- Never Bend
-
Never Bend Sire Nasrullah Grandsire Nearco Dam Lalun Damsire Djeddah Sex Stallion Foaled 1960 Country United States Colour Dark Bay Breeder Harry F. Guggenheim Owner Cain Hoy Stable Trainer Woody Stephens Record 23: 13-4-4 Earnings $641,524 Major wins Champagne Stakes (1962)
American Classic Race placing:
Futurity Stakes (1962)
Cowdin Stakes (1962)
Flamingo Stakes (1963)
Forerunner Stakes (1963)
Stepping Stone Purse (1963)
Kentucky Derby 2nd (1963)Awards U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt Male Horse (1962)
Leading sire in GB & Ireland (1971)Honours Never Bend Handicap at Pimlico Race Course Horse (Equus ferus caballus) Never Bend (1960-1977) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse and a leading sire in England.
Contents
Two-Year-Old Champion
Foaled at Claiborne Farm for owner/breeder Harry F. Guggenheim, Never Bend was the dominant two-year-old racing in the United States in 1962. His performance that year earned him the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Male Horse and as such was considered an early favorite for the ensuing 1963 U.S. Triple Crown races.
1963: Three-Year-Old Season
Kentucky Derby
The 1963 edition of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown series, saw 120,000 patrons gather at Churchill Downs for a race that featured three Thoroughbred stars. TIME magazine reported jockey Eddie Arcaro as saying: "I can't remember a Derby creating so much excitement." [1]
Although Never Bend had won the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah Park and the Stepping Stone Purse at Churchill Downs, leading up to May's Kentucky Derby he had been outshone by the undefeated Candy Spots who had been most impressive in winning the Florida Derby and the Santa Anita Derby. At the same time, a Greentree Stable colt named No Robbery had won the Wood Memorial Stakes and also came into the Derby undefeated. By post time, bettors had made Candy Spots the 3-2 favorite, No Robbery the second choice at 5-2, then Never Bend the third choice at odds of 3-1. When the gate opened, Never Bend quickly took the lead and held it until the eighth pole when a colt named Chateaugay came from sixth place to win by 1¼ lengths.
1963 Preakness Stakes
In the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, Never Bend again faced both Candy Spots and Chateaugay. Bettors still made Candy Spots the favorite. As he had in the Derby, Never Bend charged out to an early lead with Candy Spots comfortably sitting in third. As they turned onto the homestretch Chateaugay came from well back to catch and pass Never Bend who had fallen behind the then front-running Candy Spots. He finished third behind Chateaugay and the race winner, Candy Spots.
Later Races
Never Bend did not run in the third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series. Before being retired, in the fall of that year he finished second to Mongo in the United Nations Handicap and second to the Kelso in the Woodward Stakes.
Stud Career
Never Bend retired to stand at stud for the 1964 season and would become a very important sire, producing 61 stakes winners. His most famous son was Mill Reef, ranked 4th on the list of the European Top 100 horses of the 20th Century and a leading sire whose race wins include the Epsom Derby and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Never Bend's other progeny included Riverman, a two-time Leading sire in France, Triple Bend, who set a world record time for seven furlongs on dirt, and J.O. Tobin, Champion 2-year-old in England and Eclipse Award sprinter in the U.S. at age 4 who handed Seattle Slew his first defeat. Never Bend was also the broodmare sire of 115 stakes winners with two of his mares voted Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. [2]
Never Bend died in 1977 at the age of seventeen.
References
Categories:- 1960 racehorse births
- 1977 racehorse deaths
- Thoroughbred racehorses
- Racehorses bred in Kentucky
- Racehorses trained in the United States
- American racehorses
- American Champion racehorses
- British Champion Thoroughbred Sires
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
