Bewitch

Bewitch (1945–1959) was a Thoroughbred race horse born in 1945 at Calumet Farm, Kentucky, United States in the same crop in which the stallion Bull Lea produced Citation and Coaltown. Each of them was eventually inaugurated into the Thoroughbred Hall of Fame. Bewitch was the only filly of the three.[2]

Bewitch
SireBull Lea
GrandsireBull Dog
DamPotheen
DamsireWildair
SexFilly
Foaled1945
CountryUnited States
ColourBrown
BreederCalumet Farm
OwnerCalumet Farm
TrainerBen Jones
H. A. "Jimmy" Jones
Record55 Starts: 20-10-11
Earnings$462,605
Major wins
Washington Park Futurity (1947)
Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes (1947)
Princess Pat Stakes (1947)
Debutante Stakes (1947)
Modesty Stakes (1948)
Ashland Stakes (1948)
Beverly Handicap (1949)
Vineland Handicap (1949)
Black Helen Handicap (1949)
Vanity Handicap (1950)
Awards
American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly (1947)
American Champion Older Female Horse (1949)
Honours
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame (1977)
#89 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century[1]

From her dam, Potheen (purchased by Warren Wright for the small sum of $500), Bewitch inherited the blood of Broomstick, whose sire was the great Ben Brush. On her mother's side also flowed the blood of Peter Pan (sired by Commando) and Hanover (sired by Hindoo).

Trained by the Hall of Famer Ben A. Jones, as a two-year-old Bewitch won her first eight starts, six of them consecutive stakes races. In her first effort, she led throughout and won by six lengths. One of these stakes was the Washington Park Futurity, in which she beat Citation, the only defeat he suffered as a two-year-old.[3]

Before the end of her first season, Ben Jones turned her training over to his son, Jimmy Jones, who also became a member of the Hall of Fame. Bewitch was named the Champion Two-Year-Old Filly for 1947. At the end of her third season, even though she was out of action with bucked shins until late June, she won four of her six starts.

When she was four, in winning the Beverly Handicap at the old Washington Park Race Track in Chicago, Illinois, she ran the fastest mile ever run by a filly.

At the age of five, she raced from one end of the country to the other, unplaced only once. When she was six, she ran fifteen times, twelve of those races against males.

When she retired, Bewitch had earned $462,605, which made her the greatest money-earning filly to date. In 1977, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame along with both her trainers, father and son, as well as her running mates, Citation and Coaltown.

Racing Record

Assessment

In a poll among members of the American Trainers Association, conducted in 1955 by Delaware Park Racetrack, Bewitch was voted the ninth greatest filly in American racing history. Gallorette was voted first.

Retired

Bewitch had only two foals, both of which died before they reached racing age. When she herself died in 1959, she was buried at Calumet.

Pedigree

Pedigree of Bewitch, brown mare, 1945
Sire
Bull Lea
Bull Dog Teddy Ajax
Rondeau
Plucky Liege Spearmint
Concertina
Rose Leaves Ballot Voter
Cerito
Colonial Trenton
Thankful Blossom
Dam
Pothleen
Wildair Broomstick Ben Brush
Elf
Verdure Peter Pan
Pastorella
Rosie O'Grady Hamburg Hanover
Lady Reel
Cherokee Rose Peter Pan
Royal Rose (family: 8-c)

References

  1. Thoroughbred Champions: Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century, page 227. The Blood-Horse. 2000-10-25. ISBN 9781581500240. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  2. "Bewitch in the Hall of Fame". National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. 1977-01-01. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  3. "The Gal who Beat Citation, 1947". Colin's Ghost. 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
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