Cavalcade (1931–1940) was an American Hall of Fame

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, ...

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 ...

. In a career which lasted from 1933 until 1936 he ran twenty-two times and won eight races. He was best known for his performances as a three-year-old in 1934 when his wins included the

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 ...

, the

American Derby The American Derby is a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States run annually at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The inaugural American Derby was held at Chicago's old Washington Park Race Track on the city's South Side and rac ...

, and the

Arlington Classic The Arlington Classic Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old horses over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in late May at Arlington Park race track near Chicago. History The event was inaugurate ...

. His subsequent career was disappointing and he failed to make a significant impact in a brief stud career.

Background

Cavalcade was a brown horse sired by Lancegaye, a successful British racehorse who won the

Hardwicke Stakes The Hardwicke Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metres), and ...

and finished second in The Derby in 1926. Cavalcade's dam, Hastily, was sold in foal to Lancegaye at Newmarket in December 1930 and exported to Meadow View Farm near

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. where she gave birth to Cavalcade the following spring. Cavalcade was sometimes described as being "English bred" but although he was conceived in Britain he was foaled in the United States, making him technically American-bred. In the early 1930s, Bob Smith, a trainer with a history of spotting talent, had been hired by heiress

Isabel Dodge Sloane Isabel Cleves Dodge Sloane (February 1896 – March 16, 1962) was an American heiress and socialite who owned a major Thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm. Isabel Dodge was the second of three children of Canadian-born Ivy Hawkin ...

to stock her newly formed

Brookmeade Stable Brookmeade Stable was a successful thoroughbred horse racing stable owned by Dodge automobile heiress and socialite Isabel Dodge Sloane. Sloane first won using the name Brookmeade Stable at the Manly Memorial Steeplechase at Pimlico in 1924. In ...

. Cavalcade was purchased as a yearling at Saratoga for $1,200. Among the other yearlings Smith bought for Brookmeade Stable that year were Time Clock for $700 and High Quest for $3,500. Cavalcade was ridden in most of his important races by

Mack Garner Andrew Mack Garner (December 23, 1898 – October 28, 1936) was an American jockey who won the 1934 Kentucky Derby as well as the 1929 and 1933 Belmont Stakes. He was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1969. Mack Garne ...

Racing career

1933:two-year-old season

In his two-year-old racing season, Cavalcade showed promise by winning twice from eleven starts and running prominently in defeat in several important races. In July in Chicago, Cavalcade recorded an upset win in the Hyde Stakes, beating the Whitney colt Singing Wood by a neck at odds of 90/1. At

Havre de Grace Racetrack The Havre de Grace Racetrack was an American horse racing track on Post Road in Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland. Nicknamed "The Graw," it operated from August 24, 1912, to 1950. For a time, it was owned by the Harford Agricultural and B ...

in September he finished a length second to his stablemate High Quest in the Eastern Shore Handicap. In a year when no colt dominated his age group, Cavalcade was among the best, although there were no official champions named in American racing until 1936.

1934: three-year-old season

Cavalcade's 1934 campaign was marked by his dominance of the future Hall of Fame colt

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

whom he first defeated in the Chesapeake Stakes at Havre de Grace. Cavalcade set a new race record time of 1:43.6 for one and one sixteenth of a mile to establish himself as a "Leading Derby Candidate." Four days earlier he had equaled the track record for one mile and seventy yards when winning the Shenandoah Purse at the same track. Of their three very capable colts, for the

Brookmeade Stable raced Cavalcade as well as Time Clock, who had won the

Flamingo Stakes The Flamingo Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of a mile and one-eighth. Run as the Florida Derby until 1937, the inaugural event took place at Tampa Downs on February 27, 1926. There was ...

. Sent off as the bettors' heavy favorite, Cavalcade was towards the back of the field before moving into contention behind Discovery and the

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed ...

on the final turn. He took the lead in the straight and drew away to win the race by more than three lengths over Discovery with Time Clock a disappointing seventh. After Time Clock's poor showing, his handlers replaced him in the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs ...

with the third stablemate, High Quest, who had won April's

Wood Memorial The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memori ...

