Brief Candles but Lasting Lights, Part II

Brief Candles but Lasting Lights, part II

Joseph Di Rienzi

This is the second of a two part series on thoroughbreds who although having brief, albeit brilliant, racing careers, became significant genetic influences as stallions. In part I, I looked at Hail to Reason and Raise a Native. Here, I will examine Graustark, Hoist the Flag and Danzig.

John W. Galbreath’s Darby Dan Farm bred and raced many outstanding horses, including two Kentucky Derby winners (Chateaugay and Proud Clarion) and an English Derby winner (Roberto). If you ask anyone associated a long time with the stable’s operation who was the best horse ever raised at Darby Dan, he/she would probably say Graustark. Foaled in 1963, he was a dark-hued chestnut son of the undefeated European champion Ribot out of Flower Bowl, making him a half-brother to two-year-old filly champion Bowl of Flowers. Everything about Graustark exemplified class. Considering the stamina influences in his pedigree, what was surprising was Graustark’s precociousness as a two-year-old. He started his career in the Midwest under Loyd (Bo) Gentry. This prompted Darby Dan’s East Coast division trainer, James Conway, to resign because he was not given Graustark to train. Showing great speed in winning his first two starts with ease, Graustark then romped in Arlington Park’s Arch Ward Stakes by 6 lengths. Coming out of that race with an injury, he raced no more in 1965. At the end of the year, Ogden Phipps’ mighty Buckpasser was accorded the two-year-old male championship. However, there were some observers who believed that Graustark was the best juvenile seen in 1965.

Early in 1966, the stage was set in Florida for a meeting between Graustark and Buckpasser. There was a jockey conflict in that Braulio Baeza was the regular rider for both these colts. He subtly gave the impression he favored Graustark, so Phipps Stable trainer Eddie Neloy, obtained the services of Bill Shoemaker for Buckpasser. Graustark was first to race, winning a 6 furlong allowance race the opening week of the Hialeah Park meet. He next competed in the 7 furlong Bahamas Stakes where he defeated Buckpasser’s stablemate, Impressive by 4 lengths. Buckpasser made his three-year-old debut on St. Valentine’s Day at Hialeah in an exhibition race. In this 7 furlong sprint, Impressive, surprisingly, defeated Buckpasser by 4½ lengths equaling the track record with another stablemate, Stupendous, further back in third.

The 9 furlong Everglades Stakes was intended to be the initial encounter of Graustark and Buckpasser, but the former did not make the race due to a bruised left hind hoof. In the race, Buckpasser would forge a narrow victory over Stupendous. With Graustark still on the sidelines, Buckpasser re-rallied after seemingly passed in the stretch to win dramatically the Flamingo Stakes. However, the son of Tom Fool developed his own hoof problems (that would plague him the rest of his illustrious career) and was forced to miss all the Triple Crown races.

Graustark was shipped to Kentucky in the early spring to prepare for the Blue Grass Stakes, his major Kentucky Derby prep race. At Keeneland Racetrack, the finely molded chestnut dazzled all who saw him train and run. He won two sprint allowance races with ridiculous ease. Racegoers marveled at his fluid motion and his enormous stride which was measured to be almost as long as that of the fabled Man o’ War.

Only Abe’s Hope (second in the Flamingo Stakes) and Rehabilitate opposed Graustark in the Blue Grass. On the day before the race, the big chestnut breezed 3 furlongs in a sensational 33 3/5 seconds on a sloppy track. But in cooling out, it was noticed he had bleeding with an infection in his right front hoof. No broken bones were detected, and the wound was drained and cleaned. In a decision that would come to haunt Graustark’s connections, they decided to run him in the Blue Grass to get that 9 furlong prep race he desperately needed for the Kentucky Derby. The running of the race on the sloppy Keeneland surface was unorthodox. Graustark displaying his tremendous natural speed bounded to a large lead and appeared to be coasting. Around the far turn, Baeza restrained Graustark as he let his two rivals come closer. Graustark went wide around the final turn and when Abe’s Hope with Bill Shoemaker came to challenge on the outside, Baeza asked his mount to respond. Unlike his previous races, he did not open up, but was passed by Abe’s Hope. Graustark did fight back, although he was not running with his usual fluidity. One final surge found Graustark falling short by a nose of winning what would be his final race. Soon after, it was discovered he had broken his coffin bone in his left front foot during the race and finished it on three legs with tremendous courage. Graustark was immediately retired and began his stallion career at Darby Dan Farm the following year.

(janiceLblake.com)

At stud, Graustark sired Belmont Stakes winner Avatar, French Derby hero Caracolero, champion Key to the Mint and such major winners as Proud Truth, Prove Out and Jim French. He also distinguished himself as a broodmare sire. (In an interesting twist, Graustark’s full brother, His Majesty, who did not have the lofty reputation of his older sibling, became an even more influential sire.)

