Imperatrice (May 26, 1938 – August 9, 1972) was an American

Thoroughbred racehorse 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 c ...

and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. She was the dam of

Somethingroyal Somethingroyal (March 12, 1952 – June 9, 1983) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the dam of the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown champion and Hall of Fame inductee Secretariat. She also produced three other stakes winners and was n ...

and second dam of the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown champion and

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee, Secretariat (by

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

). A

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

mare bred in New Jersey, Imperatrice was bred by William H. LaBoyteaux, president of

Johnson & Higgins Johnson & Higgins was one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the world until it was acquired by Marsh & McLennan in 1997. At that point based in New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the ...

. He died in 1947 and his horses were all sold by the Executors of the LaBoyteaux Estate. Among them, Imperatrice was purchased for $30,000 by Christopher Chenery's Meadow Stud. Trained for LaBoyteaux by

George M. Odom George Martin Odom (July 8, 1882 – July 29, 1964) was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame jockey and trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing. He is only one of two people to ever have won the Belmont Stakes as both a jockey a ...

, she raced 31 times with 11 wins, 7 shows, and 2 places. Some of her winning efforts included the

New England Oaks The New England Oaks was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1936 thru 1944 at Narragansett Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Run on dirt over a distance of a mile and one-sixteenth, like all "Oaks" races for Thoroughbreds, it wa ...

New Rochelle Handicap The New Rochelle Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run at a distance of seven furlongs on dirt in 1899 at Morris Park Racecourse in The Bronx. When that racetrack closed in 1904 the race was transferred to Belmont Park in Elmo ...

, the Test Stakes, and the Fall Highweight Handicap. Imperatrice lived to the age of 34 before being euthanized due to age related urinal and digestive complications. She was the dam of winners Imperial Hill ( Hill Prince), Scattered ( Whirlaway), Speedwell (

), Squared Away2 (Piping Rock) and was the third dam of successful New York sire

Cure the Blues A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The m ...

(through daughter Speedwell). Her daughter Scattered (April 15, 1945 - January 18, 1979) also lived nearly as long.

Influence

Imperatrice's influence is not limited only to Thoroughbreds, but

Quarter Horses The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at ...

as well, as Imperatrice is the fourth dam of Quarter Horse

Dash For Cash Dash For Cash (April 17, 1973May 20, 1996) was an American Quarter Horse racehorse and an influential sire in the Quarter Horse breed. Racing career Dash For Cash won $507,688 during his career and was the Racing World Champion in 1976 and 1 ...

through daughter Scattered. Imperatrice is considered to be a Reines-de-Course.

Breeding

{{Pedigree , name = Imperatrice , f = Caruso , m = Cinquepace , ff = Polymelian , fm = Sweet Music , mf = Brown Bud , mm = Assignation , fff = Polymelus , ffm = Pasquita , fmf = Harmonicon , fmm = Ivette , mff = Brown Prince , mfm = June Rose , mmf =

Teddy Teddy is an English language given name, usually a hypocorism of Edward or Theodore. It may refer to: People Nickname * Teddy Atlas (born 1956), boxing trainer and fight commentator * Teddy Bourne (born 1948), British Olympic epee fencer * Tedd ...

, mmm = Cinq A Sept , ffff = Cyllene , fffm = Maid Marion , ffmf = Sundridge , ffmm = Pasquil , fmff = Disguise , fmfm = Harpsicord , fmmf =

Isinglass Isinglass () is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification or fining of some beer and wine. It can also be cooked into a paste for specialised gluing purposes. The E ...

, fmmm = Brielle , mfff = Dark Ronald , mffm = Excellenza , mfmf = Myram , mfmm = Pietra , mmff = Ajax , mmfm = Rondeau , mmmf =

Roi Herode Roi or ROI may refer to: People * Adenes Le Roi (c. 1240–c. 1300), French minstrel * Roi Cohen Kadosh (born 1976), Israeli-British cognitive neuroscientist * Roi Huber (born 1997), Israeli basketball player * Roi Kahat (born 1992), Israel ...

, mmmm = Rackety Coo } Imperatrice Pedigree
/ref>

References

1938 racehorse births 1972 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in New Jersey Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 2-s