{{Infobox thoroughbred racehorse , horsename = Square Eddie , image = , caption = , sire = Smart Strike , grandsire =

Mr. Prospector Mr. Prospector (January 28, 1970 – June 1, 1999) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who became an outstanding breeding stallion and notable sire of sires. A sprinter whose career was cut short by repeated injuries, he won seven of his 14 starts, i ...

, dam = Forty Gran , damsire =

El Gran Senor El Gran Senor (21 April 1981 – 18 October 2006) was a champion American-bred Thoroughbred race horse, foaled at Windfields Farm (Maryland). He was the best horse of his generation in Europe at both two and three years of age, ahead of an ...

, sex =

Stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

, foaled = 2006 , country =

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, colour =

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelate ...

, breeder = Kinghaven Farms , owner = 1) David Gorton ( UK)
2)

J. Paul Reddam John Paul Reddam B.A. M.A. Ph.D. (born July 28, 1955) is a Canadian businessman, Thoroughbred racehorse owner and a former professor of philosophy at California State University, Los Angeles. Biography Career Known by his middle name, J. Paul ...

(USA) , trainer = 1) John R. Best (UK)
2) Doug F. O'Neill (USA) , record = 6: 2-2-1 , earnings =

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

767,366 (equivalent) , race =

Breeders' Futurity Stakes The Breeders' Futurity Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Currently offering a purse of $500,000, the race is open to two-year-old horses and is ru ...

(2008) , awards = , honours = , updated= Square Eddie (foaled April 4, 2006 in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

) is a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...

who has competed in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and who was one of the top winterbook favorites for the 2009

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

Background

Bred by Kinghaven Farms, he is a son of Forty Gran, a daughter of Northern Dancer's son,

. He was sired by a son of

, Smart Strike, a

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to stallions which are based i ...

who is the sire of fifty-six stakes winners including 2007

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

Curlin Curlin (foaled March 25, 2004, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the American Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He retired in 2008 as the highest North American money earner with over US$10.5 million accumu ...

. As a yearling, Square Eddie was sold to a British buyer for $200,000 at the September

Keeneland Sales Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres (0.59 km2) of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene. A division of ...

. He was trained in England by John Best for owner David Gorton.

Racing career

The colt began racing on the turf at age two in

. Making his debut on May 19, 2008, at

Windsor Racecourse Windsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom, the other being at Fontwell Park. Desc ...

, Square Eddie finished last in the Weatherbys Bank Conditions Stakes. Entered in the June 17

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in a ...

Coventry Stakes The Coventry Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ea ...

, he ran eleventh in a field of eighteen, reportedly coming out of the race with sore shins. In his third start on July 22, under new jockey

Steve Drowne Steve Drowne, (born 10 December 1971),''Racing Post, London, 10 December 2021, page 18. is a former professional flat racing jockey. Growing up, he attended Newmarket Racing School. His father was a Devon farmer. Drowne is one of racing's most r ...

, he earned his first win in the Emma Arbery Memorial Maiden Stakes at

Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October. History Racing a ...

, then followed up with a close second-place result in the September 6

Sirenia Stakes The Sirenia Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres, and it is scheduled to take plac ...

Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 16 miles south-west of Charing Cross, London and on a border of Greater London. The site has ...

. Following his performance in the Sirenia Stakes, Square Eddie was purchased by

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

businessman

, who sent him to

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

to race on the

Polytrack The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: * Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common tra ...

synthetic dirt at

Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for its ...

. Ridden by

Rafael Bejarano Rafael Bejarano (born June 23, 1982 in Arequipa, Peru) is a champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He trained at the Peruvian national riding school before embarking on his professional career in 1999. Having met with success, inc ...

, Square Eddie showed an affinity for synthetic dirt, easily winning the

Grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called '' Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples b ...

by 4¾ lengths. After this win, Square Eddie was turned over to trainer American

Doug O'Neill Douglas F. O'Neill (born May 24, 1968) is an American Thoroughbred horse trainer. He was born in Dearborn, Michigan, and resides in California, where he trained the 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, I'll Have Another, and 2016 Kent ...

and was entered in the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup ...

on the synthetic surface at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

. With jockey Rafael Bejarano on board, he was running at or near the lead but coming down the stretch dropped back to third behind front-runner

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

. Boxed in by the horse running second on the outside, Square Eddie came back to finish second and may have won the race, but

Garrett Gomez Garrett Keith Gomez (January 1, 1972 – December 14, 2016) was an American Thoroughbred jockey who won two Eclipse Awards and thirteen Breeders' Cup races during his career. Racing career Early career Gomez learned to ride by watching his fat ...

aboard winner Midshipman made sure there was no room to get past. In a December 26, 2008, article on the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

website, award-winning horse racing writer Bill Finley picked Square Eddie as the number two contender behind

Remsen Stakes The Remsen Stakes is an American Grade II race for Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The one and one-eighths mile race is open to two-year-olds and currently offers a purse of ...

winner

Old Fashioned Old-fashioned may refer to: * Old fashioned (cocktail), a whiskey cocktail ** Old Fashioned glass, a type of drinking glass named after the cocktail * ''Old Fashioned'' (film), a 2015 film by Rik Swartzwelder * "Old-fashioned" (short story) a 19 ...

for the first leg of the 2009 U.S. Triple Crown series, the Kentucky Derby

On January 17, 2009, Square Eddie made his three-year-old debut with a second-place finish in the

San Rafael Stakes The San Rafael Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race was a Grade III event with a purse of $150,000 and was open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile (8 furlongs) ...

References

Square Eddie's pedigree and partial racing stats

Square Eddie's profile at the Breeders' Cup

Video at YouTube of Square Eddie winning the Breeders' Futurity Stakes
2006 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 1-n Racehorses bred in King, Ontario Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United States