by: Don Coleman

The decade of the 1940s, as a whole, produced one of the finest groups of racehorses to race in the last century. Highlighted by the likes of Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Twilight Tear, Assault, Busher, Alsab, Coaltown, Phalanx, Gallorette, the legendary Citation, and many others it was, also, an era of Iron Horses. There were several old stalwarts that could be associated with this time period, but two stand out above the rest,Armed and Stymie.

Foaled on May Day, 1941, at Calumet Farm, Armed was by Bull Lea out of Armful by Chance Shot, and would become one of the fixtures of that establishment’s racing stable for seven seasons. Thought to be somewhat too much on the bit, he was gelded as a two year old, kept as a stable pony, and did not begin his racing days until the following season. He won his first pair of starts, in Florida, in 1944, and there was some thought of his having a shot at the Kentucky Derby. His form, however, failed to hold and he eventually ended the year with only 7 starts and 3 wins that earned $4,850. Pensive and Twilight Tear became the stars for Calumet that year.

Put aside until June of 1945, Armed came back with a vengeance to claim 10 wins from 15 starts. Seven of those wins were in non-added money events, but the remaining three were accomplished in the higher levels. In Chicago he won the Sheridan and Washington Park Handicaps. Then he was shipped to Maryland and a win in the Pimlico Special,where he defeated First Fiddle and Stymie. It was enough of a tally to earn him second place among the handicap divisional leaders,behind Stymie.

1946 saw the Calumet gelding start his campaign in Florida. He lost his opener, then was given 128 pounds for the Widener Handicap, and defeated Concordian by 4 1/2 lengths, while giving away 19 pounds to that horse. His next added money starts came at Tropical Park, where he won both halves of the Double Event Stakes. In the first he ran 9 furlongs in 1:48 3/5 and set a track record. Shipped north, to Maryland, he claimed the Philadelphia Handicap (under 129 pounds,going the 8 1/2 furlongs in another track record time of 1:43 1/5) and Dixie Handicap (carrying 130and defeating Stymie by 3 1/2 lengths). Moved to New York, for the Suburban Handicap, he again was assigned 130 pounds and ran away from both Reply Paid and Stymie. The Calumet stable, generally, spent it’s summers in Chicago during the 40s. Armed ended his season there with wins in the Sheridan Handicap (toting 130 and setting a Washington Park mile record of 1:35 flat), the Whirlaway Stakes, and the Washington Park Handicap (by 4 lengths in a 10 furlong track record time of 2:01). He was voted the Handicap Champion of 1946. In winning the Whirlaway, he had, also, displaced Phar Lap as the world’s leading money winning gelding,with a total of $342,875 in the bank. He had made 18 starts and won 11.

In 1947 Calumet had a number of irons in the fire. Bewitch, Coaltown, Faultless, Citation, Pot O’ Luck, and the now six year old Armed. Faultless won the Preakness Stakes, Bewitch was the season’s leading juvenile filly, Coaltown was still at the farm, and Citation was establishing his credentials for the 1948 classics as the champion two year old colt. It was Armed, however, that headed the stable’s roster. He began the year, once more, in Florida by winning the McLennan Handicap (130 pounds up over Reaping Reward) and Widener Handicap (carrying 129 to a new Hialeah 10 furlong track record of 2:01 3/5), along with two allowance races. After an unsuccessful trip to California for the Santa Anita Handicap, Armed was returned to Florida and next claimed the Gulfstream Park Handicap, carrying 129, setting yet another 10 furlong track record of 2:01 2/5. In May there began a call for Armed, Assault, and Stymie to appear in a match race. Eventually, after several months of back and forth discussion, Assault and Armed would face one another,without the presence of Stymie. Before that, though, Armed was sent to Chicago. Racing under his usual burden of 130 pounds, in each of his major wins, he took the Stars and Stripes Handicap (setting a new 9 furlong track record of 1:49 1/5), Arlington Handicap, Whirlaway Stakes (setting another 9 furlong track record of 1:48 3/5), and the Washington Park Handicap (over Honeymoon by 3 lengths). Shipped to New York Armed and Assault finally met in a match over 10 furlongs, with both horses assigned 126 pounds, on September 27th. Armed’s victory, by eight lengths, was an exceptional demonstration. It often has been criticized for not having included Stymie, though, and the fact that Assault had shown some soreness several days before the race. Having garnered the match race’s purse of $100,000, Armed next started on October 9th to add the Salvator Mile and the title of world’s leading money earner to his resume. He had topped the latter list with earnings of $761,500, but only held the position for three weeks, yielding it to Stymie. His last start of the season was the Pimlico Special, but he could not hold sway over Fervant and Cosmic Bomb, and ended the year with a third place showing. Despite that loss, he was voted the 1947 Horse of the Year and Champion Handicap Horse. His totals were 17 starts and 11 wins for $376,325 in earnings. The Salvator Mile would be his last added money win.

