Best Pal
American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse
Best Pal (February 12, 1988, November 24, 1998) was an American Hall of Fame champion racehorse, who retired with the all-time record for purses (since surpassed) of any California-bred, earning for his owners, the Golden Eagle Farm, US$5.6 million over his lifetime.
01Background
Best Pal was a brown gelding bred by John & Betty Mabee. Best Pal was a descendant of Princequillo on both his sire's and dam's line. He was gelded at an early age due to being "studdish and unmanageable".
02Racing career
Best Pal won the first running of the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, and finished second in the 1991 Kentucky Derby. He won the Hollywood Gold Cup and the Santa Anita Handicap, thus capturing all three of California's premier handicap races. In all, Best Pal won 18 races, 17 of them stakes, nearly all in California.
03Retirement
Retired in 1996, Best Pal had a massive heart attack while on his way to a training track at Golden Eagle Farm. He was buried at the farm, and a large boulder with a plaque covers his grave. Best Pal was voted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2010.
04Pedigree
| Sire Habitony (IRE) 1974 |
Habitat (USA) 1966 |
Sir Gaylord | Turn-To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somethingroyal | |||
| Little Hut | Occupy | ||
| Savage Beauty | |||
| Courteous Lady (USA) 1960 |
Gallant Man | Migoli | |
| Majideh | |||
| Fleurlea | Bull Lea | ||
| Blue Lily | |||
| Dam Ubetshedid (USA) 1980 |
King Pellinore (USA) 1972 |
Round Table | Princequillo |
| Knights Daughter | |||
| Thong | Nantallah | ||
| Rough Shod | |||
| Ubetido (USA) 1975 |
Sir Wiggle | Sadair | |
| Wiggle | |||
| Udontmeanit | Gray Phantom | ||
| Lady Bourbon (Family:2-h) |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Best Pal”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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