Smith
- 1917 Omar Khayyam
- 1918 Exterminator
- 1919 Sir Barton ₩
- 1920 Paul Jones
- 1921 Behave Yourself
- 1922 Morvich
- 1923 Zev
- 1924 Black Gold
- 1925 Flying Ebony
- 1926 Bubbling Over
- 1927 Whiskery
- 1928 Reigh Count
- 1929 Clyde Van Dusen
- 1930 Gallant Fox ₩
- 1931 Twenty Grand
- 1932 Burgoo King
- 1933 Brokers Tip
- 1934 Cavalcade
- 1935 Omaha ₩
- 1936 Bold Venture
- 1937 War Admiral ₩
- 1938 Lawrin
- 1939 Johnstown
- 1940 Gallahadion
- 1941 Whirlaway ₩
- 1942 Shut Out
- 1943 Count Fleet ₩
- 1944 Pensive
- 1945 Hoop Jr.
- 1946 Assault ₩
- 1947 Jet Pilot
- 1948 Citation ₩
- 1949 Ponder
- 1950 Middleground
- 1951 Count Turf
- 1952 Hill Gail
- 1953 Dark Star
- 1954 Determine
- 1955 Swaps
- 1956 Needles
- 1957 Iron Liege
- 1958 Tim Tam
- 1959 Tomy Lee
- 1960 Venetian Way
- 1961 Carry Back
- 1962 Decidedly
- 1963 Chateaugay
- 1964 Northern Dancer
- 1965 Lucky Debonair
- 1966 Kauai King
- 1967 Proud Clarion
- 1968 Forward Pass (Dancer's Image disqualified)
- 1969 Majestic Prince
- 1970 Dust Commander
- 1971 Canonero II
- 1972 Riva Ridge
- 1973 Secretariat ₩
- 1974 Cannonade
- 1975 Foolish Pleasure
- 1976 Bold Forbes
- 1977 Seattle Slew ₩
- 1978 Affirmed ₩
- 1979 Spectacular Bid
- 1980 Genuine Risk ♥
- 1981 Pleasant Colony
- 1982 Gato Del Sol
- 1983 Sunny's Halo
- 1984 Swale
- 1985 Spend a Buck
- 1986 Ferdinand
- 1987 Alysheba
- 1988 Winning Colors ♥
- 1989 Sunday Silence
- 1990 Unbridled
- 1991 Strike the Gold
- 1992 Lil E. Tee
- 1993 Sea Hero
- 1994 Go for Gin
- 1995 Thunder Gulch
- 1996 Grindstone
- 1997 Silver Charm
- 1998 Real Quiet
- 1999 Charismatic
- 2000 Fusaichi Pegasus
- 2001 Monarchos
- 2002 War Emblem
- 2003 Funny Cide
- 2004 Smarty Jones
- 2005 Giacomo
- 2006 Barbaro
- 2007 Street Sense
- 2008 Big Brown
- 2009 Mine That Bird
- 2010 Super Saver
- 2011 Animal Kingdom
- 2012 I'll Have Another
- 2013 Orb
- 2014 California Chrome
- 2015 American Pharoah ₩
- 2016 Nyquist
- 2017 Always Dreaming
- 2018 Justify ₩
- 2019 Country House (Maximum Security disqualified)
- 2020 Authentic
- 2021 Mandaloun (Medina Spirit disqualified)
- 2022 Rich Strike
- 2023 Mage
- 2024 Mystik Dan
Legend – ₩ = Triple Crown winners, ♥ = Filly