During 1948, 1949, and 1950 the old gelding raced on 24 occasions, but could only manage six wins,all in allowance company. Showing the signs of age and the slowing that goes along with it, Armed’s role, for Calumet, seems to have been as a pace setter and entry mate for the stables younger members. In Citation’s initial start at three, for example, Armed was there, under 130 pounds, and set the stage for his stablemate’s win. On several other occasions Armed would appear in similar roles,providing cover and pace for other Calumet stars. He often placed in some of these events, but more often than not was fully extended early on and finished out of the money. His last race was run in March of 1950, and was a winning effort,as fit a real Iron Horse. He was retired to Calumet, and lived out the remainder of his life there,passing away in May of 1964. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963.

Stymie was officially bred by Max Hirsch. He was, however, the property of King Ranch. Acting as agent for that establishment, Hirsch had purchased the On Watch matron Stop Watch under his own name, but the paperwork necessary for the transfer of ownership had not been processed before she foaled her 1941 colt by Equestrian. It would have been problematic, for Hirsch, had Stymie’s initial days at the track been anything more than a poor to mediocre display. Hirsch was the head trainer for King Ranch, and it could have been a confusing situation. As it went, though, the colt didn’t remain among the stable’s cadre for long.

Hirsch was given Stymie to train, as a two year old, in 1943. The youngster finished 7th in a $2500 claiming race at Jamaica on May 5th of that year, and three weeks later lost again, finishing 11th in a maiden race at the same track. Hirsch then dropped the colt down a grade, and started him in a $1500 claimer. He got the third spot in that race, but was claimed by Hirsch Jacobs. That may have been an auspicious occasion, when looked at historically, but at the time it was just another mediocre juvenile changing hands. Neither Max Hirsch nor King Ranch probably had too many regrets about it at the time, though in later years it probably did have a bit of a sting to it. It would take Stymie 11 more starts before he won, and that was under a $3,300 tag. Late in October the colt won again, though, at one mile, and then took an 8 1/2 furlong overnight handicap by 5 lengths to close out his juvenile season. He had made 28 starts, earned $15,935, and had shown some small measure of promise.

At three, in 1944, he was moved up to added money competition, and did fairly well,placing in several of his attempts. He wasn’t able to win at that level, however, and finished out the year with 29 starts and only 3 minor races to his credit. His earnings were $36,325.

World War II shut down racing early in 1944, but was under full swing in 1945,as was Stymie. He made 19 starts and won 9 of them,earning the Champion Handicap Horse title and $225,375. He took the Grey Lag Handicap in his third start of the season. It was his first stakes win. He followed it with the Brooklyn Handicap (over Devil Diver), Butler Handicap, Saratoga Cup, Westchester Handicap, Continental Handicap, Riggs Handicap (defeating First Fiddle and Pot O’Luck), and the late season Pimlico Cup (by 8 lengths, under 128 pounds, over Pot O’Luck). It was his only championship season, though probably not his finest.

