High Time (1916–1937) was a chestnut

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 ...

known for his brilliant spreed in a career cut short by unsoundness. He was the

leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading Father, sire of Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to Stallio ...

of 1928 and the leading broodmare sire in both 1936 and 1940.

Background

High Time was bred in Kentucky by Wickliffe Stud, a partnership between Price McKinney and Ed Corrigan. During his racing career, he was owned by Henry Porter. He was sired by Ultimus, who never raced due to unsoundness but became an influential sire. High Time's dam, Noonday, was a stakes winning daughter of Domino who also produced four other stakes winners (High Noon, Besom, Suffragette and Meeting House) and two notable broodmares, Meridian and Noontide. Her female line is still active, most notably producing Triple Crown winner Justify in 2018. High Time had badly conformed forelegs, magnified by his being a "bleeder" – he bled through the nostrils during his races – which limited his stamina. His trainer Phil Chinn once commented that High Time was the only horse that he knew of who could enter the stretch leading by 15 lengths only to lose by 80.

Race career

High Time made seven starts at age two at a time when this was considered a light campaign. His only victory came on June 24, 1918, in the Hudson Stakes at Aqueduct, when he "spreadeagled the field" to win in :58 2/5 for five furlongs, breaking the stakes record by two seconds and the track record by two-fifths. He also placed third in the

Great American Stakes The Great American Stakes is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race last run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt and open to two-year-old horses only, it was last run at a distance of five and a half furlongs. His ...

Stud career

Little was expected of High Time at stud and he had very limited opportunities in his first few years. This changed when his first crop reached racing age and started to win. Chinn brought a part interest in the stallion and relocated him to his Himyar Stud in Kentucky. In 1926, Chinn paid $50,000 to buy-out the remaining half interest. Chinn was later forced to disperse his stock and High Time was sold in 1931 to

Charles T. Fisher Charles Thomas Fisher (February 16, 1880 – August 8, 1963) was an American businessman and an automotive pioneer. Born in Norwalk, Ohio, Charles was the second son of Lawrence and Margaret Fisher. The family would grow to include seven boys a ...

for $50,000, an unexpected bargain for a stallion valued at $100,000. High Time stood at Dixiana Farm for the remainder of his career. High Time became known as a source of speed and was the

of 1928. He also ranked in the top 20 on 12 other occasions. His get included

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

and two-time

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

Sarazen Sarazen (1921–1940) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned by Colonel Phil T. Chinn's Himyar Stud, Sarazen won his first three starts. Chinn then sold him for a huge profit to Virginia Fair Vanderbilt, who raced ...

and 1928 Champion Two Year Old Colt High Strung. Over half of his 289 progeny won at the age of two. High Time was also the leading broodmare sire in 1936 and 1940. His daughters produced multiple winners such as

True North True north is the direction along Earth's surface towards the place where the imaginary rotational axis of the Earth intersects the surface of the Earth on its Northern Hemisphere, northern half, the True North Pole. True south is the direction ...

, Top Row and

Eight Thirty Eight Thirty (March 27, 1936 – April 7, 1965) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned by George D. Widener Jr. and bred by his Erdenheim Farm. Widener is one of only five people ever named an Exemplar of Racing. Eigh ...

. High Time died of natural causes on November 23, 1937, at the age of 21. He is buried in an unmarked grave on the grounds of Dixiana 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 ...

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Pedigree

High Time is inbred (3S x 3S x 2D) to Domino, meaning this stallion appears twice in the third generation of the sire's side of the pedigree and once in the second generation. Such a high degree of inbreeding is unusual and may have contributed to his unsoundness.

References

{{reflist 1916 racehorse births 1937 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky Thoroughbred family 1-h American Champion Thoroughbred broodmare sires