The next horse on my list of “Brief Candles …” was related to Graustark through his sire line. This was Mrs. Stephen C. Clark’s Hoist the Flag, a powerfully looking and moving son in the first crop of Tom Rolfe who was, just as Graustark, sired by Ribot. Hoist the Flag was produced by the mare Wavy Navy, she by Triple Crown winner War Admiral from a family of stout runners. He was bought as a yearling in 1969 at Saratoga by Mrs. Clark for $37,000 and was trained by noted stepplechase conditioner Sidney Watters, Jr.  Breaking his maiden in September, first out at Belmont Park at 6 furlongs, Hoist the Flag followed that with a facile win in an allowance race at 6½ furlongs. When a horse of Hoist the Flag’s physique and pedigree wins easily sprinting, the mind boggles as to what he will do when the distances stretch out.

In the 7 furlong Cowdin Stakes, under jockey Jean Cruguet, Hoist the Flag broke slowly as he did in his previous races but cruised to the lead in the stretch winning handily by 1¾ lengths over Limit to Reason who had 4 lengths on Executioner. The Champagne Stakes attracted sixteen runners with Hoist the Flag the odds-on favorite. Just as in the Cowdin, he drew clear in the stretch to win with authority by 3 lengths over Limit to Reason. However, a stewards’ inquiry found Hoist the Flag had crossed over on the backstretch bothering several horses. Clearly best, Hoist the Flag was nonetheless placed last, and Limit to Reason was elevated to the win, in a result that gave no satisfaction to anyone. Despite his disqualification, Hoist the Flag was voted the Two-Year-Old Champion and based on his performance and pedigree, there was a great sense that this was a future superstar in the making. All he would have to do is remain sound. 

Hoist the Flag did not race in Florida or California in the winter of 1971. He was in Camden, South Carolina preparing for his three-year-old year. In the second week in March at Bowie Racecourse in Maryland, an allowance race was carded and among the entries was Hoist the Flag. Under jockey Jean Cruguet, the previous year’s Two-Year-Old Champion demolished the field winning by 15 lengths in the fastest 6 furlong time of the Bowie meet. Eight days later in the 7 furlong Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack, he carried co-top weight of 126 lb. and faced aspiring sophomores Jim French, Limit to Reason and Droll Role. On a miserable March day in Queens, New York that saw snow, ice and hail, Hoist the Flag, in a signature performance, crushed the field in near track record time and the fastest time ever recorded by a three-year-old in New York at the distance. Seven lengths back in second was Droll Role, a neck in front of Jim French with Limit to Reason another 1½ lengths back in fourth. Those who braved the weather to see the Bay Shore were convinced they not only saw the best three-year-old in the U. S. but were looking at a possible Triple Crown winner.

This feeling of euphoria only lasted a few weeks. Horse racing can be cruel, and, in one of the harshest twists, Hoist the Flag, breezing in preparation for the Gotham Stakes, twisted his right ankle and fractured his pastern and cannon bones ending his racing career. Right after the injury there was the question of the horse’s survival, but the skill of the medical team and the cooperation of the patient allowed Hoist the Flag to pull through.

Years later, Jean Cruguet, best known as the jockey of Seattle Slew during his Triple Crown sweep in 1977, stated without equivocation, "Hoist the Flag was the best horse I ever rode, by far...Seattle Slew was a top miler, and because he was so much better than everyone else that year he was able to win the Triple Crown, but Hoist the Flag would have beat everyone else going any distance at any time. He was just that much better than everyone else."

Retired to Claiborne Farm in Paris, KY, Hoist the Flag was able to transmit his brilliance and class through his sons, daughters and their progeny. Despite dying in 1980 at a relatively young age of 12, Hoist the Flag sired major winners such as champion Alleged (double winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe), Sensational (Champion Two-Year-Old Filly), Linkage and Stalwart. He was also influential as the broodmare sire of the undefeated Personal Ensign and such top class horses as Broad Brush, Sacahuista, Personal Flag and Cryptoclearance. 

Hoist the Flag
(claibornefarm.com)

The last horse in this series was the least raced of the group and never even ventured into stakes competition. However, he was so brilliant in his only three starts and was given the commendation of his well-known trainer, that he was afforded the opportunity to have a stallion career.

Pennsylvania bred Danzig was a small but burly son of Northern Dancer purchased as a yearling for $310,000 in 1978 by Henryk de Kwiatkowski and trained by Woody Stephens. Making his initial start as a two-year-old in 1979, he won a 5½ furlong maiden race at Belmont Park in an impressive final time before an injury sent him to the sidelines. Returning in May 1980, he won two sprint races at 6 and 7 furlongs in fast times before reinjuring himself. On the advice of Woody Stephens, he was retired to Claiborne Farm where he became an instant success at stud.

Danzig’s classic winners include Pine Bluff (Preakness), Danzig Connection (Belmont) and Shadaii (Irish Two Thousand Guineas). Champions include Chief’s Crown, Dance Smartly, Dayjur and Anabaa. Major winners, to name only a few, were Lure, War Chant, Hard Spun and Danehill. The last named is probably the most significant due to his phenomenal success as a stallion in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. Currently, War Front, a very successful stallion son of Danzig, is standing at Claiborne Farm. 

Danzig at stud
(Tony Leonard)

If this re-capitulation of the careers of these five thoroughbreds provides any illumination, it is that their brilliance, although fleeting on the racing scene, was enough to provide each one of them the opportunity to pass on their prowess. We can only wonder how much they could have accomplished on the racetrack if not cut down too soon, but we are thankful for their descendants who have inherited their genetic superiority.