# Gun Bow

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{{short description|American Thoroughbred racehorse}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox racehorse
| horsename = Gun Bow
| image = 
| caption = 
| sire = Gun Shot
| grandsire = [Hyperion](/source/Hyperion_(horse))
| dam = Ribbons and Bows
| damsire = [War Admiral](/source/War_Admiral)
| sex = [Stallion](/source/Stallion_(horse))
| foaled = 1960
| country = United States
| colour = [Bay](/source/Bay_(horse))
| breeder = [Maine Chance Farm](/source/Maine_Chance_Farm)
| owner = Gedney Farms
| trainer = [Edward A. Neloy](/source/Edward_A._Neloy)
| record = 42: 17-8-4
| earnings = $798,722<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pedigreequery.com/gun+bow|title=Gun Bow Horse Pedigree}}</ref>
| race = [Narragansett Special](/source/Narragansett_Special) (1963)<br />[Brooklyn Handicap](/source/Brooklyn_Handicap) (1964)<br />[Gulfstream Park Handicap](/source/Gulfstream_Park_Handicap) (1964)<br />[San Antonio Handicap](/source/San_Antonio_Handicap) (1964, 1965)<br />[San Fernando Stakes](/source/San_Fernando_Breeders'_Cup_Stakes) (1964)<br />[Strub Stakes](/source/Strub_Stakes) (1964)<br />[Washington Park Handicap](/source/Washington_Park_Handicap) (1964)<br />[Whitney Handicap](/source/Whitney_Handicap) (1964)<br />[Woodward Stakes](/source/Woodward_Stakes) (1964)<br />[Donn Handicap](/source/Donn_Handicap) (1965)<br />[Metropolitan Handicap](/source/Metropolitan_Handicap) (1965)
| awards= 
| honours = [United States' Racing Hall of Fame](/source/National_Museum_of_Racing_and_Hall_of_Fame) (1999)
| updated= April 15, 2007
}}
'''Gun Bow''' (1960 &ndash; December 1979) was an American [Thoroughbred](/source/Thoroughbred) [racehorse](/source/horse_racing). He was one of America's leading older male racehorses in 1964 and 1965 and was later inducted into the [Hall of Fame](/source/National_Museum_of_Racing_and_Hall_of_Fame). Gun Bow was noted for his rivalry with five-time [American Horse of the Year](/source/American_Horse_of_the_Year) [Kelso](/source/Kelso_(horse)).

==Background==
Owned and bred by [cosmetics](/source/cosmetics) tycoon [Elizabeth Arden](/source/Elizabeth_Arden) at her [Maine Chance Farm](/source/Maine_Chance_Farm), Gun Bow was sired by Gun Shot, a son of [Hyperion](/source/Hyperion_(horse)), the 1933 [Epsom Derby](/source/Epsom_Derby) winner and a six-time [leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland](/source/leading_sire_in_Great_Britain_%26_Ireland). He was out of the mare Ribbons and Bows, a daughter of 1937 [U.S. Triple Crown](/source/Triple_Crown_of_Thoroughbred_Racing) champion [War Admiral](/source/War_Admiral).

Lameness kept Gun Bow out of racing at age two and as a result of American tax laws at the time, Arden sold Gun Bow in December 1962 to Harry Albert and Mrs. John Stanley of [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey), who raced him under the name Gedney Farms. He was conditioned by future Hall of Fame [trainer](/source/horse_trainer) [Edward A. Neloy](/source/Edward_A._Neloy).

==Racing career==
As a three-year-old in 1963, Gun Bow won six of his eighteen starts. His most significant 1963 win came in the [Narragansett Special](/source/Narragansett_Special) at [Narragansett Park](/source/Narragansett_Park) in [Pawtucket, Rhode Island](/source/Pawtucket%2C_Rhode_Island). However, by age four he had developed into a powerful runner and a major rival for [Kelso](/source/Kelso_(horse)).

In his 1964 season, Gun Bow traveled across the United States. He raced in [California](/source/California) as well as at [Arlington Park](/source/Arlington_Park) in the [Midwest](/source/Midwestern_United_States), plus at tracks on the [East Coast](/source/East_Coast_of_the_United_States), from [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) thorough [Florida](/source/Florida). He won eight of his sixteen starts, including three important [graded stakes race](/source/graded_stakes_race)s on the [West Coast](/source/West_Coast_of_the_United_States), and had wins in major East Coast races such as the [Woodward Stakes](/source/Woodward_Stakes). He defeated Kelso by twelve lengths in the [Brooklyn Handicap](/source/Brooklyn_Handicap) while setting a new track record for 10 [furlong](/source/furlong)s. He gave the U.S. a one-two finish against an international field when he came in second to Kelso in record time in the [Washington, D.C. International](/source/Washington%2C_D.C._International_Stakes). In September, his owners syndicated 60% of Gun Bow to a group led by [John R. Gaines](/source/John_R._Gaines), which included former owner, Elizabeth Arden. For the 1964 racing year, Gun Bow had earnings of more than $580,000.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930082145/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,830598-1,00.html {{"'}}He's a Freak{{'"}}]. ''[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))''. September 4, 1964.</ref>

Racing at age five, Gun Bow won three of eight starts, claiming his second straight [San Antonio Handicap](/source/San_Antonio_Handicap) in California plus the [Metropolitan](/source/Metropolitan_Handicap) and [Donn Handicap](/source/Donn_Handicap)s in the East.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

==Stud career==
Gun Bow retired to [stud](/source/horse_breeding) duty after his 1965 racing season, but his offspring met with modest racing success. Notably, his outstanding daughter [Pistol Packer](/source/Pistol_Packer) won several Group One races in [France](/source/France), including the 1971 [Prix de Diane](/source/Prix_de_Diane). In 1974, Gun Bow was sold to a breeding farm in [Japan](/source/Japan) where he died in December 1979.<ref>{{cite web|last=Staff|title=Gunbow|url=https://www.studbook.jp/users/en/Honba.php?sid=230353|publisher=Japan Race Horse Registry|access-date=November 30, 2013}}</ref>

In 1999, Gun Bow was inducted into the United States' [National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame](/source/National_Museum_of_Racing_and_Hall_of_Fame).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=340 |title=National Museum of Racing - Just for Kids |website=www.racingmuseum.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041122130326/http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=340 |archive-date=November 22, 2004}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

* [Bowen, Edward L.](/source/Edward_L._Bowen) ''At the Wire: Horse Racing's Greatest Moments'' (2001) [Eclipse Press](/source/Eclipse_Press) {{ISBN|978-1-58150-070-7}}

Category:1960 racehorse births
Category:1979 racehorse deaths
Category:Racehorses bred in Kentucky
Category:Racehorses trained in the United States
Category:United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Thoroughbred family 1-k

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gun Bow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_Bow) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_Bow?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.