Honeymoon (foaled 1943 in California) 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 ...

race horse who was the first California-bred filly to surpass the $100,000 mark in earnings and who retired with earnings of $387,760. The June 22, 1946 issue of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called Honeymoon the "best filly ever bred in California."

Background

Honeymoon was bred and raced by

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

movie mogul

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1884Mayer maintained that he was born in Minsk on July 4, 1885. According to Scott Eyman, the reasons may have been: * Mayer's father gave different dates for his birthplace at different times, so ...

and was trained by Graceton Philpot.

Racing career

After an outstanding three-year-old campaign in which Honeymoon won seven important California

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 ...

s she was sold for $135,000 in February 1947 as part of Mayer's dispersal sale. Her new owner was W-L Ranch Co., a racing partnership of two other high-profile Hollywood individuals,

Harry Warner Harry Morris Warner (born Hirsz Mojżesz Wonsal; December 12, 1881 – July 25, 1958) was an American studio executive, one of the founders of Warner Bros., and a major contributor to the development of the film industry. Along with his three y ...

and

Mervyn Le Roy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. During the 1930s, he was one of the two great practitioners of economical and effective film directing at Warner Brothers studios, the other bei ...

. In early 1949 a foot injury severely hampered Honeymoon's racing career and after an unsuccessful comeback in 1950 she was retired.

Retirement and breeding record

As a broodmare she produced just three foals. However, her daughter Honey's Gem was a quality runner whose wins included the 1959

Milady Handicap The Adoration Stakes is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race that was run annually during May at Santa Anita Park. The event was open to fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. The ...

, the 1959

Beverly Handicap The Beverly Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run in 1938 at Washington Park Race Track in the Chicago metropolitan area and moved to Arlington Park in 1962. A race for fillies and mares age three and older, the Beverly Handica ...

in which she set a North American record of 1:34 flat for a mile on dirt, and the 1960

Ramona Handicap The John C. Mabee Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race contested in early August at the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. It is run on the turf for fillies and mares, age three or older, at a distance of one and one-eighth miles. ...

. Honeymoon's son, Honey's Alibi, was a multiple

graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is th ...

winner who was the damsire of the great

Dahlia ''Dahlia'' ( , ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. Dahlias are members of the Asteraceae (synonym name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its relatives include the sun ...

, an international champion and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. Harry Warner died in July 1958 and his estate sold off his racing interests in early 1959. As part of the dispersal sale, Honeymoon was purchased for $20,000 by Thomas A. Miller of

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

Honors

Following its creation, in 1988 Honeymoon was inducted in the California Thoroughbred Hall of Fame.February 2006 ''California Thoroughbred'' magazine article on the California Hall of Fame containing profiles of the Thoroughbred inductees of 1988. In 1956

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred horse racing, race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to The Forum (Inglewood, California), the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, t ...

, the site of a number of her wins, was renamed the Sea Breeze Stakes in her honor.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist
Honeymoon's pedigree and partial racing stats

1943 racehorse births Racehorses bred in California Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 8-h