In 1977, Bold Reasoning, an offspring of Bold Ruler’s son Boldnesian, sired the great Seattle Slew, the 1977 Triple Crown champion and a highly successful sire in his own right. A total of seven Kentucky Derby winners in the 1970s were from his bloodlines. His sons produced top runners such as Kentucky Derby winners Dust Commander, Cannonade, Foolish Pleasure, Bold Forbes, and Spectacular Bid. In the ensuing years, his sons and daughters maintained the glory of their bloodlines. Thanks to Secretariat, Bold Ruler posthumously became the leading sire of 1973 and the notion that Bold Rulers hit a wall in the spring of their 3-year-old season became as obsolete as a black and white television. Yet that all changed in 1973 when his most famous son, Secretariat, became the first horse in 25 years to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont and earned acclaim as one of the sport’s greatest champions. When cancer brought his life to an end in 1971, he had never produced the winner of Triple Crown race. While he was the dominant sire of his era, Bold Ruler was always haunted by an inability to produce classic winners. His sons What a Pleasure and Raja Baba became leading sires.ĭuring his years at stud, 22% of his foals became stakes winners. In between were such outstanding runners as Gamely, Bold Bidder, and Vitriolic. He sired 11 champions, beginning with Lamb Chop, the champion 2-year-old filly of 1962 and ending with Wajima, the champion 3-year-old male of 1975. He went on to become North America’s leading sire for a record seven straight years (1963-'69). The highlight was a victory over Round Table and Gallant Man in the 1 1/4-mile Trenton Handicap at Garden State. Two weeks later, after winning an allowance race, he captured the Preakness by two lengths over Kentucky Derby winner Iron Liege.īold Ruler faded to third in the Belmont Stakes but closed out 1957 by winning six of his final seven starts. Yet on the first Saturday in May, a fast pace and the mile-and-a-quarter distance were too much to overcome and he wound up fourth. After finishing second in the Florida Derby, he defeated Gallant Man by a nose in the Wood Memorial and was sent off as the 6-5 favorite in the Kentucky Derby. His bid for the 2-year-old championship ended when poor starts led to unplaced efforts in the Garden State Stakes and Remsen Stakes – his first tries beyond six furlongs.Īt 3, he returned to form and won the Bahamas and Flamingo Stakes. He won his first five starts and then, after runner-up finish in an allowance race, went on to win the prestigious Futurity at Belmont Park. Gladys Mills Phipps, trained by the revered Hall of Famer “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons and ridden in 27 of his 33 races by another of the sport’s greatest figures, Eddie Arcaro.
He was owned by the famed Wheatley Stable of Mrs. He was regally bred, a son of Claiborne Farm’s foundation sire Nasrullah – a leading sire in both United States and Europe – out of Miss Disco, a daughter of 1935 Horse of the Year Discovery.Ī big, 16.1 hands colt, his connections were impeccable.
That Bold Ruler would become a pre-eminent sire was hardly a surprise. He was, after all, the sire of the legendary Secretariat. His influence on the breeding industry was that profound and lasting. Yet for all of that glory, the legacy of Bold Ruler is best reflected in the champions whose bloodlines traced back to him, not his own victories. He was a consensus Horse of the Year choice in 1957 as well as the year’s top 3-year-old. To truly understand the importance of Bold Ruler, it should be pointed out that he is best known for his accomplishments in the breeding shed rather than the racetrack.Īs innocuous as that might seem, it actually speaks volumes because Bold Ruler enjoyed an exceptional career on the racetrack.
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