In 1946, at age 5, he once more started his winning ways with a victory in the Grey Lag Handicap. He was carrying 127 pounds and equaled the Jamaica track record of 1:49 3/5 for 9 furlongs. He next took the Whitney Stakes from Polynesian, and was then pointed for the Saratoga Cup. For that distance trial no competition could be found, and Stymie walked over. Following the upstate N.Y. meeting he won the Edgemere, Manhattan, New York, and Gallant Fox Handicaps (beating Assault and establishing a 2:42 4/5 Jamaica record for 1 5/8 miles). He had, also, placed in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Suburban, Monmouth, Brook, Dixie, Sussex, Butler, and Saratoga Handicaps. His totals read 20 starts, 8 wins, and $238,650 earned.

1947 rolled around, and as a six year old Stymie still maintained his abilities. He made 19 starts, winning 7 or them, and putting away $299,775,his highest single yearly earnings total. The wins came in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (over Assault), Metropolitan Handicap, Questionnaire Handicap, Sussex Handicap, Massachusetts Handicap, Aqueduct Handicap (under 132), and the Gallant Fox Handicap. His seasonal earnings had pushed his figures up to $816,060. He was the world’s leading money earner. At this point, Max Hirsch and King Ranch might have had some second thoughts about that $1500 claiming race he was once entered in.

Stymie’s 1948 season was slowed, at its beginnings, somewhat by the horses 7 years, and ended with an injury. He won 4 or 11 starts and added $95,275 to his earnings. His major wins came in the Metropolitan, Aqueduct, and Sussex Handicaps. In his eleventh start, however, he came back with a cracked sesamoid and was taken out of training.

At the beginning of 1949 it was hoped that he had healed enough to race another full season, but it wasn’t to be. After 5 starts, no wins, and 3 placings Stymie was retired to stud. His lifetime record was 131 starts, 35 wins, 33 placings, and 28 thirds,for a grand total of $918,485 in his accounts. His earnings record would stand until Citation toppled it in the early 1950s.

The mid 1950s marked the beginnings of a change in attitudes by owners, breeders, and trainers. Though there were still Iron Horses, their connections were less inclined to extend a horse’s time on the track much beyond the efforts it took to provide it with the credentials necessary for acceptance by the breeding industry. Several talented geldings and a few worthy mares raced on into their mature years, but it was no longer a common occurrence to see an exceptional entire race past his four year old season. Potential stallion prospects were a rare commodity to be found racing after they had tallied up anything approaching a substantial record. The reality was that the racecourse was becoming less profitable than the money to be collected from stud fees. Somewhat of an exception to this rule was Round Table,an Iron Horse champion that raced through his fifth season to a record of 66 starts, 43 wins, and the worldís leading money earner title with assets of $1,749,869.

Round Table, by Princequillo out of Knightís Daughter by Sir Cosmo, was the product of A. B. Hancock, Jr.’s Claiborne Farm, and raced under that farm’s colors as a juvenile and until February of his sophomore season. For Hancock the colt won the Breeders’ Futurity and Lafayette Stakes in 1956, and began his three year old season racing in Florida. Travis Kerr purchased the colt, following his second start of 1957. The price was $175,000,with Hancock retaining a 20% share in him as a stallion prospect.

His first start for Kerr came in a 7 furlong allowance at Hialeah, and then he was shipped to California for a campaign directed at sending him to the Kentucky Derby. He finished third behind Sir William in the Santa Anita Derby and Lightning Jack in the San Bernardino Handicaps in his first two races on the West Coast. That was followed, however, by a win in the Bay Meadows Derby and a trip to Keeneland, where he added the Blue Grass Stakes (setting a new track record of 1:47 2/5 for 9 furlongs) to his accounts. Sent to Louisville for the Derby, he took third (behind Iron Liege and Gallant Man), and was then returned to California. He placed, behind the older handicapper Social Climber, in the Californian Stakes after his arrival there, but would follow that loss with an 11 race serious of wins,eight in added money competition. His major credits came in the Will Rogers Stakes (by 3 1/2 lengths), Westerner Stakes, El Dorado Handicap (by 7 lengths), Cinema Handicap (by 4 lengths), Hollywood Gold Cup (becoming the first three year old to win that prize and equaling the Hollywood Park 10 furlong track record of 1:58 3/5), American Derby (over Iron Liege), United Nations Handicap (defeating the older Tudor Era), and the Hawthorne Gold Cup (setting a new 10 furlong track record of 2:00 1/5). He would show, behind Bold Ruler and Gallant Man) in the Trenton Handicap at Garden State, to end the streak. In his last go around of the year, however, he would again come up a winner by taking the Malibu Sequet Stakes from Seaneen,while carrying 130 pounds. He year end totals read 22 starts, 15 wins, 1 placing, and 3 shows, for earnings of $600,383. He was, also, elected the Champion Grass Horse of 1957.

