# Blushing John > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Blushing_John > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Blushing_John.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blushing_John > Source revision: 1351878743 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse}} {{no footnotes|date=April 2011}} {{Infobox racehorse | horsename = Blushing John | image = | caption = | sire = [Blushing Groom](/source/Blushing_Groom) | grandsire = [Red God](/source/Red_God) | dam = La Griffe | damsire = [Prince John](/source/Prince_John_(horse)) | sex = [Stallion](/source/Stallion) | foaled = 1985 | country = United States | colour = [Chestnut](/source/Chestnut_(coat)) | breeder = North Ridge Farm | owner = [Allen E. Paulson](/source/Allen_E._Paulson) | trainer = [François Boutin](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Boutin) (France)
[Richard J. Lundy](/source/Richard_J._Lundy) (USA) | record = 19: 9-1-2 | earnings = $1,548,081 | race = [Prix Saint-Roman](/source/Prix_Saint-Roman) (1987)
[Prix de Fontainebleau](/source/Prix_de_Fontainebleau) (1988)
[Poule d'Essai des Poulains](/source/Poule_d'Essai_des_Poulains) (1988)
[Hollywood Gold Cup](/source/Hollywood_Gold_Cup) (1989)
[Pimlico Special](/source/Pimlico_Special) (1989)
[Razorback Handicap](/source/Razorback_Handicap) (1989)
[Washington Park Handicap](/source/Washington_Park_Handicap) (1989) |awards = [American Champion Older Male Horse](/source/American_Champion_Older_Male_Horse) (1989) |honours = |updated= }} '''Blushing John''' (foaled March 9, 1985, in [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky)) is a millionaire [Thoroughbred](/source/Thoroughbred) [racehorse](/source/horse_racing) who competed in France and in the United States. He was bred by Frank Groves' North Ridge Farm near [Lexington, Kentucky](/source/Lexington%2C_Kentucky), and ran under the banner of [Allen E. Paulson](/source/Allen_E._Paulson) as his owner. Out of the mare La Griffe, he was a son of the very influential [Champion sire](/source/Leading_sire_in_Great_Britain_%26_Ireland) [Blushing Groom](/source/Blushing_Groom). == Early career == Blushing John was purchased by American horseman [Allen E. Paulson](/source/Allen_E._Paulson), who maintained racing operations in France and the United States. Paulson sent the colt to trainer [François Boutin](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Boutin) at the [Chantilly Racecourse](/source/Chantilly_Racecourse) training center in France. Sent to the track as a two-year-old, Blushing John won his debut in September 1987 at [Longchamp Racecourse](/source/Longchamp_Racecourse) under regular jockey [Freddy Head](/source/Freddy_Head). His most important win of 1987 came next under substitute jockey [Yves Saint-Martin](/source/Yves_Saint-Martin) in the [Prix Saint-Roman](/source/Prix_Saint-Roman). He then ran third under Head in the [Critérium de Saint-Cloud](/source/Crit%C3%A9rium_de_Saint-Cloud). == Three-year-old season == At age three in France, Blushing John won the [Group 3](/source/Conditions_races) [Prix de Fontainebleau](/source/Prix_de_Fontainebleau) at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) in April. He duplicated that feat when he stepped up in class and won the Group One [Poule d'Essai des Poulains](/source/Poule_d'Essai_des_Poulains), sometimes referred to as the French 2,000 Guineas. Held in May at Longchamp, that race was also run at 1,600 metres (about 1 mile). In the late summer of 1988, Blushing John was sent to the United States to prepare for the 1988 [Breeders' Cup Mile](/source/Breeders'_Cup_Turf_Mile) held the first Saturday of November at [Churchill Downs](/source/Churchill_Downs) in [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville%2C_Kentucky). With his regular jockey, Freddy Head, riding stablemate [Miesque](/source/Miesque), Blushing John was ridden by American jockey [Pat Day](/source/Pat_Day). As a coupled entry, Miesque and Blushing John went off at post time as the even-money favorite. As the gates opened, Blushing John was forced back into ninth in a field of twelve. At