John F Kennedy (7 February 2012 - 27 January 2022) was an Irish-bred

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 and a

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

stood in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. He was beaten as an odds on favourite on his debut but won his next two races, the latter being the Juvenile Turf Stakes that turned out to be the last win in his racing career. At the end of 2014 he had been one of the antepost favourites for the 2015 Epsom Derby, though he did not run in it after all.

Background

John F Kennedy's sire was leading sire

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

and his dam was a dual group 1 winning filly

Rumplestiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of '' Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about an imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a woman's firstborn child. Plot ...

. He was a full brother of

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

, the winner of the 2014

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile ...

. He was bred from the highly successful Galileo Danehill cross which has produced horses including

Frankel Frankel is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Frankel (1906–1973), British composer * Bethenny Frankel (born 1970), American chef and reality television personality * Charles Frankel (1917–1975), American philoso ...

, Roderic O'Connor and Teofilo. He was named after the

35th Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

John F Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his assassination in 1963. He was the first Catholic Chur ...

Racing career

2014: two-year-old season

John F Kennedy's career began in a

Maiden race In horse racing, a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the s ...

over a Mile at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is a horse-racing course in Leopardstown, approximately south of Dublin city centre, in Ireland. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Built by Captain George Quin and modell ...

. He began odds on favourite but was beaten 2 and a half lengths by the

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born in Ōpunake, Taranaki, to Irish immigrants. Bef ...

trained Hall of Fame under a ride by Joseph O'Brien. He won his next start at

The Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Irish National Stud#The Japanese Gardens, Japane ...

by 4 and a half lengths. Despite an entry in the

Racing Post Trophy The Futurity Trophy is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

, his final start of 2014 came back at Leopardstown in the Juvenile Turf Stakes which he won beating stablemate East India.

2015: three-year-old season

In the early part of 2015, John F Kennedy maintained his position as antepost favourite for the Derby before making his seasonal debut in the

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: * Group 3 element, chemical element classification * Group 3 (motorsport), FIA classification of cars used in auto racing and rallying * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image ...

Ballysax Stakes The Ballysax Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) at Leopard ...

Leopardstown Leopardstown (), historically called Ballinlore, is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. With institutional lands and a large racecourse, it is divided by the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorw ...

on 12 April. He started the 1/4 favourite but finished last of the three runners behind Success Days and Zafilani, beaten ten and a half lengths by the winner. On 14 May, he ran in the

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal The alkaline earth metals are six chemical elements in group (periodic table), group 2 of the periodic table. They are beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (B ...

Dante Stakes The Dante Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and finished last of the seven runners, beaten by

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...

. After the race, trainer

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

said that he would not field John F Kennedy in the Derby. On his horse being outpaced and not being in contention throughout the race, O'Brien said: "We're disappointed. There's obviously something amiss." He said he would give the horse a break for the time being. John F Kennedy's next start was Group 3 KPMG Enterprise Stakes at

on 12 September, where he was beaten by Fascinating Rock and finished third out of five runners.

2016: four-year-old season

Before the 2016 season, John F Kennedy was purchased by an Argentine group of breeders and moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

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. He finished seventh out of eight runners in an allowance optional claiming race on 15 May at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

and retired to become a stallion in

Stud career

As of 2021, he was standing at Haras Abolengo in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina. His progeny includes Cool Day, who won the 2020

Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini The Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini is the most prestigious horse race in Argentina. It is run in December at the Hipódromo de San Isidro, near Buenos Aires. The race was tied for the 93rd highest rated Group/Grade 1 Race for three-year-olds and u ...

and the 2021 Gran Premio Copa de Oro. John F Kennedy died on January 27, 2022, at Haras Abolengo due to an acute

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content ou ...

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''John F Kennedy'' 2012 racehorse births 2022 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 20