Benny the Bull is a retired 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 and active

stallion A stallion is an adult 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, "cre ...

. A specialist sprinter, he raced mainly over distances of six and seven furlongs and won races including the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash,

Sunshine Millions Sprint The Sunshine Millions Sprint is a thoroughbred horse race, race for thoroughbred race horse, horses held in January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California or at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Half the eight races of the Sunshine ...

, True North Handicap and Smile Sprint Handicap. In 2008 he became one of relatively few American-trained racehorses to win a major international race overseas when he won the

Dubai Golden Shaheen The Dubai Golden Shaheen is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,200 metres (approximately 6 furlongs) on the dirt course at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai in late M ...

. In the same year he was voted

American Champion Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a ...

at the

Eclipse Awards The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected Am ...

Background

Benny the Bull is a dark bay or brown horse bred in Florida by Tamoka Farms. He was sired by Lucky Lionel, an American-bred horse who was trained in Europe, where he won the Norfolk Stakes and the

Prix Robert Papin The Prix Robert Papin is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it ...

in 1995. In September 2004, the

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the ...

was consigned to the

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 o ...

where he was bought by Greg James for $38,000.

Racing career

2007: four-year-old season

Originally trained by Jeff Talley, Benny the Bull won the Iowa Sprint Handicap at Prairie Meadows in June before being sold and transferred to the stable of Rick Dutrow. Moved up to Grade I competition he finished second to

Midnight Lute Midnight Lute (foaled May 13, 2003, in Versailles, Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was named American Champion Sprint Horse in 2007. Background Midnight Lute was bred by Tom Evans, Macon Wilmil Equines & Marjac Farms, Inc. a ...

in the

Forego Stakes The Forego Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses four years old and older over the distance of seven furlongs on the dirt, scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New Y ...

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...

and fourth behind the same horse in the

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in t ...

. In November he recorded his most important victory when winning the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at

Laurel Park Racecourse Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades un ...

2008: five-year-old season

Benny the Bull began his five-year-old season by winning the

, part of a series of races restricted to horses bred in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In March the horse was sent to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

to contest the

an international sprint race run on dirt at

Nad Al Sheba Racecourse Nad Al Sheba Racecourse was Thoroughbred horse racing facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates opened in 1986. It had a 2,200 m left-handed dirt race track and a left-handed grass, turf course of the same distance. It operated from November throug ...

. In a field which included runners from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and Brazil, Benny the Bull was held up by

Edgar Prado Edgar S. Prado (born June 12, 1967) is a retired Peruvian jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. Prado's big break came in 1997 when he won 536 races, making him the fourth rider in history to win 500 races in one year. Much of that success was ga ...

before producing a strong late challenge to catch Idiot Proof in the closing stages and win by one and three quarter lengths. On his return to America, Benny the Bull won the True North Handicap at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

in June, carrying top weight of 123 pounds, with Thor's Echo in fourth. In the following month carried top weight of 124 pounds to victory in the Smile Sprint Handicap at

Calder Race Course Calder Casino is a casino located in Miami Gardens, Florida. It includes slots, electronic table games, and bingo. The casino opened in 2010 and features a gaming floor with 1,100 slot machines, including video poker, as well as electronic rou ...

, displaying what

The Blood-Horse ''The Blood-Horse'' (also referred to simply as ''Blood-Horse'' and displayed on its nameplate in upright all-capital letters without hyphenation as BLOODHORSE) is a news magazine that originated in 1916 as a monthly bulletin of the Thoroughbred ...

magazine described as a "devastating turn of foot". In August, Benny the Bull sustained an ankle injury in training at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...

, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.

2009: six-year-old season

Benny the Bull remained in training as a six-year-old, but was unable to reproduce his earlier success. He finished second under top weight in both the True North Handicap and the Smile Sprint Handicap and ran fourth in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap.

Assessment and honors

In the voting for the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

for 2008, Benny the Bull won the title by beating Midnight Lute by 107 votes to 86.

Stud career

Benny the Bull was retired from racing to stand as a stallion at the Vinery Stud in Florida. In 2012 it was announced that he would also be "shuttled" to Brazil for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist Racehorses bred in Florida Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners 2003 racehorse births