Left Bank (May 9, 1997 – October 7, 2002) was an American

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

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 ...

Background

Out of the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, 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 th ...

, Marshesseaux, Left Bank was sired by Jerome Handicap winner, French Deputy, a son of

Deputy Minister Deputy minister is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. A deputy minister is positioned in some way "under" a minister, who is a full member of Cabinet, in charge of a particular sta ...

who was the 1981

Canadian Horse of the Year The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Part of the Sovereign Awards program since 1975, ...

and two-time

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 ...

. English horseman

Michael Tabor Michael Barry Tabor (born 28 October 1941) is a British racehorse owner. As a partner in Coolmore Stud, he is one of only four racehorse owners to have won both the Epsom Derby and the Kentucky Derby. Tabor has extensive business interest ...

purchased Left Bank as a two-year-old for $600,000 at a February 1999

Fasig-Tipton The Fasig-Tipton Company, Inc. is an American auction house for Thoroughbred horses. Founded in 1898, it is the oldest auction company of its kind in North America. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky, Elkton, Maryland, and Saratoga ...

sale at

Calder Race Course Calder Casino is a casino located in Miami Gardens, Florida. It includes slots, electronic table games, and bingo. The casino opened in 2010 and features a gaming floor with 1,100 slot machines, including video poker, as well as electronic rou ...

. Tabor turned him over to trainer

Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher (born June 26, 1967, in Dallas, Texas) is an American thoroughbred horse trainer. He won the Eclipse Award eight times as Trainer of the Year, four of these in consecutive years. His horses Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming ( ...

to race in the United States. However, the colt suffered from

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 ...

that necessitated

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

which resulted in the removal of twelve feet of

small intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ (anatomy), organ in the human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract where most of the #Absorption, absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intes ...

Racing career

2000: Three-year-old season

Recovered, Left Bank was able to race the following year notably winning the 2000

Discovery Handicap The Discovery Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the latter part of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A Listed event open to three-year-old horses, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one a ...

at New York's

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 ...

2001: Four-year-old season

At age four in 2001, Left Bank got off to a slow start but in the fall won two Grade 1 races. He first beat the

betting Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

favorite Squirtle Squirt to capture the September 22

Vosburgh Stakes The Vosburgh Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Run at the end of September/early October, it is open to horses three-years-old and up of either gender. A Grade III sprint race, it is ...

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

, clocking the second-fastest time in the race's 62 year history. Then, on November 24 at

, Left Bank won the

Cigar Mile Handicap The Cigar Mile Handicap is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three-years-old and older over a distance of one mile and is held in late November or early December at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The event carr ...

by defeating top-rated challengers, Graeme Hall and Red Bullet

2002 Championship year and death

Rested since his win in November's Cigar Mile, Left Bank began his five-year-old campaign on May 12, 2002 with a win in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler Handicapbr>
After a poor showing in the May 27 Metropolitan Handicap, on July 4 Left Bank set a Belmont Park track record for in winning the Grade 2 Tom Fool Handicap by six and a quarter lengths. Moving up from sprint race distances, Left Bank followed his record-setting win in the Tom Fool by equaling the

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...

track record for in his victory in the Grade 1

Whitney Handicap The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses four years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...

. After his win in the Whitney, Left Bank was being prepared to run in the

Woodward Stakes The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade Il stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. It is named for prominent racehorse owner William Woodward. The race was first run in 1954 at Aqueduct Ra ...

at Belmont Park but suffered another attack of colic. On August 10, 2002 the horse was rushed to the equine hospital at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

near

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

where he underwent emergency surgery. Following his surgery, Left Bank was sent to recover at Ashford Stud in

Versailles, Kentucky Versailles is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 10,534 according to 2024 ce ...

but had to undergo further operations from which he was unable to recover and died on October 7, 2002.

Assessment

Left Bank posthumously earned the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

when he was voted the 2002

American Champion Older Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of ...

. It marked the first Eclipse Award for trainer, Todd Pletcher.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist
Left Bank's pedigree and partial racing stats

Video at YouTube of Left Bank setting new Belmont Park track record

* ttps://www.espn.com/horse/news/2002/1008/1443227.html October 8, 2002 ESPN report titled ''Left Bank dead after colic surgeries'' 1997 racehorse births 2002 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 9-c Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners