Irish Lad

{{short description|American Thoroughbred racehorse}} {{Infobox racehorse | horsename = Irish Lad | image = [[File:Irish Lad (horse).jpg|200px]] | caption = Circa 1902. | sire = Candlemas | grandsire = [[Hermit (horse)|Hermit]] | dam = Arrowgrass | damsire = Enquirer | sex = [[Stallion (horse)|Stallion]] | foaled = 1900 | country = United States | colour = [[Bay (horse)|Dark Bay/Brown]] | breeder = [[H. Eugene Leigh]] | owner = 1) [[John E. Madden]] 2) Westbury Stable ([[Herman B. Duryea|H. B. Duryea]] & [[Harry Payne Whitney|H. P. Whitney]]) | trainer = 1) John E. Madden 2) [[John W. Rogers (horse trainer)|John W. Rogers]] | record = 33: 12-5-2 | earnings = US$99,250 | race = [[Flatbush Stakes]] (1902) [[Great Trial Stakes]] (1902) [[Saratoga Special Stakes]] (1902) [[Brooklyn Handicap]] (1903) [[Broadway Stakes]] (1903) Saratoga Champion Stakes (1903) [[Advance Stakes]] (1904) [[Metropolitan Handicap]] (1904) | awards = [[American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt]] (1902) | honours = Irish Lad Purse at [[Belmont Park]] | updated= April 2, 2010 }} '''Irish Lad''' (1900–1925) was an American [[Thoroughbred]] Champion [[Horse racing|racehorse]] and a [[world record]] holder.

==Background== Irish Lad was bred by [[H. Eugene Leigh]]. In the fall of 1901 Leigh sold the yearling to [[John E. Madden|John Madden]] for $2,550. Madden conditioned him for racing and brought him to the track in the spring of 1902.

==Racing career== Irish Lad showed enough potential that [[Herman B. Duryea|Herman Duryea]] and [[Harry Payne Whitney|Harry Whitney]] paid $17,500 for him.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605045936/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/408585601.html?dids=408585601:408585601&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jun+29,+1902&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=RICH+EVENT+TO+IRISH+LAD.&pqatl=google ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' - June 29, 1902]</ref> Racing under the partners ''[[Glossary of North American horse racing|nom de course]]'', Westbury Stable, and still trained by John Madden, Irish Lad won important races such as the [[Great Trial Stakes]] at [[Sheepshead Bay Race Track]] and the [[Saratoga Special Stakes]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1902/06/29/archives/irish-lads-great-trial-whitney-and-duryeas-new-purchase-won-20000.html ''New York Times'' - June 29, 1902]</ref> His 1902 performances earned him retrospective [[American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt]] honors. [[File:Irish Lad at Saratoga Stakes.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Irish Lad at 1902 [[Saratoga Special Stakes]] beating Dazzling.]] As a three-year-old, Irish Lad's training was taken over by [[John W. Rogers (horse trainer)|John W. Rogers]]. His biggest win of 1903 came on May 28 in the [[Brooklyn Handicap]] at [[Gravesend Race Track]] in which he set a new stakes record time.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZEsuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=u34FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4855,4190674&dq=irish-lad&hl=en ''Montreal Gazette '' – May 29, 1903]</ref> Irish Lad set a new [[Glossary of North American horse racing#track record/course record|track record]] at [[Saratoga Race Course]] in winning the Saratoga Champion Stakes in a time of 2:05 flat for a mile and one-quarter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/08/16/archives/irish-lads-champion-race-great-colt-broke-saratoga-track-record-in.html|title=Irish Lad's Champion Race.; Great Colt Broke Saratoga Track Record in Winning Big Event|work=[[New York Times]]|page=12|date=1903-08-16|accessdate=2020-07-15}}</ref>

In May 1904, four-year-old Irish Lad won the prestigious [[Metropolitan Handicap]] at [[Morris Park Racecourse]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605050000/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/405095991.html?dids=405095991:405095991&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=May+06,+1904&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=IRISH+LAD+FIRST+AT+MORRIS+PARK.&pqatl=google ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' - May 6, 1904]</ref> then on June 26 at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track he set a world record of 2:17.60 for a mile and three eighths on dirt in winning the [[Advance Stakes]] over what the ''[[New York Times]]'' described as five of the best horses in the United States.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1904/06/26/archives/irish-lads-great-race-famous-colt-set-a-worlds-record-in-winning.html ''New York Times'' - June 26, 1904 article titled "Famous Colt Set a World's Record in Winning Advance Stakes"]</ref> Irish Lad came out of the July 9 [[Brighton Handicap]] badly lame and was retired <ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1904/07/11/archives/irish-lads-breakdown-owners-of-famous-horse-disinclined-to-train.html ''New York Times'' - July 11, 1904 article titled IRISH LAD'S BREAKDOWN]</ref> but in May 1905 it was announced that he was back in training.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1905/05/30/archives/irish-lad-training-on.html ''New York Times'' - May 30, 1905]</ref> In June 1905 Irish Lad finished ninth in an all-age handicap at Gravesend Race Track <ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1905/06/07/archives/tradition-won-in-mud-five-favorites-lost-great-filly-took-the.html ''New York Times'' - June 7, 1905]</ref> and shortly thereafter was retired to [[Stud (animal)|stud]]. <ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1905/07/16/archives/turf-champions-ready-for-brilliant-finish-sensational-sport.html ''New York Times'' - July 16, 1905]</ref>

==Stud record== Irish Lad had sired only a few horses while at stud in the United States when the [[Legislature of New York]] passed the [[Hart–Agnew Law|Hart–Agnew anti-betting law]] that resulted in the complete shutdown of racing. As a consequence, Irish Lad, along with other horses owned by Duryea such as [[Frizette]], were sent to his newly acquired [[Haras du Gazon]] stud farm in [[Neuvy-au-Houlme]] in [[Lower Normandy]], France. There, he also met with limited success but did notably sire [[Banshee (horse)|Banshee]], winner of the 1913 [[Poule d'Essai des Pouliches]] (French 1000 Guineas) and [[Pellsie]] who won the 1919 [[Prix de Diane]] (French Oaks).

Irish Lad died Haras du Gazon in 1925 of old age.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1925/06/07/archives/famous-irish-lad-dies-abroad-at-25-mrs-hb-duryeas-racer-was-winner.html ''New York Times'' - June 7, 1925]</ref>

==Sire line tree== {{tree list}} *'''Irish Lad'''<ref>[https://www.tbheritage.com/HistoricSires/JumpSires/JumpsiresDAA.html Jumpers: Darley Arabian Sire Line]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250213094028/https://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Sirelines/Camel.htm Sire Line: Camel]</ref><ref>[https://www.tbheritage.com/HistoricSires/SireLineschts/SireLineDANewminster.html Darley Arabian Sire Line: Newminster Branch]</ref><ref>[https://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com/irish-lad.html American Classic Pedigree: Irish Lad]</ref> **Blarney ***Guido Reni ****Bassam *****[[Limber Hill]] {{tree list/end}}

==References== * [http://www.pedigreequery.com/irish+lad Irish Lad's pedigree and partial racing stats] {{reflist}}

[[Category:1900 racehorse births]] [[Category:1925 racehorse deaths]] [[Category:Racehorses bred in Kentucky]] [[Category:Racehorses trained in the United States]] [[Category:American Champion racehorses]] [[Category:Horse racing track record setters]] [[Category:Thoroughbred family A22]]