Iron Liege (March 11, 1954 – December 14, 1972) was an American

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 ...

best known for winning the

1957 Kentucky Derby The 1957 Kentucky Derby was the 83rd running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 4, 1957. Of note, future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee John H. Adams finished eighth and his son John R. Adams finished ninth. The race was uni ...

Background

Iron Liege was a bay horse bred and owned by

Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegra ...

. He was sired by Calumet's leading sire

Bull Lea A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species '' Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includ ...

, out of the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than f ...

Iron Maiden a daughter of the 1937 U.S. Triple Crown champion,

War Admiral War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the 'Matc ...

. Iron Maiden also produced Iron Reward, the dam of Swaps. He was trained throughout his racing career by Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Jones.

Three-year-old season

As a three-year-old colt in 1957 leading up to the Kentucky Derby, Jones frequently ran his stablemates Iron Liege and the more highly regarded

Gen. Duke Gen. Duke (1954–1958) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1957 Florida Derby. Background Gen. Duke was sired by Bull Lea, who was by the imported stallion Bull Dog and out of Rose Leaves by Ballot. Gen. Duke's dam was Wistful ...

coupled. These races included an Allowance win by Iron Liege over Gen. Duke at

Hialeah Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area, whi ...

, and a third-place finish to victorious Gen. Duke and

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign that included wins in the Preakness Stakes and Trenton Handicap, in whic ...

in the Florida Derby. Both were entered in the Derby Trial preceding the Kentucky Derby, with Gen. Duke finishing second and Iron Liege fifth. After the race Jones determined that Gen. Duke was not fit to run in the Derby, which left Iron Liege his sole entrant against perhaps the greatest field ever assembled for the race, including: Bold Ruler,

Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying tha ...

, and Gallant Man. Future Hall of Fame jockey Bill Hartack, who was Gen. Duke's regular rider, was assigned to ride Iron Liege in the Derby. In the Derby Iron Liege took the lead over pacesetter Federal Hill, but would encounter a fast-charging Gallant Man in deep stretch. As the two passed the mile pole, Gallant Man's rider, future Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker, stood up in his irons long enough for Gallant Man to briefly lose his stride. Iron Liege would go on to hold off Gallant Man and win by a nose in a driving finish, with Round Table third and Bold Ruler fourth. After first blaming his actions on a bad step by Gallant Man, Shoemaker later admitted that he misjudged the mile pole as the finish line, and he was suspended 15 days by the

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

stewards for "gross carelessness". Shoemaker's gaffe has been noted in books, in articles, and on online sites, as one of the biggest blunders in racing history. Following up his Kentucky Derby win, Iron Liege finished second to Bold Ruler in the Preakness, but did not compete in the Belmont Stakes. Iron Liege also finished second in the American Derby to Round Table. As a three-year-old Iron Liege also posted stakes wins in the

Forerunner Stakes The Forerunner Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1950 through 2007 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, it was last contested on turf over a distance of one and one-eighth m ...

, Sheridan Stakes, Laurance Armour Memorial Handicap, and the

Jersey Stakes The Jersey Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ...

. As a four-year-old, Iron Liege won the

McLennan Handicap McLennan, MacLennan and Maclennan are surnames derived from the Scottish Gaelic . Notable people with the surname include: McLennan spelling * Andrew McLennan, New Zealand musician and songwriter better known as Andrew Snoid * Andrew Robert McLe ...

Stud record

Iron Liege stood as a breeding stallion in Japan and died at the Shizunai stud in

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

in 1972. The best of his offspring included: * Strong Eight (

Arima Kinen The Arima Kinen (有馬記念) is a Grade I flat horse race in Japan open to Thoroughbreds which are three-years-old or above and the world's largest betting horserace.

, Naruo Kinen, American Jockey Club Cup) * Taiho Hero ( Naruo Kinen, Megro Kinen, Sapporo Kinen) * Adjar (

Prix Perth The Prix Perth is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take ...

)

Pedigree

* Iron Liege was inbred 3 × 4 to the stallion Teddy and the mare Plucky Liege, meaning that these horses appear in both the third and fourth generations of his pedigree.

References

External links

* {{Kentucky Derby Winners Kentucky Derby winners Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States 1954 racehorse births 1972 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family A4