Comely (foaled 1912) 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 ...
. She was bred by
James R. Keene who sold her in a package deal to
James Butler, owner of the
Empire City Race Track
Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New ...
. Butler had bought the entire 1912 crop produced by Keene's
Castleton Stud.
Background
Comely's sire was Disguise who raced in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
for owner/breeder James R. Keene. Disguise was the winner of the 1900
Jockey Club Stakes and ran third in that year's
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...
. Both her grandsire and damsire were elected to the
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame.
Comely is best remembered from her racing days for a remarkable performance as a two-year-old when she defeated older male horses to win the first running of the
Fall Highweight Handicap
The Fall Highweight Stakes (formerly the Fall Highweight Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Currently run at a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 m), it i ...
in 1914. Going into 2019, she remains the only two-year-old to win the Fall Highweight Handicap and one of only a few two-year-olds to defeat older horses in a major
stakes race
The following is a glossary of North American horse racing.
Additional glossaries at:
*Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting
*Glossary of equestrian terms
This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical term ...
.
The
Comely Stakes
The Comely Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Open to three year old fillies, it is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile. The Grade III event offers a purse of $200,000.
...
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 ...
in
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
is named in her honor.
References
{{reflist
1912 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in Kentucky
Racehorses trained in the United States
Thoroughbred family 8-c