1958 saw Round Table launch himself into one of the finest seasons ever put together by any American racehorse. He was pretty much unbeatable by anything except weight advantages. His first race and first win of the year came in the San Fernando Stakes (carrying 130#). It was followed, in California, by the Santa Anita Maturity (by 4 ½ lengths), San Antonio Handicap (in a world record setting performance of 1:46 4/5 for 9 furlongs under 130#), and Santa Anita Handicap (again under 130# and in a new 10 furlong track record time of 1:59 4/5 over Terrang and Porterhouse). He was then transferred to Florida and won the Challenge Purse (setting a Gulfstream Park 8 ½ furlong 1:41 3/5 track record) and Gulfstream Park Handicap (once more managing a 130# load and setting yet another 10 furlong track record of 1:59 4/5). Venturing outside of the U.S., for the first and only time during his career on the track, Round Table was next seen at Mexico’s Aqua Caliente Racecourse for the Caliente Handicap. He won by 9 ½ lengths, in new track record time of 1:41 3/5 for 8 ½ furlongs. He finished second in his next start, the Californian Stakes, while giving away 21# to the winner…130# to 109#. The Argonaut Handicap, at Hollywood Park, was his next trip to the post. It had been preceded by Kerr objecting to the impost of 132# assigned his colt by the track handicapper, after his having lost under 130# in his previous race. Nothing came of the disagreement, however, and Kerr relented and went ahead and allowed Round Table to compete. The colt won by a nose, but would never race at Hollywood Park again. How Now under 116# and Seaneen carrying 120# were second and third. Immediately after the Argonaut, he was moved to Chicago. There he won the Arch Ward Memorial Handicap, Laurence Armour Memorial Handicap (under 130# and setting a 9 furlong 1:48 2/5 track record), Arlington Handicap (carrying 132#), and was then sent to New Jersey and the United Nations Handicap at Atlantic City. He was second in that turf race to Clem, while giving away 17#. He, also, was involved in two other losses to Clem…each time giving away 21#…in the Washington Park Handicap and Warren Wright Memorial Handicap. In his last race of the year, however, he claimed the Hawthorne Gold Cup on October 11th, beating Swoon’s Son…and breaking Nashua’s former money earning title in the process. He had won 14 of 20 starts and amassed earnings of $662,780 for the year. The latter total pushed his overall earnings to $1,336,489 and the world’s leading money winner laurels. In addition, he was voted Horse of the Year and Champion Grass Horse for the season.

