Battleship (1927–1958) was an American

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

who is the only horse to have won both the American Grand National and the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

races.

Breeding

Battleship was bred by owner

Walter J. Salmon Sr. Walter Joseph Salmon Sr. (1871 – December 25, 1953) was a New York City real estate investor and developer. According to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Salmon was "responsible for rebuilding the north side of West 42nd ...

at his Mereworth Farm in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. He was a "stocky chestnut" by

Man o' War Man o' War was a thoroughbred racehorse considered an all-time great. Man o' War (or capitalization variations thereof) may also refer to: Animals * Portuguese man o' war, a floating marine animal found in the Atlantic that resembles a jellyfish ...

, and his dam, Quarantine, was by Sea Sick. He was a muscular but small horse who stood 15

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1 inch (1.55 m) high, leading him to be nicknamed the 'American Pony'.

Racing record

Battleship was initially trained for

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, 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 spor ...

. Competing for his owner through age four, he won ten of his twenty-two starts. An injury kept him out of competition for a year, and at the end of 1931 Walter Salmon sold Battleship to Marion duPont Scott for $12,000. Scott was a

horse racing enthusiast who had earlier purchased a Salmon-owned half brother to Battleship. A member of the prominent and wealthy

Du Pont family The du Pont family () or Du Pont family is a prominent family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817), a French minor aristocrat. Currently residing in the U.S. states of Delaware and Pennsylvania, the Du Ponts have been ...

of chemical manufacturing, Ms duPont had begun developing her Montpelier estate, formerly the home of

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and

Dolley Madison Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of b ...

, near

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, into what became one of the leading horse-training centers in the United States. Ms. duPont had Battleship trained for steeplechase racing and entered his first competition in 1933. The horse showed promise, winning three of his four races that season. Then, in 1934, he won the American Grand National, the most prestigious steeplechase race in the US. Gentleman jockey Carroll K. Bassett rode Battleship in most of his major U.S. victories. Bassett was also an accomplished artist and sculpted a small bronze bust of Battleship in 1934. In July 1936, Ms. duPont shipped Battleship to England, where trainer Reginald "Reg" Hobbs began to prepare the horse, on the mend with a bowed

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue, dense fibrous connective tissue that connects skeletal muscle, muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tensi ...

, for the 1937

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

. Battleship won several races in 1936 and 1937, including races at

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, Newbury and

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but some critics remained unimpressed saying he "did not look like a stayer". The Sporting Life dwelt on his size, stating "he is too small to make appeal to me as a National horse ... he will be the smallest winner on record". Hobbs himself convinced Scott that Battleship was not ready for the Grand National in March 1937. He was said to have "not trained on" and was withdrawn at the final acceptance stage. He continued training and racing in England, winning five of his thirteen races and was entered into the 1938 Grand National. His competition in the 1938 race included

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, winner of the 1937 Grand National, Royal Danieli, and Workman. Battleship beat Royal Danieli to win the race in a photo finish, completing the race in 9 minutes, 27 seconds. He was ridden by

Bruce Hobbs Bruce Robertson Hobbs (December 27, 1920 – November 22, 2005) was an English jockey and racehorse trainer. Born on Long Island, New York, Hobbs became the youngest and tallest jockey to ride the winner of the English Grand National when succ ...

, the seventeen-year-old son of trainer Reg Hobbs. He was an unusual winner of the race in that he was

entire Entire may refer to: * Entire function, a function that is holomorphic on the whole complex plane * Entire (animal), an indication that an animal is not neutered * Entire (botany) This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions o ...

. The last entire winner had been Grudon in 1901 and none has won since. In June 1938, Battleship returned to the U.S. aboard the ''Manhattan.'' Trainer Reg Hobbs and jockey Bruce Hobbs accompanied the champion horse on the transatlantic journey. Upon arriving in New York, Battleship was met at the dock by a crowd including New York mayor

Fiorello LaGuardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Y ...

and actor

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, come ...

, Marion duPont Scott's husband.

Stud record

Following his 1938 Grand National victory, Battleship retired to stand at

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

at duPont's Montpelier estate, Battleship sired only 58 foals. Notably, he sired War Battle and Shipboard, steeplechase champions in 1947 and 1956 respectively, plus Sea Legs, winner of the 1952 American Grand National. He also sired the stakes winners Cap-A-Pie, Eolus, Floating Isle, Mighty Mo, Navigate, Navy Gun, Tide Rips, and Westport Point.Battleship
Retrieved 2011-1-20 Battleship died in 1958 at the age of 31 and his buried at Montpelier. In 1969, he was inducted into the United States' Racing Hall of Fame.

References

Other references

External links