the halfway point in the race, he was taken out of his game as an up-close stalker and was placed in the back of the pack. He was never in contention, finishing tenth. Following the Breeders' Cup, Blushing John was freshened for the winter. == Four-year-old season == In the spring of his four-year-old season, Blushing John remained the United States and was turned over to trainer [Dick Lundy](/source/Richard_J._Lundy). Racing on dirt for the first time on the first Saturday in March, Blushing John won the [Razorback Handicap](/source/Razorback_Handicap) at [Oaklawn Park](/source/Oaklawn_Park) in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Then he won again in the [Washington Park Handicap](/source/Washington_Park_Handicap) at [Arlington Park](/source/Arlington_Park) in Chicago, Illinois. During the third week of May in the $750,000 [Grade I](/source/graded_stakes_race) [Pimlico Special](/source/Pimlico_Special) Handicap at [Pimlico Race Course](/source/Pimlico_Race_Course) in [Baltimore, Maryland](/source/Baltimore%2C_Maryland), Blushing John was listed at post time as the third choice in a field of twelve graded stakes winners at 7–1. The field broke well, and Blushing John was a factor early, being forwardly placed. He held back in fourth under patient [Pat Day](/source/Pat_Day) going into the famous clubhouse turn. Slew City Slew and local favorite [Little Bold John](/source/Little_Bold_John) led down the back stretch. Then Blushing John made his move on the far turn and came into contention, challenging [Laffit Pincay Jr.](/source/Laffit_Pincay_Jr.) on Slew City Slew. In the stretch, Blushing John passed Slew City Slew, but Proper Reality went by them both with [Jerry Bailey](/source/Jerry_Bailey) aboard. Blushing John then bore down on Proper Reality and passed him with a sixteenth to go to win by two lengths. Later that summer, Blushing John scored in the Grade I [Hollywood Gold Cup](/source/Hollywood_Gold_Cup) at [Hollywood Park Racetrack](/source/Hollywood_Park_Racetrack). In the final race of his career, he started in the 1989 [Breeders' Cup Classic](/source/Breeders'_Cup_Classic), which NBC announcer [Tom Durkin](/source/Tom_Durkin_(sportscaster)) called "a racing epic." He broke well and stalked the pace in fourth in a tight pack. Going into the first turn, Blushing John rushed up on his own in second to pressure Slew City Slew, who set a blazing first quarter of 22.2. With 3/8 of a mile to go, Blushing John overtook the leader midway around the far turn under jockey [Angel Cordero](/source/Angel_Cordero) and quickly opened up a clear advantage. In the stretch, however, both winner [Sunday Silence](/source/Sunday_Silence) and runner-up [Easy Goer](/source/Easy_Goer) passed him. Blushing John finished third, a length behind the winner and ten lengths in front of the rest of the field in the $3,000,000 Grade I race. Blushing John's 1989 performances, with four wins including two Grade I stakes races and a third in the Classic, earned him the [Eclipse Award](/source/Eclipse_Award) for [American Champion Older Male Horse](/source/American_Champion_Older_Male_Horse). == Retirement == Retired to [stud](/source/stud_(animal)) in the United States Blushing John notably sired the filly [Blushing K.D.](/source/Blushing_K.D.), a winner of multiple stakes races including the Grade I [Kentucky Oaks](/source/Kentucky_Oaks). He eventually was exported to Japan, where he stood at Maruzen Hashimoto Farm until 2004, when he was pensioned. == References == * [http://www.pedigreequery.com/blushing+john Blushing John's pedigree and partial racing stats] Category:1985 racehorse births Category:Racehorses bred in Kentucky Category:Racehorses trained in France Category:Racehorses trained in the United States Category:Grade 1 stakes race winners Category:Eclipse Award winners Category:Thoroughbred family 1-l --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Blushing John](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blushing_John) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blushing_John?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.