Holy Bull was that rare horse who could win one-turn races like the Hutcheson Stakes and the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile as though sprinting were his life’s calling, and also capture a grueling 1 ¼-mile race like the prestigious Travers Stakes, holding off no less than the eventual winner of that year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic. He was owned and trained by top New Jersey-based horseman Warren A. “Jimmy” Croll. And how he came to own Holy Bull is a story in itself.
Tag: Legends
Native Dancer: The Nearly Perfect Grey Ghost of Sagamore
He was the practically perfect Thoroughbred. Twenty-two starts. Twenty-one victories.
Stackin’ Cheddar: Looking Back at Ghostzapper’s Blistering Hollywood Park Debut
This marks the latest edition of “Stackin’ Cheddar: Looking Back”, a new biweekly series on America’s Best Racing. Here, we’ll look back on an early race in the careers of some of the greatest horses of all time, including spots where they went off at a big price.
Horse Racing’s First Superstar of the 20th Century: Undefeated Colin
He was the most unexpected phenomenon—an unbeaten racehorse. The first racing superstar of the 20th century, Colin defied the odds, retiring with a perfect 15-for-15 mark. Overcoming an ugly lump on his hock, bucked shins, and a series of infirmities as a youngster, when Colin hit the racetrack nothing slowed him down during the 1907-1908 seasons. The handsome seal-brown colt, who sported a star on his forehead with an elegant blaze, would be the last major racehorse to retire unbeaten in the United States until Personal Ensign in 1988.
