Mom's Command (March 14, 1982 – February 3, 2007) was a multiple

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

-winning 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 ...

race horse 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 ...

. In a two-year career, she won eleven of her sixteen races. In 1985, she was voted American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly at the

Eclipse Awards 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 that is made by a few small selected American ...

Background

Her breeder and owner was

Peter D. Fuller Peter Davenport Fuller (March 22, 1923 – May 14, 2012) was an American auto dealer, racehorse owner, and boxer who owned Dancer's Image, the first winner in the history of the Kentucky Derby to be disqualified, and Mom's Command, 1985's America ...

of Runnymede Farm in

North Hampton, New Hampshire North Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,538 at the 2020 census. While the majority of the town is inland, North Hampton includes a part of New Hampshire's limited Atlantic seacoast. History ...

, the son of former

Massachusetts Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachus ...

Alvan T. Fuller. Fuller (who had once been a champion boxer and wrestler at Harvard University) bred his mare Star Mommy to the stallion Top Command (by

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 ...

), hoping to produce a foal who combined speed and stamina. The result was Mom's Command. The bright chestnut filly was trained by New Jersey-born Ned Allard, whose father was a professor at New York’s Juilliard School of Music. She was ridden in all but two of her races by Peter Fuller’s daughter,

Abigail Fuller Abigail Fuller (born 1959 or 1960) is an American retired Thoroughbred jockey who primarily competed between the early 1980s to early 2000s. While competing in graded stakes races, Fuller won two Grade III events, one Grade II event and four Gra ...

. At 26 years of age, she became the first woman jockey to ride the winner of a " Triple Tiara" event, and also the first to sweep the three races.

Racing career

1984: two-year-old season

Mom's Command won her first race, the ungraded Faneuil Miss Stakes, in July 1984 at New Hampshire’s

Rockingham Park Rockingham Park was a horse racing establishment in Salem, New Hampshire, in the United States. First built in 1906, it was used as an area for many to gamble on the weekends. Seabiscuit raced there in 1935 and 1936,''Daily Racing Form'' staff ...

after going off at odds of 44-1. After winning the Faneuil Miss, she appeared in the Grade II Astarita at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Raci ...

; she broke from the starting gate five lengths behind the field and came back from last place to win. Following the Astarita, she took the Grade I Selima Stakes by 5½ lengths. Three of her seven starts as a two-year-old had ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of raceho ...

'' "trouble lines" (race notes) – "steadied at start"; "poor start" and "off poorly". However, she won four of those races.

1985: three-year-old season

As a 3-year-old, Mom's Command dominated her competition, winning seven of her nine starts. In the

Test Stakes The Test Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies and run each summer at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is contested at a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt and is an influe ...

, she finished second to another star filly, Lady's Secret, by two lengths. She won the stakes which constitute the

Filly Triple Crown The Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the United States which is open to three-year-old fillies. Presently the only official Triple Tiara is the three race series in New Y ...

– the

Acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera '' Quercus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and bo ...

, the

Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howev ...

and the

Coaching Club American Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...

(the latter by 2½ lengths). She preceded her Triple Crown victories with a 19-length win in the Flirtation Stakes at

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of O ...

and a second to the speedy Clocks Secret in the Goldfinch at

Garden State Park Garden State Park was a harness and thoroughbred race track in Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey. It is now the site of a high-end, mixed-use "town center" development of stores, restaurants, apartments, townhouses, and condominiums. Garden ...

. In the Goldfinch, she raced on a "dead rail" (deep mud on the rail) for nearly the entire distance. She returned to take the Cherry Blossom Handicap at Garden State and the

Comely Stakes The Comely Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Open to three year old fillies, it is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile. The Grade III event offers a purse of $200,000. T ...

. In the Comely, Clocks Secret finished six lengths behind Mom's Command; 11 lengths back was Lady’s Secret. Following her Triple Crown, Mom's Command then won the Grade I

Alabama Stakes The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...

, leading all the way and defeating

Fran's Valentine Fran's Valentine (1982 – October, 2007) was a Thoroughbred racehorse filly, who, in 1985 as a three-year-old, won the Graded stakes races the Hollywood Oaks, Kentucky Oaks and Santa Susana Stakes. Trained by Joseph Manzi, she was the first fi ...

by four lengths. Fran's Valentine was the betting favorite, since she had won six of seven starts and her jockey was the well-known

Chris McCarron Christopher John McCarron (born March 27, 1955, Boston, Massachusetts) is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He mounted his first horse ever at 16.5 years old and was racing professionally by 18. At only 19 years o ...

; however, the ''Daily Racing Form'' notes that Mom's Command was "ridden out" (winning easily, without additional urging). In 1985, Mom's Command won 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 that is made by a few small selected America ...

as American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. She was the sixth horse to win the Filly Triple Crown. Her five predecessors were

Dark Mirage Dark Mirage (March 6, 1965 – July 9, 1969) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Racing career Dark Mirage was 15.1 hands high. In her 1967 campaign as a two-year-old, she had two minor wins in fifteen starts. As a t ...

(1968), Shuvee (1969),

Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record s ...

(1974), Ruffian (1975) and Davona Dale (1979). Beside Mom’s Command, only Shuvee also won the Alabama Stakes (which replaced the Acorn in the "Triple Tiara", from 2003 to 2006). The Alabama, run at Saratoga, is the filly counterpart of the Grade I

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds acco ...

. Every filly who ever beat Mom's Command was then defeated by Mom's Command (including Lady's Secret, noted above). She won at distances ranging from five

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use i ...

s to 1½ miles. Hall of Fame jockey

Angel Cordero Jr. In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles includ ...

once said to Peter Fuller: "I love Mom's Command and I love your daughter Abby, but I'm sick of looking at both of their rear ends."

Retirement

Mom's Command was retired on September 29, 1985, after she injured her ankle while training for the Rare Perfume Stakes at Belmont Park. Her career earnings were $902,972. She foaled one stakes winner, Jonesboro. On February 3, 2007, Mom's Command was euthanized at Runnymede Farm at age 25, due to the infirmities of old age; she is buried on the farm.

Honors

Mom's Command was inducted into the racing wing of the New England Sports Hall of Fame in the summer of 2006. She was elected to the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

in 2007.

Pedigree

References

External links

Mom’s Command’s pedigree

Mom’s Command in the Hall of Fame

Saratoga 150 Feature: Mom's Command
via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

Abby Fuller remembers Mom's Command
via YouTube 1982 racehorse births 2007 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 5-j Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing winners Eclipse Award winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees