Man o' War set fire to the racing world. Because of the war, horseracing wasn't doing too well. But then came the raw talent and blinding speed of Man o' War to fix it all. People came from all around just to see this chestnut marvel run. People often wondered about this great horse. He broke record after record and easily defeated his rivals. He was truly a 'superhorse'. He was the favorite in every one of his races. Three times he was recorded to have odds of 1-100. This means that for every 100 dollar bet, only a dollar profit would be made. This is impossible now because limits have been set on how low the odds on a horse can go.
Man o' War's Two year old Season
Man o' War won 20 of 21 career starts (races). His first race was June 6th 1919. This was very late for a two-year-old to start his 2-year-old season. Louis Feustel, Man o' War's trainer, had worked Man o' War slowly. All the extra time was well worth it. Man o' War won cantering by a margin of six lengths. He also shattered the track record by 3 and 2/5 seconds. This started America's obsession with the fiery colt. His next race would be only three days later. This is very rare today. Horses usually only race once every two weeks. Even then the racehorses of today can't keep up on that strenuous a campaign. Well, Man o' War prevailed and easily won that race. This made his quickly growing group of fans even more interested.
There was only one blemish on Man o' War's career. This was the Sanford Memorial held at Saratoga. Man o' War was very fractious before the race and repeatedly tried to lunge through the barrier. Back in Man o' War's racing days, the barrier was not the metal gate most people are familiar with. Instead, it was an elastic
barrier that stretched across the track. The starter (person who releases the horses onto the racetrack) was also very old. His name was C. H. Pettingill. Some people say he was so old that he could barley see halfway across the racetrack.
To get to the point, Man o' War was turned sideways when the starter released the horses onto the track. Because of this, Man o' War got off to a slow start. He was forced to settle into third place, after his jockey, Johnny Loftus, moved him onto the rail. This was a mistake, because Man o' War became trapped. There was a horse in front of him and a horse on the side. Man o' War remained in this position for practically the entire race. In the homestretch, Man o' War's jockey became nervous and moved Man o' War around the side horse. At that moment, the front horse made his bid for the finish line. Man o' War ran out of ground and lost by 1/2 a length. Another few yards and Man o' War would have won. He passed the winner immediately after they crossed the finish line. Ironically, the horse that beat Man o' War was named 'Upset'. This is how one of sport's most common terms was created.
Man o' War's loss is blamed on three main things. They are:
That is was the starter's fault (he's supposed to make sure that all the horses are correctly
lined up)
That it was Man o' War's jockey's fault (he made a few bad decisions)
That two jockeys were at fault- Man o' War and Upset's (there was great suspicion about them fixing the race. In fact, suspicion was so strong that both jockeys were later denied their racing licenses forever.)
Whatever the reason, Man o' War suffered his first, and last, defeat. Even though he lost that one race he was still magnificent. Some people say "Man o' War was never as glorious as in his one defeat". This is probably true because Man o' War got more attention than Upset! The Sanford Memorial proved to be a fluke. Man o' War raced against Upset six more times and won every race easily.
Man o' War's 3 year old Season
Man o' War's three year old season was definitely his best. He won every race and a few of them were very exciting. One race was the Dwyer Stakes, and that race was the most exciting of all. Man o' War was only running against one horse. This horse was John P. Grier. The start of the race was easy because both horses broke well. The track was a little muddy that day, but both horses seemed to be handling it. The race became more suspenseful with every stride. John P. Grier was staying with Man o' War the entire race! Then something that seemed impossible
happened. John P. Grier increased his speed and took the lead from Man o' War!
This was the first and last time a horse would ever take the lead away from Man o' War. Man o' War's jockey, Clarence Kummer, tapped Man o' War with his crop and Man o' War responded by
becoming a whirlwind of speed. He passed John P. Grier and beat him by 1 and 1/2 lengths! In that race Man o' War also broke the world record for 1 and 1/8 of a mile. Another amazing thing is that Man o' War was still not running to his full potential. You have to give John P. Grier a little credit for a big race. He helped make one of history's greatest races. He also proved himself as a great horse because he stayed alongside Man o' War. John P. Grier was also ran against Man o' War a second time in the Travers Stakes. Man o' War beat him by 2 and 1/2 lengths.
Man o' War's greatest win was probably in the Lawrence Realization. The second place horse was Hoodwink and Man o' War beat him by 100 lengths. People say that on that day, Man o' War won by a mile. Man o' War also broke the world record for 1 and 5/8 of a mile.
Another great race was Man o' War's last race. It was a match race against the first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton. Match races were illegal in Canada (this race was held in Canada because Sir Barton was originally from Canada) at the time, so a third horse was entered in the Kenilworth Park Gold Cup.This horse was later scratched
(taken out of the race) at the last minute. The Kenilworth Park Gold Cup was a 1 and 1/4 of a mile race. Both horses broke from the barrier well, and Man o' War went instantly to the lead. He never looked back.
The race was more of a leisurely gallop than a race for Man o' War. Man o' War won by seven lengths and took more than 6 full seconds off of the track record. Also, he was still restrained. Probably if allowed, Man o' War could have taken more off the record and beat Sir Barton by a greater margin.
Sir Barton
Then Man o' War's career came to an abrupt halt. Samuel D. Riddle had asked the handicappers what weight Man o' War would have to carry as a four year old. He was told 145 to 150 pounds. This is a ridiculous weight for any horse to carry. Man o' War was also begining to bow a tendon in one of his legs. Mr. Riddle decided, that rather than break Man o' War down and risk further injury under such weights, he would retire Man o' War.
Let me explain handicapping. Some horse races are labeled as "handicaps". This means that the better a horse is, the more weight he/she has to carry. The weights are decided on past performances. Handicapping is done to try and make all the horses in the race equal. The reason Man o' War got such a tremendous weight was because of how unstoppable he was.
So Man o' War was retired.
(Click Retirement on the menu bar to find out more)
Valerie Wierzbicki See homepage for last site update.
Valerie Wierzbicki