Alphabet Soup (horse)
Alphabet Soup | |
---|---|
![]() Alphabet Soup At Old Friends (2019) alongside Gorgeous George | |
Sire | Cozzene |
Grandsire | Caro |
Dam | Illiterate |
Damsire | Arts and Letters |
Sex | Stallion |
Foaled | (1991-03-31)March 31, 1991 |
Died | January 28, 2022(2022-01-28) (aged 30) |
Country | United States |
Colour | Gray |
Breeder | Southeast Associates |
Owner | Ridder Thoroughbred Stable |
Trainer | David Hofmans |
Record | 24: 10-3-6 |
Earnings | $2,990,270 |
Major wins | |
Del Mar Breeders' Cup Handicap (1995) Native Diver Handicap (1995) San Pasqual Handicap (1996) Pat O'Brien Handicap (1996) San Antonio Handicap (1996) Breeders' Cup wins: Breeders' Cup Classic (1996) | |
Last updated on June 11, 2014 |
Alphabet Soup (March 31, 1991 – January 28, 2022) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for setting a track record for 1¼ miles at Woodbine Racetrack when he won the 1996 Breeders' Cup Classic, defeating both the great Cigar and Preakness Stakes winner Louis Quatorze. Upon the death of A.P. Indy on February 21, 2020, Alphabet Soup became the oldest living winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic.
He was bred by Southeast Associates, a group led by Roy S. Lerman, and purchased by Californian Georgia B. Ridder. He was a descendant of Nearco, and his damsire was U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Arts and Letters. Purchased privately as a two-year-old by Georgia B. Ridder, Alphabet Soup was late in developing. Mrs. Ridder raced the colt in California, where he began to come into his own at the age of four, winning the 1995 Native Diver and Del Mar Breeders' Cup Handicaps. In 1996, en route to his triumph in that year's Breeders' Cup Classic, he won three important graded stakes races: the San Antonio Handicap, the Pat O'Brien Handicap, and the San Pasqual Handicap, in which he defeated Best Pal. He also crossed the wire first in the Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap but was disqualified and set back to third.
Alphabet Soup raced in 1997 at age six, his best effort coming in defense of the San Antonio Handicap when he finished second to Gentlemen.
He was euthanized due to chronic kidney disease, at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement in Georgetown, Kentucky, on January 28, 2022, at the age of 30.[1]
Stud career
Alphabet Soup retired to stud duty, he stood at Adena Springs in Midway, Kentucky.
Alphabet Soup descendants include:
c = colt, f = filly
Foaled | Name | Sex | Major Wins |
1999 | Our New Recruit | c | Dubai Golden Shaheen |
1999 | M B Sea | c | Fayette Stakes, West Virginia Governor's Stakes |
1999 | Phantom Light | c | Dominion Day Stakes |
2000 | Beautiful Bets | c | Kentucky Cup Distaff Stakes |
2000 | Ladyecho | c | Dearly Precious Stakes |
2001 | Alphabet Kisses | c | La Brea Stakes, A Gleam Handicap |
2002 | Silver Whistle | c | Pan American Stakes |
2006 | Sal the Barber | c | Calder Derby |
2009 | Egg Drop | c | Matriarch Stakes, Las Palmas Handicap, Yellow Ribbon Handicap |
References
- ^ "Breeders' Cup Classic Champion Alphabet Soup Euthanized At Old Friends Due To Chronic Kidney Disease". Horse Racing News | Paulick Report. 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
External links
- Alphabet Soup's win in the 1996 Breeders Cup Classic
- Pedigree and partial racing stats
- Susan Orlean, "An Unlikely Champion Racehorse Who Charmed Everyone" — The New Yorker
- v
- t
- e
- 1984 Wild Again
- 1985 Proud Truth
- 1986 Skywalker
- 1987 Ferdinand
- 1988 Alysheba
- 1989 Sunday Silence
- 1990 Unbridled
- 1991
Black Tie Affair
- 1992 A.P. Indy
- 1993
Arcangues
- 1994 Concern
- 1995 Cigar
- 1996 Alphabet Soup
- 1997 Skip Away
- 1998
Awesome Again
- 1999 Cat Thief
- 2000 Tiznow
- 2001 Tiznow
- 2002 Volponi
- 2003 Pleasantly Perfect
- 2004 Ghostzapper
- 2005 Saint Liam
- 2006
Invasor
- 2007 Curlin
- 2008 Raven's Pass
- 2009 Zenyatta ♥
- 2010 Blame
- 2011 Drosselmeyer
- 2012 Fort Larned
- 2013 Mucho Macho Man
- 2014 Bayern
- 2015 American Pharoah ₩
- 2016 Arrogate
- 2017 Gun Runner
- 2018 Accelerate
- 2019 Vino Rosso
- 2020 Authentic
- 2021 Knicks Go
- 2022 Flightline
- 2023 White Abarrio
Note: All horses were bred in the United States unless noted
Legend – ₩ = Triple Crown winner; ♥ = Filly or mare