Telly's Pop (foaled February 25, 1973 in

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 ...

) was an American

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 who was the first horse to ever win the California Triple Crown for two-year-olds. He was purchased for $6000 by the racing partnership of Hollywood

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and producer Howard Koch and actor

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (; January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was a Greek-American actor. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on the crime drama series '' Kojak'' (1973� ...

who named the horse for his father.

Breeding

Bred by Ken Dodd and trainer Mel Stute, Telly's Pop was sired by Bold Combatant, a son of the outstanding Champion stallion and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 12, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

. His dam was Count Us Mary whose grandsire was the 1943 U.S. Triple Crown champion,

Count Fleet Count Fleet (March 24, 1940 – December 3, 1973) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the sixth winner of the American Triple Crown. He won the Belmont Stakes by a then record margin of twenty-five lengths. After an undefeated ...

Racing career

In his outstanding two-year-old season, in addition to a win in the Haggin Stakes Telly's Pop won the 1975

Del Mar Futurity The Del Mar Futurity is a seven-furlong American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. A Grade I event since 2007, the race is open to two-year-old horses and offers a purse of $300,000. In 1971, it wa ...

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is an event venue in Del Mar, California. It hosts the annual San Diego County Fair. The venue sits on a property along the Pacific Ocean coastline. It includes the Del Mar Racetrack, built in 1936 by the Del Mar Thoroug ...

followed by the Norfolk Stakes 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 then the California Juvenile Stakes at

Bay Meadows Racetrack Bay Meadows was a horse racing track in San Mateo, California from 1934 until 2008, in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States. History Built on the site of an old airfield, Bay Meadows Racecourse was the longest continually operating ...

, all

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

events that comprised the California Triple Crown for his age group. Telly's Pop made his three-year-old debut with a win in the March 13, 1976

California Derby at

Golden Gate Fields Golden Gate Fields was an American horse racing race track, track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closi ...

. The win made him the favorite for the March 28

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of . It is one of t ...

, California's most important race for three-year-olds. However, Telly's Pop finished fifth in the Santa Anita Derby and then sixth in the

Hollywood Derby The Hollywood Derby is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November/early December. Now held at Del Mar racetrack in San Diego, California, until 2014 it was held at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, Californi ...

. Suffering from soreness in a foreleg and in his back, he did not race again that year. He returned to the track on April 16, 1977 but never regained his racing form and was retired after running sixth in a Santa Anita Park

allowance race The following is a glossary of North American horse racing. Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical term ...

on October 14, 1977.Observer-Reporter (Washington, Pennsylvania) - April 22, 1976
/ref>

References

{{reflist 1973 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 3-i Racehorses bred in California Racehorses trained in the United States