(This is the second of a five part series.)
The year of Citation's birth, 1945, was one of the most pivotal in human history. It was a time of devastating trauma, profound sadness, joyful celebration, hope, and a period which steered the course of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The War in Europe reached its end in the spring but the Pacific conflict raged on into summer. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, first voted into the White House in 1932, implemented social and public works programs that helped lift the country out of the economic malaise of the Great Depression; and on December 8, 1941, asked Congress to declare war on Japan in the wake of Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt, known as F.D.R., the only Chief Executive to serve three terms and part of a fourth, who guided the nation through nearly four years of wartime, and considered by many historians as one of the greatest of all presidents, died of a cerebral hemorrhage on April 12, 1945. Vice-President Harry S. Truman, who had never been the President's confidant, was immediately sworn in as the nation's 34th Commander In Chief. With an epic responsibilty thrust upon him, Truman made the excrutiating decision to order atomic strikes that leveled two Japanese cities, Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki, three days later, killing countless thousands of people, and bringing World War II finally to an end. In the aftermath came the emergence of two superpowers, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the dawn of the nuclear age, and accompanying angst of the Cold War. In October 1945, the United Nations came into existence in hopes of promoting a lasting universal peace, but it would be a guarded peace, and one not easily achieved.
The year of Citation's birth, 1945, was one of the most pivotal in human history. It was a time of devastating trauma, profound sadness, joyful celebration, hope, and a period which steered the course of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The War in Europe reached its end in the spring but the Pacific conflict raged on into summer. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, first voted into the White House in 1932, implemented social and public works programs that helped lift the country out of the economic malaise of the Great Depression; and on December 8, 1941, asked Congress to declare war on Japan in the wake of Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt, known as F.D.R., the only Chief Executive to serve three terms and part of a fourth, who guided the nation through nearly four years of wartime, and considered by many historians as one of the greatest of all presidents, died of a cerebral hemorrhage on April 12, 1945. Vice-President Harry S. Truman, who had never been the President's confidant, was immediately sworn in as the nation's 34th Commander In Chief. With an epic responsibilty thrust upon him, Truman made the excrutiating decision to order atomic strikes that leveled two Japanese cities, Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki, three days later, killing countless thousands of people, and bringing World War II finally to an end. In the aftermath came the emergence of two superpowers, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the dawn of the nuclear age, and accompanying angst of the Cold War. In October 1945, the United Nations came into existence in hopes of promoting a lasting universal peace, but it would be a guarded peace, and one not easily achieved.
Meanwhile in the Kentucky heartland, oblivious to the enormous tides of cultural, social and global change swirling around them, were the Thoroughbred foals of 1945, including a colt destined to win sixteen races in a row. But for the time being, Citation , taking his first baby steps, before romping playfully in a paddock with his dam, Hydroplane II, was just another member of the year's crop.
PART TWO: JUVENILE BRILLIANCE
Juggernaut
Citation was bred and foaled in Lexington, Kentucky, at Warren Wright's Calumet Farm. Named after the family's baking powder company, Calumet was founded in 1924 by Wright's father, William Monroe Wright, who bred and raced Standardbreds for harness racing. In 1931, the year of William's death, their horse, Calumet Butler, won the Hambletonian Stakes. Warren soon converted Calumet into a Thoroughbred operation and by 1933 had his first stakes winner, Hadagal, and the following year, his first champion, the filly Nellie Flag, whose dam was Nellie Morse, the fourth filly to win the Preakness Stakes in 1924, a feat that would stand untouched until Rachel Alexandra came home first in 2009. Nellie Flag and Nellie Morse were tail-female ancestors of champion and dual classic winner Bold Forbes, and Lady Golconda, the dam of Forego.
Calumet Farm became the most dominant Thoroughbred operation in American racing history. During the 1930s, Wright made some very important and wise decisions which would ultimately lift his farm to the top of the ladder. His first was the purchase of Bull Lea; the second was acquiring an interest in the English stallion Bleinheim II; and the third was hiring Ben Jones and his son, Horace A.“Jimmy” Jones, two of the best horsemen in the game. Having won the 1938 Kentucky Derby with Woolford Farm's Lawrin, Ben and Jimmy would do considerably more aboard Wright's bandwagon. The Calumet juggernaut was thus underway and Bleinheim II was the first to get it rolling.
