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Heaven Doth Weep for the Departed California

Original article written by Fanta Arcadia posted 10 years 0 weeks ago

Laura Ferguson has had some of the most famous names in racing grace her barns and pastures, and this past week her barn was hit brutally hard in the deaths of the two half-brothers, Del Mar and California. The two sons of Desert Darkness passed away within twenty-four hours of each other, but they left behind a legacy that will not soon be forgotten by the members of the racing community.

California was the elder of the two and, like his little brother, stood at 16.2 hands with a bay coat. The only visible differences between the two half-brothers being that California had an elongated star, whereas Del Mar had a stripe, and California’s coat was of a darker chocolate color.

California raced only thirteen times in his career, and only lost three of those races but in the three that he lost he never finished worse than third. The son of A.P. Indy had a brief two year old campaign that saw him break his maiden on his first try, and in his second and final start of the year he won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes for two year olds. He opened his three year old year with a scintillating 15 ½ length triumph in the Lane’s End Stakes, and a five and a half length win in the Blue Grass Stakes.

He would skip the Derby in favor for the Baltimore Crown, where he would taste defeat for the first time behind Empire and Wonder. He would rebound with a dazzling seven and a half length romp in the Long Island Classic to claim the garland of carnations for himself. He would finish second to Kiddo in the Travers Stakes following the Long Island Classic, but he would rebound to a six length win in the Super Derby to conclude his three year old season.

As a four year old he started off with a five length win in the San Fernando Stakes, and followed that up with a hard fought half-length win over Kiddo in the Arcadia Handicap. His dominance in California continued with wins in the Inglewood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic to eventually lead up to the Steward’s Cup Classic, but his dream perfect season was not to be. He would finish second in the Classic to Pillar of Strength by over three lengths to end his career.

At the finally tally of SIMMY awards; California had been named the American Champion Three Year Old Colt the year before, the American Champion Older Horse, and he would eventually join the Hall of Fame. As a sire he fathered such horses as: Whitney (Long Island Classic winner), Frisco Kid (Louisville Derby winner), Sport of Queens (Louisville Derby runner-up), Salute the Sky, California Saint, Bodega Bay, Father Ralph, Redwood, Millionaire’s Son, Awakeandwonderful, Midwest, and Inferno among others.

His finally progeny tally includes 391 winners on dirt, 22 on all-weather, and five over steeples. While he had no stakes winners over steeples, he did sire an astounding 108 stakes winners over the flats with a little over $66.5 million in progeny earnings; with an average of $139,745 per runner, quite impressive indeed.


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