At five, in 1959, Round Table began his season with a second place finish in the San Carlos Handicap at Santa Anita. Hillsdale, the winner, was spotted 17# in that race…115# to Round Table’s 132#. Again assigned 132#, despite his loss in the San Carlos, he was next up in the San Marcos Handicap, and won by 5 lengths while setting an American record of 1:58 2/5 for 10 furlongs on the turf. In his next effort, however, in the Washington’s Birthday Handicap, under 134#, he finished dead last, and came back suffering from a quarter crack. The injury was minor, but kept him out of training until June, when he surfaced at Washington Park for a win in the 8 furlong Citation Handicap (under 130# and equaling the track record of 1:33 2/5). Remaining in Chicago; he added the Stars and Stripes Handicap (carrying 132# while setting an American record of 1:47 1/5 for 9 furlongs), Clem McCarthy Handicap (under 132#), Arlington Handicap (once more under 132# while setting an American record of 1:53 2/5 for 1 3/16 miles on the turf), and Washington Park Handicap (still under 132# while setting a track record of 1:47 1/5 for 9 furlongs) to his yearly tallies. His one loss, in Illinois, came as a third in the Equipoise Mile, where he carried his usual 132# and was conceding the first two horses 15# each. Venturing to Atlantic City, for the United Nations Handicap, he was assigned an impost of 136# and won with daylight to spare…while giving away between 14# and 19# to his challengers. In his 12th start of the year, he went in the Woodward Stakes, and lost to Sword Dancer and Hillsdale. That was followed, though, with a win in the 1 5/8 miles Manhattan Handicap (under his accustomed 132# handicap, in track record time of 2:42 3/5). Behind him, in that latter race, was the top flight horse Bald Eagle…receiving a 10# concession. The last race of his career on the track came in the weight for age 16 furlong Jockey Club Gold Cup. Going a distance he had never been tried at before and on the dirt, he was beaten seven lengths by Sword Dancer. The winner was elected the 1959 Horse of the Year and Champion Three Year Old titles…while Round Table once again was named the year’s Champion Grass Horse. There had been mention of Round Table starting one more time, in the Washington D. C. International, but owner Kerr elected to retire his champion, and he was sent to Claiborne Farm to begin his duties at stud instead.
Round Table’s total record read 66 starts, 43 wins, 8 seconds, and 5 thirds. His earnings, of $1,749,869, placed him at the top of the list of the world’s money earners, and would keep him there until Kelso displaced him in the 1960s. As a stallion, he led the sire list in 1972, and got an extraordinary 21% stakes winners. Among his better offspring were Apalachee, Baldric, Royal Glint, Drumtop He’s A Smoothie, King’s Bishop, Advocator, Poker, and King Pellinore. He lived until age 33, when he passed on in 1983.

Had anyone suggested, during the first half of 1960, that Kelso was the best horse in the country they would have been placed in a padded cell. By the conclusion of that year, though, they would have been taken out of that cell and the examinations into their psychic abilities begun. He was about the least likely horse alive to attach those kinds of expectations on at the time. The son of Your Host out of Maid of Flight by Count Fleet didn’t even make his seasonal debut until late June of that year, and his previous record was nothing to behold. Foaled at Claiborne Farm, his owner and breeder was Mrs. Richard C. DuPont, who raced him in the colors of her Bohemia Stable. As a juvenile he had made just three starts for his owner, claiming a purse at Atlantic City and two second place finishes in the same sort of company. To imagine that this ordinary looking bay gelding would ever amount to anything would have been a stretch. In the end, however, he would prove to be one of America’s great Iron Horses.

Kelso’s first start, as a three year old, came on June 22nd in a 6 furlong allowance race at Monmouth Park. He won that one and took a similar event on July 16th, going a mile, at Aqueduct. Trainer Carl Hanford then shipped his charge out to Chicago, for a go at the Arlington Classic, on July 23rd. Racing on the grass would prove to be one of the things Kelso did not favor, to any great extent anyway, and he went unplaced as T.V. Lark won the 8 furlong fixture from John William and Venetian Way. Returned to Monmouth Park, Kelso then began a five race winning streak. First up, on August 3rd, was the 8 ½ furlong Choice Stakes, which he won by seven lengths. The 8 furlong Jerome Handicap, at Aqueduct, on September 3, fell to him by a head. Careless John was the Jerome runner up, and would again find himself in that position when Kelso claimed the September 14th Discovery Handicap (going the 9 furlongs in a 1:48 2/5 Aqueduct track record clocking). Moved to Belmont, the gelding next came out for the 1 5/8 mile Lawrence Realization Stakes on September 28th. Meeting C. V. Whitney’s Travers Stakes winner, Tompion, he won by 4 ½ lengths. His 2:40 4/5 timing for the distance tied the track record set by Man O’War forty years earlier. The Hawthorne Gold Cup, out in Illinois, next beckoned, on October 15th, and Kelso was shipped west. He won going away, with the reliable old handicapper Heroshogala and Calumet’s On and On finishing second and third. T.V. Lark was among the also rans. To close out his 1960 campaign, Kelso next appeared in the October 29th Jockey Club Gold Cup, back at Belmont. With the Argentine bred stayer Don Poggio and Cain Hoy Stable’s Bald Eagle in his wake, he won by 3 ½ lengths in new American record time of 3:19 2/5 for the two miles. His year end tab read 9 starts and 8 wins for earnings of $293,310…along with the 1960 Horse of the Year and Champion Three Year Old titles. He had arrived on the scene, and would remain in the spotlight for the next six seasons.