The same year of Lawrin's Derby win, a chestnut colt by Bleinheim II, out of the Sweep mare Dustwhirl, was foaled at Calumet. One of the most colorful, loveable, and also wacky racehorses to enchant the racing public, he won the Triple Crown in 1941. His margin of victory in the Run for the Roses was eight lengths, a record he still shares with three others, and his finishing time of 2:01 2/5 stood alone until Decidedly equaled it in 1962, and Northern Dancer (CAN.) eclipsed it two years later. In a four year career, the popular horse started sixty times, posting thirty-two wins, fifteen seconds, and nine thirds, with forty-four of those races in stakes company. He also bankrolled $561,161, a large pile of dough in those days. Affectionately known as “Whirly,” or “Mr. Longtail,” Whirlaway was Calumet's first big star and a dual Horse of the Year in 1941-42.
In 1944, another Calumet runner, the Hyperion (GB) chestnut colt Pensive, became a dual classic winner, and finished second in the Belmont Stakes, while Bull Lea's daughter, Twilight Tear, was named Horse of the Year, three-year-old champion filly and champion handicap female. In the decade of the 1940s alone, Calumet runners would bring home the Horse of the Year trophy five times, a winner of the Triple Crown twice, and scores of championships.
Beginning of a Good Horse
Two-year-old Citation was part of the Calumet army of warriors ready to defeat all adversaries on the field of battle. But the emphasis wasn't primarily on him but rather on getting all the youngsters racing and succeeding, being the first at the finish and subsequently the first at the bank. It didn't take much effort.
On April 22, 1947, a Canadian rider named Albert Snider, would go four for four on the day at Havre de Grace racetrack in Maryland. One of the contests he won was race three, a four and a half furlong maiden special weight for two-year-olds and underneath him was Citation in his debut. Part of an eleven horse field on a sloppy track, the colt broke behind the leader, maintained a position in third, before eventually forging ahead to win by a half length, with Sunday Beau and Brass Band following. The winner's time was a brisk :54 2/5.
Citation and Snider returned less than two weeks later and won a five furlong allowance at Pimlico, creating three and a half lengths of separation, over five other juveniles. On May 21, the pair was back at Havre de Grace where Citation annexed the five furlong Perry Point Stakes, by a length and a half on a track labeled good, giving the second and third finishers six and three pounds respectively.
Citation was next scheduled to run in the Eastern Shore Stakes the following Monday, but instead spiked a temperature and was sidelined for the next two months. When he returned on July 24, for a five furlong allowance at Arlington Park, jockey Doug Dodson was on his back. In a field of eight, Citation sat in fourth, then closed rapidly to win by a half length, setting a track mark of :58 flat. Dodson retained the mount and steered the colt to another victory one week later in Washington Park's six furlong Elementary Stakes. Against nine rivals, Citation broke alertly, sat behind the early leader Pinebloom, before making his bid approaching home. He drew away by two lengths, under 122 pounds, conceding twelve to runner-up Salmagundi and nine to Billings in third. He was now undefeated in five starts. Next on Citation's agenda was the Washington Futurity and two of his stablemates, Free America and the small filly Bewitch, would also run.
Bewitch
The brown Bewitch, by Bull Lea out of the Wildair mare Potheen, was currently as bright a star as Citation, and perhaps brighter. Bewitch made her racing debut over Keeneland's inner dirt track, in a four furlong maiden special weight on April 10, 1947. Under Dodson, she broke fifth, then quickly assumed the lead and romped home by six lengths against ten opponents. She returned one week later against males, again going four furlongs on the same surface, and defeated Circus Clown by a neck with the filly Hilda, six lengths farther back in third. Approximately two weeks later, Bewitch dazzled her division at Churchill Downs in the five furlong Debutante, running off by eight lengths.
Ben Jones now turned over the filly's handling to Jimmy. Bewitch returned in open company on June 16 at Arlington Park in the Hyde Park Stakes, in a field of twelve. Travelling five and a half furlongs, she broke behind the leader, but quickly too charge and was never seen again, hitting the wire by another eight length margin, while giving the second and third place male finishers three pounds each. She continued her onslaught, winning her next three races, the five and a half furlong Polyanna, six furlong Arlington Lassie, and Washington Park's six furlong Princess Pat by a combined ten and three-quarter lengths.
