Challedon (1936–1958) 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 ...

. Bred in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

William L. Brann William Leavitt Brann (c.1877 – April 11, 1951) was an American businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. Born in Washington, Indiana, William Brann graduated from Indiana University Bloomington and moved to New York City wher ...

and Robert S. Castle, he raced under the colors of their Branncastle Farm.

Two-year-old-season

Racing at age two, Challedon won four of his six but was outshone by another colt named El Chico, who was voted that year's U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt.

Three-year-old-season

At age three, under jockey

George Seabo George Seabo (July 2, 1911 - February 26, 1991) was an American jockey and trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses best known as a founding member of the Jockeys' Guild who rode future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Challedon to victory in the ...

, Challedon finished second in the 1939

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 ...

, eight lengths behind future Hall of Fame colt Johnstown. Then, 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 ...

, Challedon won by a length and a half with the heavily favored Johnstown finishing off the board. For trainer Louis J. Schaefer, Challedon's win meant he became the first person to have both ridden and trained a Preakness Stakes winner. His feat would only be matched 30 years later by

Johnny Longden John Eric "Johnny" Longden (February 14, 1907 – February 14, 2003) was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey and a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. His father emigrated to ...

. Challedon wasn't eligible to compete in the final leg of the U.S. Triple Crown and as such Johnstown had an easy time in winning the Belmont Stakes. However, Challedon's wins in eight other important races that year, including a world record performance in the Tranter Purse raced at Keeneland Race Course, earned him the U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt honors. In a poll conducted by the ''Turf and Sport Digest'', Challedon was voted Horse of the Year, taking 156 of the possible 208 votes ahead of the two-year-old Bimelech, who received 36.

Four-year-old-season

In 1940, the four-year-old Challedon continued his winning ways, claiming victory under jockey George Woolf in the

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000. ...

and the Whitney Stakes. Beginning in September 1940, Don Cameron trained Challedon for owner

and won the

Pimlico Special The Pimlico Special is a Grade 3 American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles ( furlongs) held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. The race currently offers a purse of $300,000. ...

and Havre de Grace Handicap. Challedon still remains the only two-time winner of the prestigious grade one Pimlico Special Handicap. Cameron left Brann's employ in February 1941 and the horse's training was taken over by Whitey Whitehill. Challedon was voted 1940 U.S. Champion Male Handicap Horse and for the second straight year earned U.S. Horse of the Year honors, topping the ''Turf and Sport Digest'' poll with 84 votes ahead of Seabiscuit who received 34.

Five-year-old season

As a five-year-old, Challedon suffered a

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

injury and was bothered by cracks on the inside of a forefoot that saw him win no purse money. His season ended after just three races. The following year, for new trainer Edward Christmas Challedon returned to the winner's circle twice, including in the

Philadelphia Handicap The Philadelphia Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held thirty-eight times between 1913 and 1950 at Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Run on dirt, the race was open to horses of either sex age three and older. F ...

, but had lost his drive and was retired to stand at stud at Gallaher Farm in

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 ...

. While not a spectacular success as a sire, Challedon did produce thirteen stakes winners before passing away at the age of twenty-two after breaking a leg in his paddock. In 1977, he was inducted into 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 ...

Breeding

References

External links

Challedon's pedigree and racing stats

Challedon at the United States National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Challedon's offspring at the Triple Crown database by Kathleen Irwin and Joy Reeves
{{Preakness Stakes Winners 1936 racehorse births 1958 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Maryland Racehorses trained in the United States Preakness Stakes winners American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 12-c