Man O' War - America's Measure of Greatness
May 8th 2007 03:19
"There never lived a horse that was more horse than he that afternoon. He was so beautiful that it almost made you cry, and so full of fire he made you thank your God that you could come close to him. No horse ever lived who could have beaten him that afternoon."
Man O' War exercising at Saratoga
But like so many thoroughbred legends before him and since, no one was saying anything about Man O’ War when he went to the auction block in 1918. He passed from the hands of the Major Belmont stable that day to those of Samuel Doyle Riddle for as little as $5000 and only hindsight can snigger at that – no price is a bargain until a horse triples it in winnings and several times over. But it was comparatively cheap, fellow Fair Plays colts were knocked down that day for $13,600 and $14,000. But Man O’ War didn’t see the auction block again. He flew the colours of the Riddle stable throughout his racing career, and throughout the rest of his life.
The Fair Play colt out of Mahubah was a carefully executed horse from the beginning. His breeding was a calculated equation in 1916 that involved the pedigree of the monstrous Hastings on his sire’s line and the impressionable Rock Sand on his dam’s side. So from the onset, this chestnut colt was imposing. Man O’ War raced as a 2YO and a 3YO. From 21 starts he lost only once in a race that (accurately documented) he could never have won. Remember, these were the days when stewards relied on only the information that their eyes fed them. Foul play was rampant, as it was that day.
It’s quite a record – 20 wins from 21 starts. Records suggest that Man O’ War was never extended and always returned to scale with plenty in reserve. Indeed, wire photos were not quite a common appearance on tracks so the ease with which the horse is suggested to have won with is questionable depending on the mouth it comes from, but the race stats are not. Typically the Fair Play colt won by at least a length and under weight, and those were as ugly as they were ineffective. Man O’ War conceded huge weights to his rivals, good horses like Upset, John P. Griers and Wildair who in another era would have been champions but against him they were also-rans.
The exception was Sir Barton. This horse, the first ever winner of the Triple Crown, was a champion. He met Man O’ War in a match race at Kenilworth Park, Windsor, Canada on October 12, 1920. Both Riddle and Commander Ross, owner of Sir Barton, admitted the race had been a disappointment. There was no contest. Man O’ War never conceded the lead and won by seven lengths.
Riddle retired his horse to stud immediately after the Kenilworth match and left the racing world with bated breath about his progeny and the ever-lingering debate on whether Man O’ War was the best horse in the world. His offspring were successful in moderation in the way that Northern Dancer’s were not. But those that were very successful were champions (1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral for example). And so that left just the discussion about whether he was the greatest horse in the world…
Before Man O’ War lay the trails of dust from US horses Colin, Sir Barton. In England, Eclipse had laid his legacy out before all to come. In Australia there had been Carbine. There was little doubt he at least equalled the calibre of these horses, most likely he exceeded it. But of the horses that came after him? Phar Lap in Australia’s thirties, Citation and Seabiscuit in the forties, then Secretariat, and Seattle Slew, Cigar in the mid nineties, and not a racing soul would question the integrity of them.
In 1999 The Blood-Horse published The Top 100 Racehorses of the Twentieth Century. For non-American enthusiasts the list was but a little biased. Phar Lap is one of the only international champions to make it at 22 and he actually raced on US soil. The list left out superb English runners like Nijinsky. Man O’ War, however, was rated above and far beyond every horse to step foot on American turf, with hallowed Secretariat second and Citation third.
Without question then Man O’ War was the best horse of his time. And he has remained among the best until right now when we ask if he is, indeed, the best. Usually it depends on who you ask as to who is the greatest thoroughbred of all time... Decades and centuries aside though, with their usual jockeys, according weights assigned and over a mile and a quarter on a fast track, I would send Phar Lap, Man O’War and Secretariat to the post, and with them Carbine and Ruffian, and as we watched them only then would we measure each greatness. Place your bets gentleman, that would be a match made from heaven!
Author's Note:
The Blood Horse's Top 100 Thoroughbreds of the Twentieth Century is a wonderful reference to own, it suggests some of the best track racers the US has experienced and flicking through the sepia pictures is truly a horse lovers time best spent. Additionally, I have just finished reading one of the earliest bigraphies of Man O'War's life by Page Cooper and Roer L. Treat. A more comprehensive and perhaps colourful biography exists by Dorothy Ours, and that one is on order. More info on that when Ive finished it.
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