1,2,3
Citation, Bewitch and Free America met up as a Calumet three-horse entry for the Washington Park Futurity on August 16 and the filly, under 119, carried a pound more than the other two. Jimmy had three young, developing horses, and all he was interested in doing was sweeping the race. This wasn't one horse against the other, but rather the Calumet team against everybody else. As long as his runners were 1,2,3, down the lane and kept at it, it didn't matter what order they finished. Steve Brooks rode Citation. Jack Westrope was under Free America, who was three for four coming into the race. In a field of ten, Bewitch, under Dodson, took the lead after the break and kept it, streaking the six furlongs in a fast 1:10 2/5, with Citation a length behind, followed closely by Free America, a head back. It was an important win for Bewitch, now eight for eight, and with the $63,150 she cashed, her career earnings stood at $206,875. She was now just $12,125 shy of the world juvenile money record set by the filly Top Flight in 1931, when she amassed $219,000.
Citation, experiencing defeat for the first time, had his five race win streak snapped. Could he have beaten his female stablemate if asked? Could Free America have won? Or was the outcome by design? The answer was probably yes and no. While the riders had been given specific instructions, Bewitch's win was no fluke. She took charge immediately out of the gate and kept to her task. She had also put her brilliance on display repeatedly over the last five months and would later earn a year-end championship. Bewitch and Citation would race against each other several more times during their careers, but this day belonged to her. She finally suffered her first loss at the end of September, after actually winning the Matron Stakes; however, she ran erratically, was disqualified and placed last. Dodson was also suspended.
Moving Forward
Citation now made his first trip to New York to face thirteen runners in Belmont Park's six furlong Futurity Trial on September 30. Contested on the Widener Course, he broke from post two with Snider back aboard. Running into a strong wind, the son of Bull Lea won by a good length in 1:11, as the second choice behind My Request, who finished seventh. Citation was now six for seven.
On October 4, twelve males and two females stepped into the gate for the fifty-eighth running of the Belmont Futurity, over 6 1/2 furlongs, with the Calumet entry of Citation and Bewitch favored. Citation was off well, and Snider tucked him back in third. The colt made his bid approaching the wire, bounding away by three lengths in a time of 1:15 4/5 over the fast track. It appeared that Bewitch would gain the place spot but Whirling Fox, a son of Whirlaway, with a strong late rush in the closing yards, snatched it away by a neck. Of the $106,030 purse, Citation netted $78,430 to boost his earnings to $119,005. Bewitch made less than $7,000 for her third place finish, leaving her still $5,325 short of Top Flight.
On November 8, Citation was back in Maryland at Pimlico, and entered starting stall four among a small field of five for the one and one-sixteenth mile Pimlico Futurity. Dodson was again in the irons and it would be the young horse's first time going a route of ground. He sat off the pace for several furlongs as the fractions over a muddy track were :23 4/5, :48 3/5, and six furlongs in 1:14. It was nearly time for Citation to move and with just over a furlong to go, he caught the Eddie Arcaro ridden Better Self, then advanced ahead, before crossing the wire with a one and a half length margin in 1:48 4/5. Citation had earlier demonstrated adeptness over an off track, and he had now done it again going a distance. He also pocketed $36,675.
With the year's business concluded, the Calumet horses went to Florida where they would do their winter racing.
The Calumet Champions
As a two-year-old, Citation made nine starts, posting eight wins and one second for earnings of $155,680. The turf writers from Triangle Publications, publisher of Daily Racing Form, announced their year-end champions. Calumet's six-year-old brown gelding and Bull Lea son, Armed, already the previous year's handicap champion, repeated that honor in 1947; and by defeating the 1946 Triple Crown winner Assault in the Invitation Special at Belmont Park, Armed was voted Horse of the Year. Citation was named two-year-old champion colt and two-year-old champion, while Bewitch took two-year-old champion filly honors. She failed however to catch Top Flight's juvenile money earnings record, her year's bankroll stopping at $213,675.
The other voting group, Turf and Sport Digest, also named Armed as their Horse of the Year, after finishing second to Assault the year before. Citation was runner-up in the balloting but well back of Armed. Calumet also picked up divisional championships for Citation and Bewitch.
Calumet Farm earned a record $1,402,436 for the season and posted one hundred victories, its last win coming by a three-year-old claiming horse named Great Spirit.
Successor
One week before Citation closed out his two-year-old campaign, the sport was striken with a loss that would leave an enormous void. In one of the most solemn days in the history of Thoroughbred racing, on November 1, 1947, Man o'War died at the advanced age of thirty. The undisputed king of the American turf, Man o'War had reigned supreme as a racer, and later became an outstanding stallion, among his descendents, son War Admiral, the 1937 Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year, and grandson Seabiscuit, Horse of the Year in 1938. Among the most revered horses of any breed, in any time, and spectacular winner of twenty of twenty-one races in 1919-20, Man o'War had a national radio broadcasted funeral attended by dignitaries inside and outside the racing world, who eulogized the flaming red colt from Faraway Farm. The magnificent horse had been the unreachable standard for all Thoroughbreds. The mere thought there could ever be a replacement for Man o'War was incomprehensible, his super equine feats beyond the ability of any racehorse.
