Pass Catcher (foaled April 6, 1968 in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

) was a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 ...

that won the 103rd running of the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

Background

Pass Catcher, a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

colt was bred and raced by Peter Kissel's October House Farm. His sire was All Hands and his dam was La Grue. All Hands was a son of

Turn-To Turn-to (1951–June 15, 1973) was a British-born, American-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Background He was sired by the British stallion Royal Charger, out of the French mare Source Sucree, whose sire, Admiral Drake, was third on t ...

who was a grandson of the great English runner and outstanding sire,

Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by '' Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...

. Pass Catcher was trained by Eddie Yowel who had won the 1965

with

Hail To All Hail To All (foaled 1962) was an American thoroughbred racehorse which won the 1965 Belmont Stakes. Background Hail to All was a bay horse bred at Styles Colwill's Halcyon Farm in Maryland. He was sired by Hail To Reason, out of the mare Ellen ...

Racing career

At age two, the colt ran second in the 1970

Hopeful Stakes The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has ...

but came out of the race with a hairline fracture that kept him out of racing until the following March. Not ready for the first two legs of the rigorous Triple Crown races, Pass Catcher regained his racing form with a win in two straight races then, just five days before the Belmont Stakes, had a second-place finish to

Bold Reasoning Bold Reasoning (April 29, 1968 – April 24, 1975) was an American thoroughbred racehorse. He is best known as being the sire of the 1977 Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew. Background Bold Reasoning was foaled in Florida. He was out of the Hai ...

in the

Jersey Derby The Jersey Derby is a $100,000 American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in late July/early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Since 1993, it has been raced on grass at a distance of miles. A Jer ...

. The 1971 Belmont Stakes drew a record crowd of over 80,000,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KzojAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OrcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1395,2361343&dq=pass-catcher+belmont&hl=en swelled by thousands of members of the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and area Latino community who came to cheer for

Canonero II Cañonero II (April 24, 1968 – November 11, 1981) was a Venezuelan champion Thoroughbred horse racing, race horse that may be best remembered for winning the first two legs of the 1971 Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing#United States Triple Cr ...

, the

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n colt who had won the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

and

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

and was poised to win the U.S. Triple Crown. Pass Catcher was ridden in the Belmont Stakes by

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

jockey

Walter Blum Walter Blum (September 28, 1934 – March 14, 2024) was an American jockey who won 4,382 races in a 22-year career. Blum received the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award for being the best jockey of 1964. He won the 1971 Belmont Stakes as the ...

. Pass Catcher disputed the lead with Canonero before drawing away and opening a five length lead. At the eighth pole, Blum dropped his whip but rode the colt to an upset victory over the fast-closing Jim French and

Bold Reason Bold Reason (1968–1985) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland, Champion broodmare sire. Background Bold Reason was bred by Harry F. Guggenheim, Harry Guggenheim, and was si ...

with the favored Canonero finishing fourth. Pass Catcher won minor races at age four until being retired to stand at

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

Stud career

He sired Amber Pass (b. 1977), a multiple stakes winner including the Monmouth Invitational Handicap. Among his other progeny were stakes winners, Amerilad, Melanie Frances, Michelle Can Pass, and Nice Catch.

References

External links

1971 Belmont Stakes at YouTube.com
{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1968 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Belmont Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 1-c