1961 began with a 7 furlong allowance win at Aqueduct on May 19th. Under 130# Kelso next was seen in the Metropolitan Handicap, where he defeated All Hands, on May 30th. The Whitney Stakes, on June 17th, saw him win, on the disqualification of Our Hope, while under 130# yet again. He was conceding 19# to Our Hope, who caused interference in the stretch and had his number taken down. On July 4th he came out for Aqueduct’s 10 furlong Suburban Handicap carrying a 133# impost, and won by five lengths over Nickel Boy who was under 112#. Assigned 136# for the July 22nd Brooklyn Handicap Kelso again overwhelmed his opposition and won that fixture by 1 ¼ lengths in 2:01 3/5. Behind him were Divine Comedy (118#) and Calumet’s sturdy old Yorky (122#), as well as something that had only been accomplished twice before…a win in the “Handicap Triple Crown”. Only Tom Fool and Whisk Broom II had ever managed to complete wins in all three of New York’s major summer handicaps…the Metropolitan, Suburban, and Brooklyn…and Kelso had out shown the previous two winners in both weight carried and overall time required to win. If he hadn’t made another start, during 1961, he would have earned the Horse of the Year title on July 22nd. Nearly a month later, on September 4th, Kelso, under 132#, made his next appearance of the season in Chicago’s Washington Park Handicap at 8 furlongs. He ran 4th behind Chief of Chiefs, Talent Show, and Run for Nurse. The Daily Racing Form chart commented that he obviously disliked the going. Along with that and the long lay off, not too much was made of the loss by the press. On September 30th he surfaced back in New York for the Woodward Stakes. He won the 10 furlong weight for age contest by 8 lengths in 2:00 flat, with Divine Comedy and Carry Back taking up the second and third spots. A second win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, on October 21, followed the Woodward Stakes win. Hillsborough placed in that 2 mile classic. In November, Hanford decided to try the grass once more, sending his charge after the Washington D. C. International on the 11th. Racing tooth and nail with T. V. Lark for the first 10 furlongs of the 12 furlong race, Kelso set the pace, and was then passed at the eighth pole. T. V. Lark won by ¾ of a length. The pair’s nearest pursuers were some 12 lengths to the rear. The winning time of 2:26 1/5 broke Laurel’s old track record. It was the end of the year for Kelso. His seasonal totals read 9 starts and 7 wins…with $425,565 banked. He was again elected Horse of the Year.

Kelso was obviously not a delicate item by any means. He did have a troublesome stifle, though, and was not raced more than his owner and trainer felt would allow him to remain sound. After the Washington D. C. International he was found to have a filled ankle, and then, down in Aiken for the winter, he became the victim of a virus. His first start of 1962, therefore, was delayed until May 30th, and the Metropolitan Handicap. Making his debut in a major handicap, without the benefit of a tightener, and after a 6 month layoff, he ran poorly and finished unplaced under 133#. Carry Back, under 123#, broke the Aqueduct 8 furlong track record that day, going the distance in 1:33 3/5. Next up he took the Clem McCarthy Memorial Purse on June 16th, stealing the 8 furlong race under just 117#. On July 4th he went off the favorite for the Suburban Handicap, under 132#, but finished second to a fireball named Beau Purple. Ten days later, on the 14th, Kelso was in New Jersey for the Monmouth Handicap. Assigned 130# he came up against a hot Carry Back carrying only 123#, and went under to that colt by three lengths. The time was a new track record of 2:00 2/5 for the 10 furlongs. Beau Purple (117#) finished third. Still not having recorded an added money win for the season, Kelso was once more afflicted with a virus and was kept in the barn until August 22nd at Saratoga. There he won an 8 ½ furlong purse race on the turf, and then was shipped to Atlantic City…where he ran fourth in another grass event at 8 ½ furlongs on September 9th. Apparently he was coming back into form as of September 19th, when he returned to Aqueduct and won the 10 furlong Stymie Handicap toting just 128#. It was not one of the year’s major races, and there were a lot of questions being asked about how he could possibly turn 1962 into another championship season with only three and a half months left in the year. On the 29th of September he took the Woodward Stakes a second time, beating out Jaipur. On October 20th he claimed his third Jockey Club Gold Cup, by 10 lengths, in a Belmont Park record of 3:19 4/5 for 2 miles. The record had previously been held by Nashua. In the Man O’War Stakes, seven days later on the 27th, at 12 furlongs over Belmont’s turf course, he ran second, once more, to Beau Purple. On November 12th, Kelso again made an appearance at Laurel for the Washington D. C. International. On this occasion he was sent on the pace to keep the front runner Beau Purple honest, then managed to hold off Carry Back’s late run in the stretch, but couldn’t hold back the relatively fresh French horse Match II. He finished second again. On December 1, at Garden State Park, he wound up the season in the Governor’s Plate Stakes, winning the 12 furlong race from Bass Clef and Polylad, while carrying 129#. Once more he was elected the Horse of the Year, with 6 wins in 12 starts and earnings of $289,685.

1962 hadn’t been Kelso’s most outstanding year, and as the 1963 season commenced there was considerable speculation on his ability to continue on as a six year old. To the surprise of most of racing, the year would be the gelding’s finest on record. A fourth place finish to the rear of Ridan, Jaipur, and Merry Ruler in the January 30th Palm Beach Handicap commenced his season on a somewhat less than high note. Ridan met Kelso again in the February 9th Seminole Handicap, giving the older horse a weight concession of 129# to 128#. It would be one of the few times that Kelso ever received such consideration. Taking full advantage of it, he won by daylight and moved on to the February 23rd Widener Handicap, with the full confidence of his fans. Once more, however, he was to run up against Beau Purple, and a second place finish behind him. It was Beau Purple’s last start, and there would be no opportunity for a rematch to adjust their 3 wins apiece tally against one another. Beau Purple was retired to stud. It could be noted, however, that Kelso was carrying 131# in the Widener, as opposed to Beau Purple’s 125# impost. At the close of the Hialeah meeting Kelso was moved to Gulfstream Park. There his fortunes were better, and he claimed the 10 furlong Gulfstream Park Handicap under a load of 130#. With the coming of Spring, he next was shipped to Bowie and took the John B. Campbell Handicap, under 131#, on March 23rd, then was not seen again until mid-June. Back in New York, he took the 9 furlong Nassau County Stakes on June 19th with 132# up, and again captured the Suburban Handicap on July 4th under 133#. Given a one month breather, Kelso’s next appearance was at Saratoga in the Whitney Stakes, which he won under 130# on August 3rd. Brought back to the city for the September 9th Aqueduct Stakes, he was assigned 134# and ran away with the purse from Crimson Satan. The highly regarded Woodward Stakes, on September 28th, was his next assignment. Facing Never Bend and Crimson Satan he won the 10 furlong affair by three and a half lengths, and then annexed his fourth Jockey Club Gold Cup on October 19th. That accomplished, his connections decided to once more have a go at the Washington D. C. International on November 11th. Once more, though, they found that grass racing was not an endeavor especially suitable for their champion. Going the 12 furlongs in 2:27 2/5, the bright chestnut Mongo, a born in the wool turf specialist defeated him with authority. It was his third attempt to win Laurel’s international special, and his third loss. It was his last race of the season. His 1963 tally read 12 starts, 9 wins, and $569,762 earned. He again was named the Horse of the Year.

As a seven year old, in 1964, Kelso was in many ways not quite the same horse he had been even the previous year. At times, though, he was more than brilliant. His season began in California. Mrs. DuPont had recognized that Kelso was a hero to much of the racing public, and in an effort to allow as many people as possible to see her champion, he was shipped west for two starts at Hollywood Park. In both races, the Los Angeles Handicap and Californian Stakes, he ran unplaced. It was reported that the Golden State hadn’t agreed with the aging gelding. He had gone off his feed and showed some distress about his surroundings. The trip had been pretty much a disaster. Shipped back to the East Coast, he next came out for the Straight Face Purse, at Aqueduct, on June 25th, carrying 136# to victory over 1 1/8 miles. In the July 4th Suburban Handicap he met a lightly raced and lightly burdened Iron Peg, under 131#, and finished second. Moved to New Jersey, for the Monmouth Handicap, on July 16th, he again was assigned 130#, and was beaten by Mongo. Afterwards he was sent back to Aqueduct and ran unplaced in Gun Bow’s July 27th Brooklyn Handicap. He was then taken up to Saratoga, but only raced in a 9 furlong allowance there…winning that one on August 27th. On September 7th, he was sent to the post in the Aqueduct Stakes, and defeated Gun Bow over 9 furlongs, but lost to that same colt in the October 10th Woodward Stakes in a photo finish. The Jockey Club Gold Cup was run on October 31st, and Kelso repeated his past victories in that 2 miler with a 5 ½ length winning effort over Roman Brother and Quadrangle. Following the Gold Cup there was a good deal of questioning about which horse was more entitled to Horse of the Year honors…Kelso or Gun Bow. A decision was to be reached on November 11th, when both were scheduled to contend the Washington D. C. International. It would be Kelso’s fourth attempt to add that race to his resume, and the previous efforts had all resulted in his being unsuccessful. Many of his fans despaired of his chances. In one of the finest performances of his long career, however, Kelso glided home the victor by 4 ½ lengths, with a tiring Gun Bow left behind to claim the second spot. His time for the 12 furlongs was 2:23 4/5. He once more was given the Horse of the Year title…his fifth in a row. He had made 11 starts and won 5, for earnings of $311,660.

The 1965 season seemed to start out on a normal note for Kelso. He was fit and seemed to still be interested in racing…even at age eight. His first start was in a 6 furlong purse at Monmouth on June 29th. Not unexpectedly, after being off the track for nearly 7 months, he ran third. Carrying 130# in the 8 ½ furlong Diamond State Handicap, at Delaware Park, he got his first win of the year, and was then shipped to Aqueduct for the July 24th Brooklyn Handicap. He could only take the show positon there while carrying 132#. The Whitney Stakes, at Saratoga, fell to him, under 130#, on August 7th. Put aside until October 6th he ran unplaced in Malicious II’s Aqueduct Stakes, but came out again on October 22nd to win the Stymie Handicap. The latter would be his last added money appearance. He had been hit in the eye by a dirt clod in the latter race, and the injury resulted in an infection that took him out of training for the rest of the year. He had made 6 starts and won 3…adding $84,034 to his earnings accounts. Of course, no titles fell to him in 1965.

In 1966, his eye healed, he was sent to Hialeah and put back in training as a nine year old. He would only make one start though, in a March 2nd 6 furlong allowance. He ran unplaced, and came back sore. X-rays showed that he had a hairline fracture of a sesamoid, and the great old gelding was retired.

He spent his remaining years at Mrs. DuPont’s Woodstock Farm in Maryland, where he passed away in 1983 and is now buried. His overall tally sheet read 63 starts, 39 wins, 31 stakes wins, and earnings of $1,977,896. He had retired as the world’s leading money earner.

My bit of Iron Horse nostalgia ceases, here, as the history unfolds into the 1970s and on. These later years have provided the likes of Forego and John Henry, but the Iron Horses are few and far between nowadays. The outlook of owners, trainers, and breeders has changed in these more recent times. They don’t see the value in racing a champion to it’s full potential, when it’s value as a stallion or broodmare has already been assured by the end of it’s three year old season. What the future will make of that I can only guess. Hopefully we will see more of these horses in the future, though I have my doubts.

Don Coleman was a columnist for Australian Turf Montly for ten years. He has also written for British Racehorse, Spur Magazine and Faster Horses.

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