Real Quiet (March 7, 1995 – September 27, 2010) 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 ...

. He was nicknamed "The Fish" by his trainer due to his narrow frame. He is best remembered for winning the first two legs of American Triple Crown: 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 the

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 ...

. He engaged in a contentious battle with Victory Gallop in all three Triple Crown races. His loss to Victory Gallop in the third leg, 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 ...

, was the smallest margin of defeat ever, at only four inches. He was bred by Eduardo Gaviria, a Colombian proprietor of two stud farms: one near Bogotá in Colombia and another, Little Hill Farm, in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

, where Real Quiet was foaled. Gaviria purchased mare Really Blue, in foal to Spend A Buck, at the 1990 Keeneland November sale for $37,000. Gaviria decided to breed Really Blue with Quiet American. The result was Real Quiet. However, the colt's crooked knees prompted Gaviria to sell him at a yearling auction to Michael E. Pegram for $17,000.

Two-year-old season

Trained by Bob Baffert, racing as a two-year-old in 1997, Real Quiet started slowly, competing in seven races before getting his first win in a maiden special weight at Hollywood Park at furlongs by three lengths. Later that season, he finished third in the $571,647 Indian Nations Futurity Cup at Santa Fe and third in the $200,000 Grade III Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs, losing to Cape Town. He finished the year with a score in the $1 million

Hollywood Futurity The Los Alamitos Futurity is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds run over a distance of one and one sixteenth miles ( furlongs) on the dirt held annually in early December at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Californi ...

at 8.5 furlongs, defeating Artax and Nationalore. He finished his two-year-old season with a record of 2–0–5 in nine starts with earnings of $381,122.

Three-year-old season

Although still lightly regarded in a year with many quality three-year-olds competing, in 1998 Real Quiet was ridden to victory by jockey Kent Desormeaux in the

. His

Beyer Speed Figure The Beyer Speed Figure is a system for rating the performance of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America designed in the early 1970s by Andrew Beyer, the syndicated horse racing columnist for The Washington Post. First published in book form in ...

recorded in the Hollywood Futurity was the highest Beyer rating of any two-year-old horse that went on to win the Derby. He then won the

. In the

, the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, Real Quiet lost when Victory Gallop beat him by a nose in the final stride of the race. Before American Pharoah won the 2015 Triple Crown, no horse had come closer to taking the Triple Crown since

Affirmed Affirmed (February 21, 1975 – January 12, 2001) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the eleventh winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown. Affirmed was well known ...

's victory in 1978. Kent Desormeaux was criticized for his jockeying in the Belmont Stakes. Many believed he moved out too fast at the start, causing Real Quiet to tire in the final strides of the course. For his performances in 1998, Real Quiet 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. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

for best three-year-old colt.

Four-year-old season

As a four-year-old, Real Quiet won the Grade I Pimlico Special and the Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup. In the $600,000 Special, he was the second choice to Free House, who had won both of his Grade I starts coming into the race that year including the Santa Anita Handicap. They dueled down the home-stretch, with Gary Stevens driving Real Quiet forward and Chris McCarron trying to hold his thin lead aboard Free House. In the final strides, Real Quiet poked his nose in front to win one of the closest Specials ever. "I was afraid that Free House would get out front and steal it," Baffert said. "It looked as though Free House didn't want to give it up. But we were just lucky to get by him." Real Quiet ran the mile and three-sixteenths in 1:54 1/5, returned $5.80 for a $2 bet to win, and added $360,000 to a bankroll that passed $2.6 million. He was the first horse in 50 years to win the Preakness Stakes and the Pimlico Special and is one of only five horses to accomplish that feat along with four Triple Crown winners:

Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...

Whirlaway Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to ...

Assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

and

War Admiral War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse and 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 "Match Ra ...

. That summer, Real Quiet won the $1 million Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup, defeating Budroyale and Malek over ten furlongs in 1:59.67. He also placed third in the Grade II Massachusetts Handicap at

Suffolk Downs Suffolk Downs is a former Thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The track opened in 1935 after being built by Joseph A. Tomasello for a cost of $2 million. It was sold in May 2017 to a developer who plans to cre ...

, losing to Behrens and Running Stag. In addition, he finished second in the Grade III New Orleans Handicap and the Grade III Texas Mile Stakes. Real Quiet was considered to be a strong contender in the Breeders' Cup Classic and was entered in the Pacific Classic as a prep race. However, he was injured and unable to race for the rest of the year. He finished his four-year-old season as a millionaire with a record of 2–2–1 in five starts and annual earnings of $1,101,880.

Retirement

As a 4-year-old, Real Quiet suffered a fractured splint bone in his right front leg. In his career, he hit the board in 17 of 20 starts and earned $3,271,802. Real Quiet entered stud for a fee of $25,000 in 2000 at Vinery Kentucky near Lexington. George Hofmeister's Highland Farm had purchased the breeding rights to the horse the month before the Kentucky Derby. Hofmeister had bought majority interest in Vinery, owned by Ben P. Walden Jr. and his wife, Elaine. Real Quiet later stood at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky and Pin Oak Lane Farm, then Penn Ridge, both in Pennsylvania. He also shuttled to Australia and Uruguay, taking advantage of the reversed breeding season observed in the southern hemisphere. In 2005, he was relocated to Regal Heir Farms in Pennsylvania. He produced a prime runner in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

named Real Spicy, who is owned by Hermie Esguerra. The horse was a strong contender for that country's own version of the 2005 Triple Crown Championship. Although Real Quiet's progeny have not been nearly as successful in the United States, he produced Pussycat Doll, who won the La Brea Stakes and the G1 Humana Distaff Handicap (defeating her stablemate Behaving Badly); No Place Like It, winner of the U.S.A Pine Oak Stakes; and Wonder Lady Ann L, winner of the 2006 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Belmont Park. He also sired back-to-back Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Midnight Lute. Real Quiet died on September 27, 2010, from an injury he suffered after falling in his paddock at Penn Ridge Farms.

Legacy

A street in unincorporated

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County lies beside the Potomac River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 482,204, making it Virginia's second most populous county. The county seat is the independent city of Manassas. A part ...

, intersecting a street named for fellow racehorse

Sunday Silence Sunday Silence (March 25, 1986 – August 19, 2002) was an United States, American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. In 1989, he won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but failed to complete the Triple Cr ...

, is named for him. However, it is misspelled as "Real Quite Ct."

Pedigree

References

External links

Real Quiet
profile on the Stallion Register
Real Quiet
profile at Regal Heir Farms
Real Quiet's pedigree with photosReal Quiet: Three-year-old Male of the Year
{{Preakness Stakes Winners 1995 racehorse births 2010 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Florida Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners Kentucky Derby winners Preakness Stakes winners American Grade 1 Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 4-d