Horses – Sir Barton

There have been many great triple crown winners in horse racing history. But none faded more into obscurity than triple crown winner Sir Barton.

It wasn’t the last, but it was the first. This was an amazing achievement for this horse considering the following facts. At two years old he lost his first six races. This horse couldn’t get out of his own way and no one gave him a chance to win almost anything, let alone the triple crown. When he was three years old, the only reason he entered his first race in the 1919 Kentucky Derby was to serve as a rabbit for his stablemate, Billy Kelly. But he overcame all the odds, including his stablemate to win the Kentucky Derby by five lengths from Kelly. Just four days later, he won the Preakness in similar fashion to his Derby win. Finally, in the Belmont Stakes, he totally dominated the field and won the race with ease. To make this achievement even greater, he ran the Withers Stakes between the Preakness and Belmont races and won that one as well.

Although Barton’s achievement was simply incredible, it wasn’t until decades later that his triple crown victory became known as the triple crown. Although it is doubtful that many from this era still exist, if they did, most people would agree that this was one of the most amazing feats in any sport, not just horse racing. The problem, however, in addition to the lack of living attendants, was a horse named Man O’ War.

A few months after Sir Barton won the triple crown, Man O’War appeared on the scene. The achievements of this horse, who lost only one race during the period, seemed to dwarf what Sir Barton had done, especially as Man O’ War did not get off to the poor start that Sir Barton had. Many felt Sir Barton was just a fluke as they saw a horse with real talent and potential early on. Because of this, Sir Barton never received the attention he deserved.

To complicate matters, as a four-year-old, Sir Barton alternated between being magnificent and just ordinary. He won only five of his twelve starts when he was four years old. People just couldn’t figure out this horse and never knew which one he was going to see on any given day. He not only didn’t win seven races, but he topped the board twice and lost races that he should have easily won. While this was going on, Man O’ War was unbeatable, and the distance between these two horses only increased. Sir Barton began to fade into the darkness.

Eventually Sir Barton disappeared from sight entirely and was retired at the end of the 1920 season. He was only moderately successful as a stallion. Man O’ War, on the other hand, became an international star by siring a future triple crown winner, War Admiral.

Sir Barton died in 1937.

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