. High Quest won the Preakness, beating Cavalcade by a nose with Discovery in third place. Cavalcade skipped the longer Belmont Stakes (in which High Quest was defeated by

Peace Chance Peace Chance (1931 – 1951) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1934 Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series. Peace Chance was bred and raced by Joseph E. Widener and trained by Pete Coyne, who had wo ...

) running instead in the

in Chicago which he won by two lengths and six from Discovery and Singing Wood, conceding weight to both, in a course record time of 2:04.0. Press reports described his finishing run as "a machine-like burst" and claimed that he looked "almost unbeatable". Cavalcade then set a new track record in winning the Detroit Derby before returning to Chicago for the

. He came from last place in the early stages to win by four lengths from Discovery in a "dramatic" performance which provoked a "delirium of cheers" from the 30,000 crowd. After the race Mack Garner described the colt as "the gamest horse I have ever ridden." During the summer of 1934 there were proposals for special international race at either

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Raci ...

between Cavalcade, the English champion

Windsor Lad Windsor Lad (1931–1943) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a three-year-old in 1934, he won both The Derby and the St Leger in record time. In 1935, he won the Coronation Cup and the Eclipse Stakes before his career ...

and the leading French colt Admiral Drake ( Brantôme, probably the best European three-year old of 1934 was a sick horse during the summer) but the plans did not come to fruition.

Later career

Cavalcade's later career was a disappointment as he became increasingly difficult to train. At age four, he missed his early season target when he was withdrawn from the

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for old ...

and did not appear until late May when he finished second to the five-year-old

Head Play Head Play (April 2, 1930 – December 11, 1954) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1933 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series of races and as the horse on the losing end of the "Fighting F ...

at Belmont. Smith struggled to return Cavalcade to peak condition and he finished unplaced on his only other start of the year in the

Suburban Handicap The Suburban Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is now run at the mile distance on dirt for a $700,000 purse. Named after the City and Su ...

. After an absence of fifteen months, Cavalcade returned to action in September 1936 in an allowance race at

Narragansett Park Narragansett Park was an American race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Beginnings On May 18, 1934, Rhode Island voters approved a measure legalizing parimutuel betting by an almost 3 to 1 margin. The following day, ...

where he finished sixth of the seven runners. Two days later, he finished last of the nine runners behind

Sun Teddy The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared ...

in what was intended to be a final warm-up for the

Narragansett Special The Narragansett Special was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Narragansett Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At the time of its inaugural running in 1934, the Narragansett Special offered a purse of $32,500 added money making it ...

. He was then retired to stud.

Stud record

Cavalcade was retired to

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: 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 ...

duty at Sloane's Brookmeade Stud in

Upperville, Virginia Upperville is a small unincorporated town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States, along U.S. Route 50 fifty miles from downtown Washington, D.C., near the Loudoun County line. Founded in the 1790s along Pantherskin Creek, it was originally ...

. In October 1940, at the age of nine, he was being transferred to stand at Shandon Farm near

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 ...

when he contracted "

Shipping fever Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the most common and costly disease affecting beef cattle in the world. It is a complex, bacterial or viral infection that causes pneumonia in calves which can be fatal. The infection is usually a sum of three c ...

" and died. Of his limited number of offspring, the most notable was the

gelding A gelding is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven horse behavior, behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer a ...

Dinner Party, who won 37

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

races. Cavalcade was interred at the Brookmeade Stud.

Honors

Cavalcade ended the 1934 racing season with six wins and a second in his seven starts and as the highest money earner was recognised as the Champion 3-Year-old Colt and

Horse of the Year The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ye ...

although there was no formal award. On August 20, 1934, Cavalcade was featured on the cover of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

''. Cavalcade was inducted in the United States'

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

in 1993.

References

{{Kentucky Derby Winners 1931 racehorse births 1940 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in New Jersey Racehorses trained in the United States Kentucky Derby winners American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year American Champion racehorses United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 12-g