Was it even remotely possible that someday such a horse would exist great enough to succeed Man o'War? His first championship collected, Citation was about to become not only Man o'War's worthy successor, but arguably his equal.
To Be Continued...
Resources
Thoroughbred Times Co. Inc., The Original Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac 2009 (Lexington, KY: Thoroughbred Times Books, 2008).
Associated Press. “Canadian Jockey Has Banner Day,” The Daily Messenger, April 23, 1947.
Associated Press, “Citation Favored In Coming Race,” Daily Times-News, May 22, 1947.
Associated Press, “Citation Speeds To Fifth Victory In Rich Stakes,” The New York Times, July 31, 1947.
Pohla Smith, Citation Thoroughbred Legends, No. 3 (Lexington, KY: Eclipse Press, 2000).
Phil Georgeff, Citation: In a Class by Himself (Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2003).
Daily Racing Form, Champions: The Lives, Times, and Past Performances of America's Greatest Thoroughbreds. Revised Edition. Champions from 1893-2004. (New York: Daily Racing Form Press, 2005).
The Blood-Horse, Thoroughbred Champions: Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century, (Lexington, KY: The Blood-Horse, Inc., 1999).
Associated Press, “Bewitch Seeking Earnings Record,” The Free Lance-Star, August 15, 1947.
Associated Press, “Unbeaten Bewitch Tries For 8th Win At Chicago Track,” The Sandusky Register-Star-News, August 16, 1947.
Associated Press, “Calumet Trio Heads Futurity Field Today,” The New York Times, August 16, 1947.
Associated Press, “Calumet Entries Rate In Futurity,” The News-Palladium, August 16, 1947.
Associated Press, “Undefeated Bewitch Paces Calumet Trio To a Sweep of Washington Park Futurity,” The New York Times, August 17, 1947.
Associated Press. “Bewitch and Stablemates Finish 1-2-3 In Futurity,” The Post-Standard, August 17, 1947.
Associated Press, “Bewitch Is Winner In Rich Washington Park Futurity Race,” Joplin Globe, August 17, 1947.
Associated Press, “Citation Outruns Classy Juveniles In Belmont Race,” The Post-Standard, October 1, 1947.
James Roach, “Citation Takes Futurity Trial at Belmont Park,” The New York Times, October 1, 1947.
Associated Press, “Citation Gallops To Belmont Win,” Portland Press Herald, October 1, 1947.
Associated Press, “Citation Leads Racing Roundup,” The Spokesman-Review, October 1, 1947.
James Roach, “Bewitch and Citation Head Futurity Field Today,” The New York Times, October 4, 1947.
Associated Press, “Citation Takes $78,430 First Money In Winning At Belmont. Calumet Farm's Great Colt In Swift Victory,” Portland Sunday Telegram And Sunday Press Herald, October 5, 1947.
James Roach, “Calumet's Citation, Bewitch Run One, Three in Futurity, The New York Times, October 5, 1947.
Associated Press, “Citation Earns $78,430 Purse by Winning Belmont Futurity,” The Post-Standard, October 5, 1947.
Associated Press, “Loyal Legion Runs Third and Talon Fourth in $25,000 Added Contest---Citation Heads Futurity Field Today,” The New York Times, November 8, 1947.
Associated Press, “Citation Gallops To Futurity Win,” Portland Sunday Telegram and Sunday Press Herald, November 9, 1947.
Associated Press, “Citation, 2-5 Favorite, Annexes Rich Pimlico Futurity,” The New York Times, November 9, 1947.
Associated Press, “Calumet Farm Will Favor Florida,” Daytona Beach Morning Journal, November 21, 1947.
Associated Press, “Armed Is Chosen Horse of Year,” The Milwaukee Journal, November 29, 1947.
Associated Press, “Armed Is Proclaimed No. 1 Horse of Year,” Schenectady Gazette, November 29, 1947.
Associated Press, “Armed Elected '47's Best Horse,” The Free Lance-Star, December 16, 1947.
Associated Press, “Race Horses Belong in Front and That's Place for Calumet,” The Milwaukee Journal, December 31, 1947.
Copyright 2011, 2012 by John Califano
